FAQ

Editing


How do I edit the content on my site?

When you're logged in, you'll see a red Edit button on the pages you can edit. Click on the button to open your text editor. Inside the text editor you can rewrite and format the text as you would in a word processing environment. Click "Save" to apply your changes and close the text editor. Your changes are live on your website.

How do I add a link?

Highlight the word you want to make into a link and click the link button link button. In the pop-up window, insert the full URL in the "Link URL" field and click "Insert." Optionally, you can set the "Target" field to make the link open the page in a new window when clicked.

How do I link to an email address?

Highlight the word you want to make into an email link and click the link button link button. In the pop-up window, insert "mailto:name@yoursite.com" in the "Link URL" field and click "Insert." It is not necessary to set any other fields. When a visitor clicks on the link, a blank email window will pop up in their default email program, containing that address.

How do I link to a document?

Highlight the word you want to make into a link and click the link button link button. In the pop-up window, click on the Documents tab. This tab displays a list of the documents you've uploaded to your site. Copy a URL. Return to the General tab. Paste the URL into the "Link URL" field, then click "Insert."

Why is my document link showing a 404 Not Found error?

The problem is probably due to the file name. Check for double-spaces between words in the file name. The editor has an automatic clean-up function that trims out double-spaces when you click Save. Thus, the link gets broken.

  1. Rename the file on your computer. Take out the spaces - replace them with dashes or underscores.
  2. Re-upload the file to the website using the Upload > Docs page.
  3. Navigate to the page containing the broken link, and correct the link to match the new re-named file. Save your changes.

How do I add images to a page?

Please see the instructions under the Images tab.

How do I create a new page and add it to the menu?

Your Page Manager gives you the ability to add and remove pages, rename them, and move them around your menu structure. To manage public pages, click on the Public Pages link under your Manage button. To manage Members-Only pages, click on the Members Pages link under your Manage button.

How do I edit the sidebar?

Go to your Sidebar page and make any changes there. The Sidebar page in this management section displays like a normal page in order to accomodate the size of the text editor, but the content still appears on your site within the narrow strip on the side of each page.

Can I put images in the sidebar?

Yes, your images will be automatically scaled down to fit.

Uploading


The "browse" button doesn't appear when I try to upload files. Why?

Flash is disabled in your computer's browser:

  1. Try a different browser to upload files, such as Firefox or Chrome.
  2. Enable Flash in your browser. In Chrome, on the upload page, click the green padlock in the upper left corner in your address bar. Then click Site Settings, and it will pop open a tab where you will see the option to turn on Flash. In Firefox, click the plugin icon next to the left of the green padlock. There you can select "Remember this Decision" as well if you'd like.

Which file formats does the audio player accept?

.mp3

How do I add, move, and delete tracks in the audio player?

You can manage your tracks from the Upload > Audio page. Click and drag on the arrow buttons Audio arrow to reorder a track, and click the "Submit" button to apply changes. Place a checkmark in the "Pub" column and click the "Submit" button to unpublish - temporarily remove - a track from the audio player. Place a checkmark in the "Sel" column and click the "Delete" button to permanently remove tracks.

I'm trying to drag a track from one side to the other, but it won't move.

If there is an uneven number of tracks on either side of the table, you may have to drag the track up to the top of the list, and then horizontally to the other side.

Can members download audio tracks?

Yes, there is a private audio player in the Members-Only section. When members are logged in, they can download tracks from this audio player.

I can't get the audio player to work.

You may be using an incompatible browser. We strongly recommend using Firefox or Chrome when viewing and managing your site, for best performance. Another problem could be that you don't have the latest Flash plugin installed on your browser, or maybe you have Flash turned off in your settings.

How do I upload and link to documents?

Go to Upload > Docs in your admin menu and follow the instructions to upload your documents.

To link to a document, open your editor on the page where you want to insert the link. Highlight a piece of text and click the link button link button. In the pop-up window, click on the Documents tab. This tab displays a list of the documents you've uploaded to your site. Copy a URL. Return to the General tab. Paste the URL into the "Link URL" field, then click "Insert."

How do I upload images?

  1. Click on the edit button on any page.
  2. Click on the Image button Image button below your text editor.
  3. Click into the directory (folder on your website) where you want to save the image and click "Browse Files" to a select the file from your computer.
  4. Click "Start Upload."
  5. When the process is complete, you should see a thumbnail for the new image in the directory where you uploaded it.

How do I add images to a page?

  1. Click on the Image button Image button below your text editor.
  2. Click into the directory where your image was uploaded, and click on the thumbnail of the image you wish to insert. The pop-up window detects the path to the image.
  3. Choose whether the image should be left- or right-aligned with relation to the text on the page.
  4. Click on "Insert." The pop-up window will close, and the image will appear in the content of your text editor.

Images


How do I upload images?

  1. Click on the edit button on any page.
  2. Click on the Image button Image button below your text editor.
  3. Click into the directory (folder on your website) where you want to save the image and click "Browse Files" to a select the file from your computer.
  4. Click "Start Upload."
  5. When the process is complete, you should see a thumbnail for the new image in the directory where you uploaded it.

How do I add images to a page?

  1. Click on the Image button Image button below your text editor.
  2. Click into the directory where your image was uploaded, and click on the thumbnail of the image you wish to insert. The pop-up window detects the path to the image.
  3. Choose whether the image should be left- or right-aligned with relation to the text on the page.
  4. Click on "Insert." The pop-up window will close, and the image will appear in the content of your text editor.

How do I make an image link to another page?

  1. Insert an image by following the instructions in the previous question.
  2. Click on the image in your editor window so that it is highlighted or you see square "handle-bars" outlining the image.
  3. Click on the link button link button. In the pop-up window, insert the full URL in the "Link URL" field and click "Insert." Optionally, you can set the "Target" field to make the link open the page in a new window when clicked.

Events


How do I add events to my Events page?

  1. Go to your Events page and click on the Submit New Event button Submit New Event.
  2. Enter the event details in the fields.
  3. Make sure that you have created and saved a "venue" in the database before filling out the form. Click on "Submit new venue" and specify the location of the event if necessary. The system will thereafter "remember" the venue and you can use it again when adding new events.
  4. Make sure that you specify the time in military time. We know it may be a bit inconvenient, but this is how the database "tells time." However, the time will display in 12-hour format on the Events page for your visitors.
  5. If your event does not have a specific time, or is an all-day event, you can leave the time fields blank.
  6. Click "Save" to apply changes.

How do I add events to my Events Calendar?

Any event you submit to your Events page is automatically added to your Events Calendar.

How do I remove events?

When you are logged in as the administrator, go to the Events page and click on the gray Remove button next to the event you wish to delete.

Member Accounts


How do members create login accounts?

The login box in your sidebar contains a link titled "Create an account." Members may click on that link to register for an account. The registration page asks them to create a username and password. When they submit their information, a notification email is sent to the admin address of your site, admin@russellbuchanan.com.

The registration page does nothing when I submit my information.

The system probably requires a stronger password. Please start over and enter a new password at least 8 characters in length, containing a couple of numbers.

How do I activate the accounts?

You must open the activation emails and click on the activation link to confirm that person's account. They will not be allowed access to the Members Only section until you have clicked the activation link. This action saves the person's information in the website database. The system will send a Welcome email to the member once you have activated their account.

  1. Go to the login form on the Members Only email page, usually found under Resources > Email.
  2. Enter your full admin address (admin@russellbuchanan.com), and webmail password. Login to webmail.
  3. The control panel gives you a choice of email programs to use, such as Squirrel Mail. Click on one of these options to view your inbox.
  4. Open the member activation emails and click the activation links.
  5. Set up a forwarding email address to forward mail to a personal address for your convenience. Then you won't have to login this way again.

What if a member forgets his/her password?

Below the "Members Login" form you'll find a link titled "Forgot your password?" Click on this link and follow the steps to reset your password.

How do members change their password or email address?

You can change your password and email address on the "My Account" or "My Profile" page found in the members only section.

How do we delete the accounts of members who leave our group?

Go to the Admin > Members page in the admin menu. This page lists the member accounts registered on your site, and allows you to delete accounts.

Why am I getting account requests from names I don't recognize?

Spammers will occasionally happen upon your website and submit the registration form. They will not have access to the members-only section unless you activate their account. However, their name still shows up on the members list, because the system logs their initial request. You can simply ignore the email messages and delete them from the members list, and they'll never get access.

Email


How do I create email accounts on my site?

Go to your Admin > Email page in the admin menu and follow the instructions there.

How many email addresses do I get?

Unlimited.

How do I check my email?

Unless you set up forwarding or POP, you must log into Webmail online.

  1. Go to the login form on the members-only Resources > Email page.
  2. Enter your full email address and password to log in.
  3. The control panel gives you a choice of email programs to use, such as Squirrel Mail. Click on one of these options to view your inbox.

Can I forward my email to another address?

Forwarding Options

Yes. To set up a forwarding address:

  1. Log into Webmail (see directions above).
  2. Click on the Forwarding Options icon.
  3. Click "add Forwarder"
  4. Type the email address you wish to forward to, and save.
  5. In your usual email client, send a test message to your new address to make sure it works.

What are the POP settings?

Forwarding Options

You can see your POP settings in your email account control panel.

  1. Log in to your email account (see directions above).
  2. Click on the "Configure Mail Client" icon.
  3. Automatic Configuration: If you see an installation file for your email client listed on the "Configure Mail Client" screen, you can download that file and let it install the proper POP settings for you. When the install is complete, open your email client, enter your password if prompted, and send a test email to your new address to make sure it works.
  4. Manual Configuration: If there was a problem installing the email settings, or if there was no installation file available for your email client, you can use the settings provided at the bottom of the "Configure Mail Client" screen to manually configure POP settings.

Newsletter


How do I create an e-newsletter?

Begin at your Newsletter main page. Click on "Start New Newsletter" and select a template to work with. Your newsletter editing environment is the same as your website editing environment, with the same edit button and editor window.

How do I send an e-newsletter?

From the Sending Options screen, choose a mailing list and click the "Send" button.

Can I test the newsletter before sending it for real?

Yes, you can send it to the Test List, which should contain your own email address, and thus send the newsletter to yourself for testing.

Can I have multiple mailing lists?

Yes, you can have multiple mailing lists, such as a Public List for supporters, and a Members Only list for members. We have set up a few lists for you so that all you have to do is add email addresses to them.

How do I start a new mailing list?

If you need something besides our ready-made mailing lists, you can create a new one by going to your Newsletter main page, clicking on "Manage Subscribers" ... then "Mailing Lists" ... and finally the "add a list" button. However, you will need to manually add subscribers to the new list, because there will be no sign-up form on your site for it.

How do people sign up?

We've made two sign-up forms for your site. One is for your Public (Main) mailing list, and can be seen on your public pages. The other is for your Members Only mailing list, and is only visible if you're logged in. The mailing lists basically manage themselves. A visitor submits their name and email address using the sign-up form, and then newsletter system sends them an email containing an activation link. Clicking the activation link in the email tells the newsletter database that they are "confirmed" and that it's OK to send newsletters to them.

There are email addresses in my Main list that look like spam.

Those most likely represent spam robots that signed up for newsletters thru your sign-up form. However, if you see a red X in the Confirmed column, it means they are NOT confirmed, and no newsletters have been sent to them. You can delete those addresses from the system by clicking the "del" link in the delete column of the Subscribers list.

What if a subscriber isn't getting any newsletters?

There a few possibilities:

  1. It could be that they forgot to click their activation link. Check the list of subscribers on your "Manage Subscribers" page to see if that person is "confirmed." If you see a red X in the "confirmed" column next to their email address, they have not been confirmed. You can ask them to find their activation email and click the link, or you can manually set them to "confirmed" on their subscriber details page. To do this, click on their email address. On their details page, enter the number 1 (meaning "yes") in the field with the caption "Is this subscriber confirmed." Click "Save changes."
  2. They may not be signed up on the correct mailing list. Find and click on their email address on your "Manage Subscribers" page. On their Subscriber Details page, scroll down to the Mailing List Membership section and see which of the mailing lists is checkmarked. Checkmark the correct one and click "Save Changes." If you suspect that the sign-up form on your website is pointing to the wrong mailing list, please contact support@myconnectedaccount.com and we'll fix it for you.
  3. Their email address may be invalid. See "Why is my newsletter marked as inprocess?" below.
  4. In rare cases, they may have been blacklisted. This only happens if the address is manually blacklisted by you, or if the newsletter database receives a "hard bounce" response from that email address... i.e., the address could not be found. You can take the address off the blacklist by going into their Subscriber Details page and clicking on "Subscriber History." This page will show you which newsletters had bounced from this address, and will give you the option of restoring it to the mailing list.

How do I keep track of who is signed up?

Go to your Newsletter main page and click on "Manage Subscribers." You'll see a list of all your subscribers and you can click on any email address to see more details. You can more readily see who belongs to your Public (Main) List and your Members Only List by clicking on the "Mailing Lists" link on the "Manage Subscribers" page.

Why is my newsletter marked as "inprocess"?

This happens when there are invalid email addresses in the targeted mailing list. The newsletter was sent to the good email addresses, but got hung up on the invalid ones. Check your Subscribers list for email addresses that contain typos, such as duplicate "@" signs, or blank spaces. Make any necessary corrections, and click Save Changes. Then the system should resolve itself and send the Newsletters to the remaining addresses. If you have trouble finding the problem, ask support@myconnectedaccount.com to investigate.

How do I keep track of bounced email?

Begin at your Newsletter main page and click on "View Reports." You'll have instructions on the next page to tell the database to check for bounced emails. When the database has counted the bounced newsletters, you can review a list of problematic email addresses. You can correct spelling or delete email addresses if necessary. The database will automatically "unconfirm" - but not delete - email addresses that bounce five times in a row.

Why does email bounce?

Email messages can bounce for several reasons:

CafePress


How do my products show up on my Store page?

We use a programming tool that looks up your CafePress page and transfers the product pictures and information to the Store page on your site.

How do I manage my products?

Login to your account on CafePress.com and use their management tools. Your changes will be reflected on the Store page of your website.

How can I temporarily take down my Store page?

Yes, simply enter your Page Manager and use the "Show and Hide Pages" tool to hide the Store menu link.