Account, Profile and Privacy Settings

This section provides information and instructions for editing your account, profile, and privacy settings. Applicable screen shots will be added soon!

Account Settings

Edit your login and account information by clicking “My Account” on your profile page. Contact your system administrator to edit your username. Click “Save” to update your account information.

Profile Information

1. You can change your profile information by clicking “Edit Profile” on your profile page.
2. When you are finished, click “Save” to update your profile page.

My Settings

You can set privacy on various features by clicking "My Settings" on your profile page. "My Settings" is also used to edit your journal, notification, album, and forum settings.

Profile Preferences

1. Profile Visibility – This determines who will be able to see you profile from the site’s member list, either everyone or only your friends.
2. Disregard Vanity Name for now
3. When you are finished, click “Save” to update.

Journal Features

1. Use the drop menus on the right to control privacy of the various areas of your journal
   • Only Me: only you can post items
   • Friends: only your friends can post items
   • Everyone: everyone can post item
   • Disabled: the activity will be removed from your journal
2. When you are finished, click “Save” to update.

Notifications

1. Use the drop to select who can send you messages.
   • Friends: only your friends can send you messages
   • Everyone: anyone can send you messages
   • Disabled: the messaging feature will be removed and no one will be able to send you messages
   • Group Members: groups that you are a member with
2. Use the check boxes to select which notifications you would like to receive.
3. Enable New Message PopUp: select this option to receive a popup notification when you have a new message
4. Someone posts to my journal: select this option to receive a notification when a member posts to your journal
5. When you are finished, click “Save” to update.

Options for Albums

1. Use the drop to select who can view and add comments to your photo albums
• Only Me: only you can post items
• Friends: only your friends can post items
• Everyone: everyone can post items
2. When you are finished, click “Save” to update

Forum Preferences

1. Use this area to change your preferences within Forums such as:
   • Add a signature
   • Sort Order
   • How many items to view per page
2. When you are finished, click “Save” to update

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Managing Your Profile

This section provides information and instructions for using and managing all of the tabs that make up your Biblio Connection Profile.

Info Tab

Your basic profile information is displayed in the Info Tab of your Profile. You can edit this information by clicking “Edit Profile.” See Account, Profile, and Privacy Settings for more information.

Activity Tab = Journal

The Activity Tab maintains a log of all of your activity. This serves as your Journal in your Biblio Connection Profile, much like you might see on Facebook. You can also post links, photos, files and more to your Journal. These guidelines apply to group and friend journal postings as well. Each activity has its own icon, making it easy to differentiate between types of journal posts.

Status

Let others know what you are doing by posting status updates on your journal.

1. To do so, click “Status” under “Activity.”
2. Type your message in the box.
3. Click on the lock icon to select who can see your status message – everyone, only friends or private.
4. Click “Post.”.
5. Your status update will appear on your profile in two places:
   • On your journal - Click the red X to the right of the post (which will appear when you click in the area of a journal entry)
   • Under your display name at the top of your profile - Click ‘clear’ (which will appear at the end of the status under your name) to remove your status.

Notes = Blog

The use of Notes in your Journal on the Activity Tab provides an opportunity to blog to everyone or to friends only, and to keep private notes visible only to you:

1. Add a note to your journal by clicking “Note” under “Activity.”
2. Fill in the fields
3. Click on the lock icon to select who can see your status message – everyone, only friends or private
4. Click “Post.”
5. Your note will appear on your Journal/Activity Tab.

Add Photos to Activity Tab/Journal (See Photos Tab for creating albums)

1. Add photos to your journal by clicking “Add Photos” under “Activity.”
2. Your photo will appear on your Journal.
3. Click the photo with the magnifying glass to enlarge it. Click again to minimize.
4. A “Journal” Photo Album is also created under the Photo Tab.

Add an Event

1. To create an event:
• Select the “Event” option from the “Activity” tab of a user or group’s profile.
• Give the event a Title, Location, and Time (end time is optional)
• Add additional details about the event, such as a description, directions to the event, or if there is anything you would like guests to bring.
• Select what type of event it will be with the “Category” option.
• Select a picture for your event by clicking “attach” under “Image.” Another window will open and allow you to browse to find and then upload an image.
• Select who can attend the event: Everyone, Only Friends or Private. Then click “Create Event” to publish your event


2. Once you have created your event, it will appear:
• On your journal/the “Activity” tab of your profile
• In the “Events” tab on your profile.
3. If you are the event creator, you have several links below an event you have created.
4. Your RSVP – Select this to change your RSVP to the event. Options are Attending, Maybe Attending, and Not Attending
5. Invite Guests – Select this to invite guests to your event. You have several different options for inviting guests:
• Friends – Click on the username or image of a friend to select him/her to send an invitation to. The user will then be highlighted in yellow, and a green check mark will appear below his/her name. Click the username or image again to unselect.
  • Search Friends – Look for a particular friend you would like to invite
  • Select All – Invite all your friends from the site
  • Clear All – Remove all friends you had previously selected
• Groups – Invite members from groups that you are a member of
• E-mail – Invite people who are not members of the site via e-mail.
• Add a Message – Add a personal message that you would like to include with the invitation.
• Friends receiving the invite will receive an alert and the options to reply with: ‘attending’, ‘maybe attending’ and ‘not attending’.
• Click on “View Guest List” to see RSVP responses or who has not yet responded.
• Comment: Comment on a post by clicking “Comment” under that post. Type your message and click “Comment.” Your post will appear under the original post in a gray box.
• Delete any Journal post by clicking the red X to the right of the post (which will appear when you click in the area of a journal entry).

Friends Tab

A list of all of your friends can be found here.

1. To view a friend’s profile, click their picture or name.
2. Each friend’s listing has a link to send the member a message and to remove him/her as a friend.
3. If the friend is online or off line is indicated.
4. To view a member’s friends, click “Friends.”

Groups Tab

Once you have joined a group, it will appear in your “My Groups” box under your profile picture and under the “Groups” tab on your profile page. To go to the Group's page/Profile click on "View Group". See Groups User Manual for more instructions about creating groups, joining groups, group profiles and features available *Coming Soon*.

My Topics Tab

“My Topics” lists all the topics you have posted on a social discussion forum. See Forums help for more information about using the forum.

Photos Tab

This is where you create individual albums to hold photos on your profile. You control who can see, comment or rate each album. According to your settings, members viewing your profile will see respective albums and photos in your Photo tab.

1. To create an album to organize your photos, click “Create Album” under the “Photos” tab on your profile.
2. Provide an album name and description.
3. Settings
   • Check “Use default settings” or choose your own settings.
   • Who can view your albums: select who can view your photo albums.
   • Who can view and add comments: select who can comment on your photo albums and view other people’s comments.
   • Who can view and add ratings: select who can rate your photo albums and view other people’s ratings.
   • Click “Save.”
4. Click “Add Files” or “Add Photos” to add photos to your album.
5. After you select a photo from your computer, you have three options:
   • Click “Add Files” to add more photos
   • Click “Clear” to remove the photo from your album
   • Click “Upload” to add the photo to your album
6. When you are done adding photos, click “Upload.”
7. Scroll down and click “Save.”
8. Add a caption if you want, select the appropriate album, and choose the photo you want as your album cover by selecting “This is the album cover.”
9. Your photo album will appear under the “Photos” tab.
10. Click the album to view, edit, or add photos.
11. Click “Edit Album” to change the album name, description, or settings.
12. Click “Delete” to delete the album.

Events Tab

Events created by an individual user or a group will appear in the Event Tab. See Events in Activity Tab above for creating an event.

1. View Guest List – See who is attending your event. Click each category (Attending, Maybe Attending, Not Attending, Not Yet Replied) to see how members have RSVPed
2. Comment – Add a comment about the event. Your comment will appear in a gray box below the event details.

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Using the Members List

This section provides information and instructions for using, browsing and searching the Member List.

Search Members

There are several ways to search for members.

1. The ALL Members list opens by default. You can scroll through and browse all members.
2. Search alphabetically by clicking a letter to get a list of usernames starting with that letter. Click “All” to see all members.
3. Search for a specific member in the search box provided
4. Or narrow your results by clicking “Advanced Search.” Fill in the desired fields and click “Search.”

View Members Profile

Click on a member name to view their profile.

1. What aspects of their profile you are able to view, such as photo albums, is determined by that individual member’s profile settings.
2. Their settings also dictate if you can post something on their profile, such as a note or comment.
3. From the Member’s Profile you can add the member as a friend by clicking “Add as Friend” in the upper right corner of their profile. See below for more information about friend requests.
4. If Member settings allow, you can also click send an email to the member by clicking “Send Email”.

Friend Requests

1. To add a member as a friend, click “Add as Friend” from the Member list or from the member’s profile.
2. A personal message is optional. The member will have to confirm your friend request.
3. When someone adds you as a friend, you can confirm or ignore the friend request on your notifications page or from the member list.
4. Once a member has confirmed your friend request, you will see them in the “Friends” box under your profile picture and under the “Friends” tab on your profile.
   • From this page you can see if your friends are off- or online, send messages, see their friends, or remove them from your friends.
   • Click on your friends’ name or picture to view their profile or post something on their profile. * See Managing You Profile for more information about journal postings and navigating through profile pages.

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Messages, Notifications and Alerts

This section provides instructions for sending and receiving messages/emails, and information about message settings, notifications and alerts. Communicate with friends and members through messaging, including Biblio Connection representative or Administrator Account. These messages are private and can only be seen by the users sending and receiving the message.

Messages

1. When you have a new message, you will receive a popup notification. You can disable this popup feature by clicking “My Settings” on your profile page. See Account, Profile and Privacy Settings for more information.
2. Click “Inbox” at the top of the page to view your messages.
   • The number in the parenthesis represents the number of unread messages in your inbox.
   • The yellow envelope to the left of a message and the yellow highlight of the message indicate a new or unread message.
3. Delete messages to remove them from you inbox by clicking the X to the right of the message.
4. Click on the message subject to view your new message. (NOTE: If you click the member’s name, you will be taken to their profile).
5. Click “Reply” to reply to the message. Type your message in the “Reply” field and click “Send.” If you decide not to send the message, click “Back to Inbox.”
6. Click “Forward” to forward the message. Type the username or e-mail address of the recipient in the “To” field, type your message in the “Reply” field, and click “Send.” If you decide not to send the message, click “Back to Inbox.”

Compose a New Message

1. To create a new message, click “New Message.”
2. If you would like to send a message to all members of a group you manage, select the group from the drop down. Please note that this feature is only available for groups that you manage, not groups that you are only a member of.
3. To send a message to individual users, begin typing the username of the recipient in the “To” field, and matching members will appear. Select who you would like to send your message to.
4. Fill in the “Subject” and “Message” fields, and click “Send.”

Sent Messages

1. Click “Sent Messages” to view your sent messages.
2. Click the X to the right of a message to remove it from Sent Messages.

Message Settings

1. Click “Settings” to control your messaging and alert settings
2. Select the choices by checking the boxes. When you are finished, click “Save.”
   • Notify me via Email: select this option to receive your notifications via e-mail
   • Sends me a message: select this option to receive a notification when a user sends you a message
   • Adds me as a friend: select this option to receive a notification when a user adds you as a friend
   • Confirms a friendship request: select this option to receive a notification when a user confirms your friendship request
   • Signature
     1. Click “Add new signature” to create a personal signature, which will be automatically inserted into a New Message.
     2. Type in the “Title” and “Signature” fields and click “Save” to save the signature or “Cancel” to go back.
     3. To select a signature, choose one from the dropdown menu.
   • Blacklist
     1. To block a user from contacting you, click “Manage blacklist.”
     2. Type in the username you wish you block and click “Save.”
     3. To remove a user from your blacklist, click “Manage blacklist,” then click “Remove from blacklist.”
   • You can also edit these settings, among others, under “My Settings” on your profile page. See Account, Profile and Privacy Settings for more information. Regardless of the way you edit your settings (via “My Settings” on your profile page or “Settings” on your messaging page), your changes will override any previous settings.

Notifications

1. When you make or receive friend requests, join groups, or receive new messages, you will receive a popup notification. It will appear at the bottom of your screen. You can disable this popup feature by clicking “My Settings” on your profile page. See Account, Profile, and Privacy Settings for more information.
2. To view your notifications, click “Alerts” in the top right-hand corner of your screen or click “Notifications” in your inbox.
   • The number in the parenthesis represents the number of unread notifications.
   • Click the red X to the right of a notification to delete that notification.

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Forums

This section provides information and instructions for using the discussion forums. The forums provide members the opportunity to communicate via group discussion forums.

Understanding Social Forums

There are several components to a social discussion forum.

1. Topics: the subject of a post followed by the author that post
2. Rating: the overall rating of a post determined by the opinions of members who can evaluate a post on a scale of one to five stars
3. Replies: the number of members who have replied to a post
4. Views: the number of times a post has been viewed
5. Last Post: the name of the member who submitted the last post for a topic, as well as the date and time of that post
6. Subscribe
   • Subscribe to a forum by checking the box next to “Click to subscribe to this forum.” You will receive notifications when a new post is submitted.
   • Click again to unsubscribe
7. Click the “Unanswered” link to view all of the posts that have not received replies.
8. Click the “Not Read” link to view all of the posts you have not read.
9. Click the “My Topics” tab to view all of the posts you have submitted to the forum.
10. Click the “Active Topics” tab to view the most recent posts to the forum.
11. Click the “Forums” tab to view all of the social forums on the Community page.
12. Click the “Search” tab to search within the Community section.
• Type your search in the box provided and click “Search.” Narrow your search by choosing from the advanced option dropdown menus.
1. Search Area: choose a specific area to search from the dropdown menu: Subject & Topic, Subject Only, or Topic Only
2. Criteria Options: specify your desired results in reference to your search term by choosing ANY keyword, ALL keywords, or Exact Match
3. Search Topics From: specify a date range for your search
4. Search by User: type in a user to find posts specific to that user
5. Search in Forum(s): specify which forums you would like to include in your search

Topics

Adding New Topics

1. Click the “Add Topic” icon to add a new topic on a social forum.
2. Fill in the Subject and Message fields.
3. In the “Topic Status” dropdown menu, you can classify your post as “Informative, “Not Resolved,” or “Resolved.” Choose the status that best describes your topic.
4. You can select a post icon to help classify your topic. In addition, a variety of smilies are available to include in your message.
5. Under “Additional Options,” you have the option to subscribe to the post. Check the box if you wish to receive e-mail notifications for your topic.
6. Click “Preview” to see what your post will look like. Click “Submit” to submit your post to the forum. Click “Cancel” if you wish to discard your post.
7. If you submitted your post, it should appear in the list of topics on the forum

Replying To Topics:

1. There are several ways to reply to a post.
   • Click the “Add Reply” icon.
   • Click the Reply link with the green arrow.
2. Via “Quick Reply.”
3. To post a reply, fill in the fields and click “Submit.”

Additional options

1. Click “Quote” if you wish to include the original post in your message.
• Type your reply underneath and click “Submit.”
• Your reply will appear under a shaded box containing the quoted text
2. To report a post, click “Alert.”
• Choose a reason in the dropdown menu that best describes why you are reporting a post and explain this reasoning in the Comments field.
• Click “Send” to report the content to your system administrator.
3. To send a message to the author of a post, click the envelope icon on their post under their username.
4. To print the full discussion of a topic, click the print icon at the top of the page.
5. To e-mail someone the full discussion of a topic, click the yellow envelope icon at the top of the page.
• Fill in the recipient’s name and e-mail address, as well as a subject and message, and click “Send.”
6. You can rate a topic on a scale of one to five stars, five being the best. Rate a discussion based on how many stars you feel it deserves. (i.e. If you feel a discussion should receive four stars, click the fourth star in the row.)
7. You can sort topics by the date they were posted by clicking the dropdown menu next to Sort. Choose “Oldest First” to put posts in reverse date order or “Most Recent First” to put the posts in date order.

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