Help/FAQs

Help with Frequently Asked Questions

Questions about Profiles and Accounts

• I forgot my password, how do I reset it?
• How do I edit my profile information?
• How do I upload a picture of myself (an “avatar”) to appear on my profile and other areas?
• How do I change my password?
• How do I change my displayed name?
• How do I change the email where notifications are sent to me from the WDAA website?
• What are @ mentions and how are they used?
• What are “friends”?
• What are “notifications”?
• How do I send a message?
• How do I change my email notification settings?
• How do I add an event notification to the WDA-A site calendar?
• Can my member profiles be made private?
• How do I delete my account?

Questions about Groups

• How do I create and maintain a group?
• What’s the difference between public, private, and hidden groups?
• What are the differences in the various group roles (Members, Moderators, & Administrators)?
• I joined a hidden group and now can see it and all its members. Can everyone else?
• Can I view a hidden group without being a member?
• What happens when a private group becomes public?
• How come I’m not receiving Group updates via email?
• How can I leave a group?
• How can I change my group email notifications?
• How do I reply to email notifications?
• How can groups work on documents collaboratively?
• How can groups share files?

---

Questions about Profiles and Accounts

Note that you can also access almost all of the features in the questions below from your Profile Page when you first log in or by clicking on the “Home Page” menu button and then “My Account” whenever you are logged in.

I forgot my password, how do I reset it?
Leave the Username and Password fields blank and click “log in.”  You will be taken to another page. Then select the link that says “Lost your password?”   You will be taken to a page where you need to enter your email address and click “Get New Password.” You will be sent an email that includes a link you need to click which will take you to a page where you can reset your password.   (back to top)

How do I edit my profile information?
After logging into the WDAA website, go to the top gray navigation bar.  Hover your mouse over the “Howdy, (your name)” and select “Edit My Profile.” From here you can update your all your profile fields.   (back to top)

How do I upload a picture of myself (an “avatar”) to appear on my profile and other areas?
After logging into the WDAA website, go to the top gray navigation bar.  Hover your mouse over the “Howdy, (your name)” and select “Edit My Profile.”   Then click on the “Change Avatar” link to upload a new image.   (back to top)

How do I change my password?
After logging into the WDAA website, go to the top gray navigation bar.  Hover your mouse over the “Howdy, (your name)” then “Settings” and click “General.”   You will be taken to a page where you must enter your current password and select your new password.  Then click “Save Changes.”   (back to top)

How do I change my displayed name?
After logging into the WDAA website, go to the top gray navigation bar.  Hover your mouse over the “Howdy, (your name)” and select “Edit My Profile.”   To change your display name, change your name in the “Full Name (required)” field.  Then click “Save Changes.”    (back to top)

How do I change the email where notifications are sent to me from the WDAA website?
After logging into the WDAA website, go to the top gray navigation bar.  Hover your mouse over the “Howdy, (your name)” then “Settings” and click “General.”   You will be taken to a page where you must enter your current password and can change your “Account Email.”  Then click “Save Changes.”  (Note that the email addresses you list in your profile are so that other WDA members can contact you directly outside of the WDAA website, should you wish to share this information.  To post, change, or remove publically displayed emails, see the “How do I edit my profile information?” above.   (back to top)

What are @ mentions and how are they used?
The @mention system links others to the hyperlinked profile of the individual while notifying the individual of the mention via email. If you are trying to reach out to specific group members, simply put the @ symbol in front of their username and it will send a notification to their email address and show up in their @mention activity stream.   (back to top)

What are “friends”?
Similar to Facebook, “friending” is a social networking feature!  Members can search for people whom they know, used to know, or want to know.  The friending tool enables you to contact these people or to accept someone else’s “friend request” for contact.  By accepting someone’s friend request you become part of their social network on the WDAA website.  To accept a “friend request,” you can either follow the link in the email you will receive when someone sends you a requesting “friend request,” or if you are logged in, next to the “Howdy, (your name)” in the gray tool bar on the top right there will be a circle with a number in it.  Hover your mouse over this number and click on the notifications you have pending.  You will then be taken to a page that allows you to accept or reject the friendship request.   (back to top)

What are “notifications”?
Next to the “Howdy, (your name)” in the gray tool bar on the top right there will be a circle with a number in it.  Hovering over this will provide you with information if you have a new message, friend request, or invitation to join a group.   (back to top)

How do I send a message?
To send an email to another WDA member, you can either:

1. find the individual through the “Members” list directory, click on their profile, then on the “Send Private Message”  button; or
2.  hover your mouse over the “Howdy, (your name),” then “Messages,” and click “Compose.”   Type the person’s username in the “Send To” box.  If the person is an approved friend, the program will give you a list of all the friended members whose names include the letters you’re typing.  If the person is not a friend, you must type the complete username (this is a SPAM preventative.)   (back to top)

How do I change my email notification settings?
After logging into the WDAA website, go to the top gray navigation bar.  Hover your mouse over the “Howdy, (your name)” then “Settings” and click “General.”   You will be taken to a page where you can choose how you want the site to email you about a variety of different actions that occur on the WDAA site.  (back to top)

How do I add an event notification to the WDA-A site calendar?
Adding an event to the calendar so others can find it is easy!  After logging into the WDA-A website, go to the top gray navigation bar.  Hover your mouse over the “Howdy, (your name)” then “Events” and click “My Events.”  You will be taken to a page in your profile which lists all the events you have posted to date.  Simply click the “Add New” button and fill out the information on your event.  Note that those fields marked with an ” * ” are required to submit.  You can tie the event to a specific “group” you are a member of if you choose.  Fill in the dates, time, location, some “details” about the event, select a category your event most closely fits into, and even upload a picture to go with the event if you choose.  Then simply click the “Submit Event” button and your event will be added to the website!   (back to top)

Can my member profiles be made private?
Only other registered WDAA members who are logged in can access your profile and information.  This is our WDAA membership directory and helps other members learn more about you or make contact for possible collaborations and sharing of knowledge.  You can choose what information you wish to share by simply deleting or adding to your profile page (see “How do I edit my profile information?” above.)  As internet security is continually being challenged by “hackers”, it is recommended that you do not disclose information that you are not comfortable being publically disclosed.  You can read more about our Privacy Policy on the “Legal” page.   (back to top)

How do I delete my account?
After logging into the WDAA website, go to the top gray navigation bar.  Hover your mouse over the “Howdy, (your name)” then “Settings” and click “Delete Account.”   Then follow the directions you see.  Note that by deleting your account, you will also terminate your membership with WDA and will not have access to the benefits and opportunities WDA provides without re-registering for membership.   (back to top)

---

Questions about Groups

The WDAA site allows any member to create a group around a common interest or purpose. Here is some basic information that will help you get your groups up and running

How do I create and maintain a group?
After you have logged in, click on the “Groups” tab then select the “Create a Group” button next to the Group Directory.  Just sill in the easy step-by-step group creation pages!   (back to top)

What’s the difference between public, private, and hidden groups?

1. Public groups: All content (member listing, forum posts, activity stream posts, etc.) can be viewed by anyone, even those who are not logged into the site. Public groups are listed in the public directory of groups, and any member of the community can join the group without seeking approval from the group members.
2. Private groups: All content is hidden from the public and can only be viewed by members of that group. Private groups are listed in the public directory of groups, but members of the community must request membership to the group and have that request approved by the groups moderator or administrator before being able to view the group content.
3. Hidden groups: All content is hidden from the public and can only be viewed by members of that group. Hidden groups are not listed in the public directory of groups. New members must be invited to join by an existing group member.   (back to top)

What are the differences in the various group roles (Members, Moderators, & Administrators)?

1. Members: By default, when a user joins a group, they have the role of a member. What does it mean to be a member of a group? This depends on what kind of group it is.
   1. In a Public Group, members are able to post to that group’s activity stream and forums, as well as submit content to other parts of the group (i.e. upload group documents or add to the group’s wiki.)  Additionally, when you are a member of a group, the activity posted to the group shows up in your “Activity” -> “My Groups” activity stream in your profile.
   2. In a Private Group or a Hidden Group, members have all the same privileges and features as members in a public group. Additionally, being a member of a private group means that you get to see who else is a member of the group and that can send invites to other users to join the group.
2. Moderators: When a group member is promoted to be a Moderator of the group, it means that the member receives the following additional abilities: Edit, close, and delete any forum topic, post, or other kinds of content in the group.
3. Administrators: Administrators have total control over the contents and settings of a group. This includes all the abilities of moderators, as well as the ability to:
   1. Change group-wide settings through the groups “Admin” -> “Settings” link. (i.e. turn the group’s forums on or off, change group status from public to private, etc.)
   2. Change the group avatar through the “Admin” -> “Group Avatar” link.
   3. Manage group members through the “Admin” -> “Manage Members” link (promote members to moderators or to remove/ban members from the group.)
   4. Delete the group through the “Admin” -> “Delete” link.   (back to top)

I joined a hidden group and now can see it and all its members. Can everyone else?
No. When a user creates or becomes a member of a hidden group, they will see the group in the group listings and the activity in the streams.  The group and its content will only be visible to members of the group, not to the general public or to WDA members who are not part of the group.   (back to top)

Can I view a hidden group without being a member?
No. Hidden groups are not listed in the group directory. However, those who share the group’s URL can view the group name and description. The hidden group’s content and member information can only be access by members of a hidden group.  You must be invited to join a hidden group.   (back to top)

What happens when a private group becomes public?
When a private group is changed to a public group certain content changes:

1. Previous announcements will no longer be visible to group members.
2. All docs, files, and forum threads will become visible to members outside of the group. It is strongly recommended that Administrators look over all content for files or posts that the group may wish publicly available and either edit or delete accordingly.   (back to top)

How come I’m not receiving Group updates via email?
First, check your profile notification settings to make sure that you have set your preferences correctly. Second, check your email account’s spam filter or spam folder, sometimes mail from a site can be accidentally flagged as spam so you may need to add the address mail is sent from to your contacts or to your spam filter’s whitelist.  You should also check your email notifications for your groups.   If you are still having problems, please contact us.  (back to top)

How can I leave a group?
To unsubscribe from a group, go to the group directory or group’s homepage and click “Leave Group.” (back to top)

How can I change my group email notifications?
When you join a group, you automatically receive email notifications for all group activity at a frequency set by the group’s administrator. If you would like to change your notification settings for a specific group, go to the group’s page and click the “Email Options” button on the right navigation panel.  On the next page, select the option for email frequency from the groups you would prefer and select “Save Settings.”  Options include: No Email, Weekly Summary Email, Daily Digest Email, New Topics Email, and All Email.  (back to top)

How do I reply to email notifications?
Click on the link supplied in the notification, log into wda-americas.net, and reply.  We are exploring a new feature so you can Reply By Email from the comfort of your inbox, more info to come soon!  (back to top)

How can groups work on documents collaboratively?
If the “BuddyPress Docs” feature in a group is activated, it allows members of the group to write and edit collaboratively.  BuddyPress Docs is an exciting tool developed by Boone Gorges that allows group members to collaborate on documents (aka “Docs”). The plugin provides control over who can edit and/or view documents.  The group’s admin must activate the “Docs” function if the group wishes to use this feature.

Enabling BuddyPress Docs is simple.  If an admin is setting up a new group, an option will be offered during setup to simply enable “Docs.”  If the group is already active, the admin just needs to go to the group’s panel, select the “Admin” button, click on “Collaboration Docs”, select the “Enable BuddyPress Docs for this group” feature, and save.

The settings will allow the group admin to determine who can create a document.  Choices are: Admins, Moderators, or Members.

What is a BuddyPress Doc?
A BuddyPress Doc is an online document that members of a group may work on together. You can embed pictures and videos, use blockquotes, links, bullets, numbering, and indentations. Like posts, some html tags are allowed, and an easy to use tool bar is available for common edit needs.  You may switch between Visual and HTML writing styles. To embed a youtube video, simply paste the url into the body of the Doc.

Creating a Doc
To create a group doc, go to your profile or any group’s page, click on “Collaboration Docs”, then “Create New Doc” button.   You will need to fill out the title, fill in some beginning content (required), select which group to associate your doc with, set access levels, apply tags, and/or select a parent doc.

Configuring your Doc
There are a few sections at the bottom on each Doc which control taxonomy, hierarchy, and privileges:

1. Associated Group:  This allows you to select which group the document will be tied to.  Note that access settings available for a doc may be limited by the settings of the group it is tied to.
2. Access: If you want your documents invisible/inaccessible to the public, consider making your group either private or hidden. Depending on the settings of your group, these settings allow you to control who can read the doc, edit the doc, read comments on the doc, post comments on the doc, or see the history of the doc.
3. Tags: Each document may be tagged to help describe and organize your collection of documents. A complete list of your entered tags will be available as hyperlinks which you may use to filter your collection of documents. Choose tags carefully and consistently to get best results.
4. Parent: Some documents may be hierarchical in nature, and the parent tab is available to assign such linkages. When child/parent relationships are established, links to the parent will appear at the bottom of the child doc, and links to children will appear at the bottom of the parent doc.

Managing your Group’s Docs
Using tags is a very powerful way to organize your group’s collection of documents.  You can filter by tags.  Sorting your collection is also a good way to view group docs by title, author, creation date, and last edited date.

Permalinks
A url is available for each document and its discussion thread. If your group is private or hidden, these urls will only be viewable by members of your group. Your doc’s discussion thread will be viewable if comments have been set up as readable by the public.  (back to top)

How can groups share files?
You can attach files to a document you create so others can download and review them.  You can also upload files to your personal profile or groups through the “Drive” feature and choose how to share them!  Note that files you attach cannot be edited online though.  (back to top)