General
Contacts / Connections
Communities / Discussions
Library / Resources
General | Top
Q: What is my username/password?
Q: How do I update my contact information?
A: On your
profile, click the pencil icon next to "Contact Details" in the left column to be directed to your main Manufacturers Alliance account where you can update your information.
Q: How do I control what information is visible in My Profile?
A: Navigate to your profile, then click the "My Account" tab and 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 Changes” button at the bottom of the page.
Contacts / Connections | Top
Q: How do I find other members?
A: Click “
Meet Members” found in the main menu at the top of the page to search and connect with other members.
Q: How do I add contacts to my contact list?
A: When you perform a search in the
member directory, you will see an “Add as contact” button to the right of each person in the search results. Click this button to send a contact request.
You can also click a person's name or photo from anywhere in the Hub to view the individual’s profile, then click the “Add as contact” button to the right of the 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 Hub to stay in touch, ask questions, and build your network. You can also choose to let your contacts view certain demographics in your profile that others members can't.
Communities / Discussions | Top
Q: What are communities?
A:
Communities house specific Council or topic discussions and resources which you can participate in and download.
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 currently belong to. Click on the name of a community to open it up to view discussions, shared resources, and other members of the community.
Q: How do I join a community?
A: Click on “Communities” in the main navigation and click on “
Join Communities" in order to see a list of available communities. Click on the "Join" button then choose a delivery option for notifications (Real Time, Daily Digest or No Email).
Q: How can I control the frequency of emails I receive?
A: Navigate to your profile and click on the "My Account" tab. Choose "
Community Notifications" from the drop-down menu. On that page, you can view and control your subscription options.
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, including all of the posts from the previous day.
- No Email: allows you to be part of the community without having emails sent to you. You can still post and read others’ messages by logging into the Hub.
Q: How do I leave a community or unsubscribe from a discussion?
A: Go to your profile and click on the "My Account" tab. Choose "
Community Notifications" from the drop-down menu. Here, you will see a list of communities to which you are subscribed. Choose the "No Email” option under the Discussion Email column for the discussions you wish to stop receiving notifications for.
Leave a community entirely by opening the community by clicking on its name, click the "Settings" button and click "Leave Community."
Q: How do I respond to others’ posts?
A: To respond to a
discussion post, please navigate to the discussion post and click “Reply" to send your message to the entire community. To send a message to the only author of the post, please select “Reply Privately” (located in the "Reply" drop-down). We recommend replying privately 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 might benefit from.
Q: How do I start a new discussion thread?
A: On the Hub, open up any of
your communities and click to "Post New Message."
From an email for a particular discussion group, you can use the “Post Message” link located at the top of the discussion email.
Q: I’m having trouble viewing the HTML email messages. How do I fix this?
A: If images and buttons are not appearing in your email notifications from the Hub, 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. You may also be able to click "Allow Images" or "Show Blocked Content" at the top of the email.
Q: Can I search for posts across all the communities?
A: Yes, enter a keyword in the
search bar located in the main navigation. To narrow your search results, select one or more facets from the menu on the left side.
Q: How do I see a listing of all of the posts to a specific Community?
A: Locate the community you are interested in viewing from
your communities. Click the name of the community to open its landing page. Click on the “Discussions” tab. If you see a post you’re interested in, click the subject line, this will take you to the thread page where you can read and participate in the conversation.
Libraries | Top
Q: How do I find resources that have been shared by other members?
A: If you know which library the resource might be located in, find the affiliated community via the
My Communities page. Click through the community's landing page, then click on the “Library” tab to see resources shared there. If you do not know where the resource might be, enter search terms in the search box at the top of the website the same way you might enter search terms into another search engine. You can also find recently shared documents
here.
Q: How do the libraries get populated?
A: The libraries are populated in two ways:
1. When you include an attachment in a discussion post, the system automatically places it in the community's library and it is saved there as an archive so members can find your resource later.
2. You can also upload documents directly to a library by using the "Create New Library Entry" button on any community's library page. Library resources are not required to be associated with a discussion thread.
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 great way to organize and categorize content on your site. Simply add a hashtag to your post the same way you would in Twitter. Tags can be applied to all types of content in the Hub. Tagged items are prioritized in the search results. You can also click a tag anywhere you see one to find all other content with the same tag.