General
Contacts / Connections
Communities / Discussions
Library / Resources
General | Top
Q: What is my username/password?
A: You will use the same username and password that you use to log in to the main site. If you have forgotten your login credentials or need assistance with your login information, click
here.
Q: How do I update my contact information?
From your profile page, click "Edit Contact Information in AACOM Database" Which is located under Contact Details in the left column. You must contact your AACOM community staff liaison to update your school or organization.
Q: How do I control what information is visible in My Profile?
A: Go to "My Profile” and click on the “My Account” tab. Choose "Privacy Settings" from the drop-down menu. This will let you control what information is visible to whom. After you’ve made changes, click the “Save” button at the bottom of the page.
Q: Can I post job openings or advertisements in the communities?
A: Job postings to community discussions in AACOM communities are considered to be commercial messages and are prohibited. However, AACOM hosts a job site,
Career Center, where job openings may be posted and responded to. Don't post commercial messages on any discussion list, resource library entry, or other area where others might see it. Contact people directly with product and service information if you believe it would help them. And use caution when discussing products. Information posted on the lists and in the libraries is available for all the community participants to see, and comments are subject to libel, slander, and antitrust laws. View our
Code of Conduct for additional rules and etiquette tips.
Q: Does AACOMmunities have a mobile app I can use on my phone?
A: Yes! All members can access AACOMmunities through the Connected Community mobile app for
Apple or
Android.
View the instructions for downloading the app. Once you launch the app you will be prompted to find your organization. Type “
community.aacom.org” and click "Next". On the next screen, type in your AACOMmunities login credentials to access your AACOMmunities account.
Through this app, you can view and reply to recent discussions, search the AACOMmunities Member list, and update your profile.
Contacts / Connections | Top
Q: How do I find other members?
A: Click the “Directory” link found in the main navigation bar. The Directory lets you search for other members based on:
- First and/or last name
- Company/Institution name
- Email address
Switch to the “Advanced Search” tab to increase your search to:
- City
- State
- Country
- Community
- Education
Q: How do I add contacts to my contact list?
A: There are several ways to add contacts. When you perform a search in the Directory, you will see an “Add as contact” button to the right of each person in your search results. Just click this button to send a contact request. If you click through and view an individual’s profile, you can click the contact request link to the right of his or her profile picture.
Q: Why should I add contacts to my contact list?
A: Creating this virtual address book makes it easy to send your contacts messages through the community site to stay in touch, ask questions or even build a referral network. Additionally, when you view another member’s profile, you’ll be able to see any contacts you have in common. You can also choose to let your contacts view certain demographics in your profile that others can't.
Communities / Discussions | Top
Q: What are communities?
A: Communities allow you to participate in discussions and share resources with other members.
Q: What communities do I already belong to?
A: Go to “Communities” in the main navigation bar. Select “My Communities” to view the communities you’re currently a part of.
Q: How do I join/subscribe to a community and the affiliated Discussion Group?
A: Hover over “Communities” and click on “All Communities” in order to see a list of available communities. Click on the community that you wish to join and simply click "Join," then choose a delivery option for posts (Real Time, Daily Digest, or No Email). Some communities are closed but offer a "request to join" link. Members may request to join a community and the AACOM staff liaison will review the request for acceptance.
Q: How do I create a new community?
A: Under "Communities" > "All Communities," there is a button called "Create New Community." This will open a "Manage Community" page that will prompt you to name the Community, set the viewing permissions, create an affiliated Resource Library and Discussion Group, and invite other users to join the Community.
Q: How can I control the frequency and format of emails I receive?
A: Go to My Profile in the upper right corner and click on the "My Account" tab. Choose Email Preferences from the drop-down menu.
For each discussion, you have the following delivery options:
- Real time: sends an email every time a new message is posted
- Daily digest: sends one email to you each day, consolidating all of the posts from the previous day
- No Email: allows you to be part of the group without having emails sent to you. You can still post and read others’ messages by logging into the community site.
Q: How do I leave a community or unsubscribe from a discussion?
A: Go to My Profile and click on the "My Account" tab. Choose Community Notifications from the drop-down menu. Here, you will see a list of communities you belong to. If the community is an open community you can leave the community by selecting ”Leave Community” under the Actions column and click the “Save” button at the bottom of the page. You will get a message confirming that your subscription options have been successfully updated. This can take several seconds if you change your settings for several groups at the same time. If you are a member of a closed community, please contact the AACOM staff liaison for that community to be removed from it.
Q: How do I respond to others’ posts?
A: In the email you receive or from the message in the community website, click “Reply to Discussion” to send your message to the entire community or “Reply to Sender” to only send your message back to the sender; both links are located to the right of the post. We recommend replying to the sender for simple comments like “me, too” that add little value to the overall discussion; and replying to the entire community when you are sharing knowledge, experience or resources that others could benefit from.
Q: How do I start a new discussion thread?
In the top menu select “Participate" > “Post a message.” From an email for a particular discussion forum, you can use the “Post Message” link in the right navigation bar. You can also add the email to your email address book by copying the community email from the “Post New Message” link of by downloading the vCard on your community's home page and creating a new contact in your email account, such as Outlook or Gmail. This allows you to start a new discussion in your community without opening a previous email or going to the community website. See
Additional Training for step-by-step instructions.
Q: I’m having trouble viewing the HTML email messages. How do I fix this?
A: If images are not appearing, it is likely that your email client is set to suppress images. This should be something you can change in your security or viewing options.
Q: I'm unable to Reply to Sender from an emailed message. The "reply" window does not show a message field.
A: This is a known issue that is being addressed by our vendor. This issue has been flagged "High Priority" and a fix will be deployed when available. If you experience this issue please try these workarounds:
- Login to the Community website and reply to the sender from the online message.
- Click through to the sender's profile and message them via the community inboxes.
Q: Do I have to post messages and reply exclusively through the website?
A: No. Once you have agreed to terms in the community website, you can then participate directly via email without having to login to the website, if you prefer. However, there are many positive features made possible because of the web interface that may not all be supported by email alone:
- When you send an attachment through this new system, it automatically places it in the Community’s library and sends a link to members.
- Because it sends a link, you can share files up to 1GB in size and just about any file type.
- All posts and associated resources are automatically archived and easily searchable.
Q: Can I search for posts across all the communities?
A: Yes, however you will only be able to view posts from communities you belong to. Enter a keyword in the search bar. From the results page, you can filter on content type, date range or posted by. Click on "Advanced Search" for even more options.
Q: How do I see a listing of all of the posts to a specific Community?
A: You will only be able to view discussions from open communities or closed communities that you are a member of. Locate the community you are interested in viewing from the appropriate communities page. Click through the community's landing page, then click on the “Discussions” tab. If you see a post you’re interested in, click the subject line which will take you to the entire thread. “Show original message” at the bottom of all of the posts in a thread will display the original message that started that discussion. The “Author’s Messages” link will show you all of the posts that particular member has contributed to that community.
Libraries | Top
Q: How do I find resources that may have been uploaded by other members?
A: If you know which library the resource might be located in, find the community on the appropriate communities page. Click through the community's landing page, then click on the “Library” tab. If you do not know where the resource might be, enter search terms in the main search box the same way you might enter search terms into Google or another search engine. You may also switch the library view from list view to folder view to see the library files and structure. These buttons are in the right column next to the “Create New Library Entry” button.
Q: Can I search for specific file types?
A: Yes. Enter your desired keyword in the main search box. From the search results page, click "Show Advanced Search." Then click on “Search for Specific File Types.” This gives you the option to specify file type: Document, Image, Spreadsheet, etc.
Q: How do the libraries get populated?
A: The libraries are populated in two ways: When you include an attachment in a discussion post, the system automatically places it in the library. You can also upload documents directly by using the “Share a file” link found under “Participate” in the main navigation or "Create a new library entry" on any community's library page. Library resources are not required to be associated with a discussion thread.
Q: How do I upload a file?
A: Select the “Share a file” link found under “Participate” in the main navigation or "Create a new library entry" on any community's landing page. Please note that uploading a document is done in a few steps, and each step must be completed before you can move on to the next:
- Choose a title for your document, include a description (optional), select the library to which you’d like to upload it, select a folder to which you’d like to upload it (optional) and choose an Entry Type (most will be Standard Files, but be cognizant of any copyright licensed material). Then click “Next.”
- Browse and upload your file. Click “Next” if you want to add tags to your file or click “Finish” (you may have to scroll down to access these buttons).
Q: What kind of files can I upload?
A: The system supports dozens of file types including hyperlinks, standard files (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), webinars, images and YouTube videos.
Q: What are the “tags” for?
A: Tags are another way of organizing and searching for documents. You can help others find the file you uploaded by including tags when you upload it. There are many pre-loaded tag categories to choose from. Contact your AACOM community staff liaison or community administrator to add new tags.