Membership
Q: How do I get to be a member of ARCOA?
A: Contact ARCOA here. Download the form and submit it. Your application will be examined and you will become a member if approved. Close the PDF window by clickint on the [x] at the top-right of the page. Then close the window by clicking on the Back-Arrow, (the left-pointing one at left-top of page),rather than clicking on the 'Close Window' button.
Logging in
Q When I click on the 'Communications Center' tab, all I get is a 'Welcome' Screen with request to login.I don't have a Username and Password. How do I get these?
A If you haven't yet received your Username and Password, or if you have forgotten these, use the link here to send your request. To cancel the requesting before submitting it, OR, to finish after you have submitted your request and have received the message sent confirmation, close the window by clicking on the Back-Arrow, (the left-pointing one at left-top of page),rather than clicking on the 'Close Window' button.
Leaving the CC
Q: How do I return to the Main ARCOA website from the Communications Center without having to start all over?
A: The Communications Center opens in either a new window or in a window with a new tab. (See Closing windows below.) Close the first by clicking on the [x] at the upper right of the screen.The second is closed by clicking on the [x] in the tab which says 'arcoa.org • xxx'.
Personal Info
Q: How can I change my username, email address or password.
A: Usernames must be changed by the Administrator. Make a request to admin@arcoa.org.
Email addresses and passwords are both changed with the same procedure. After logging in, click first on the 'User Control Panel' at the left top of the screen under the ARCOA logo. Second, click on 'Edit Account Settings' from the menu on the left. You will see input boxes for your email address and password. Type in a new email address and then re-type it in the second box.
The password shows as a line of asterisks. Erase the asterisks and enter your new password in the first box and then re-type it in the second. For one or both of these changes, Press the 'Submit' button at the bottom of this section. (There are several 'Submit' buttons, so make sure you choose the right one.)
Member-Only Information
Q: The Username and Password that is needed to access the Members Lists is different from those needed to access the Communications Center itself. Why is a different username and password needed?
A: The Members Lists webpage is located in a separate location outside of the Communications Center.
Because of this it would be subject to being found by webbots, (programs that search the internet and present their results to all browsers.) However, The Members Lists page contains member-only data which must be protected from non-member use. To do this requires that the location folder of this information itself be hidden from sight. Requiring a username and password for it satisfies this condition. A different username and password is assigned to it, but the member does not need to remember them as they are contained in the post which contains the link to it. This message, of course, is itself already protected by the CC username and password. When the username/password validation dialog for this location appears, you should be able to see the necessary username and password in the screen behind the dialog box and you simply need to fill them in. If either is obscured by the dialog box, then you can hold down the left mouse button on the title bar and drag the box away to uncover them.
The tutorial about accessing this information leaves the username and password blank, because the tutorials are themselves visible to internet searches and showing the actual username and password in them would allow anyone seeing them to view the data.
Closing Windows
Q: How should open windows be closed? I often get results I didn't expect.
A: This question arises because there are different ways in which windows are opened and each requires a different way to close it.
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The most common opening of a window simply replaces the previous window. Closing this kind of window is done by clicking on the left-pointing arrow at the top of the page, restoring the previous window. You can also click on the [x] at the top right of the page, but this closes not only the current window, but any previous windows.
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An alternate type of opening doesn't replace the current window, but instead, opens in a new window leaving the previous window still active. You can switch between these windows, (and any others which might be open), by pressing the ALT and Tab keys simultaneously. In this kind of window, the left-pointing arrow is greyed-out unlike in the previous example. You must close this one by clicking on the [x] at the top right side of the page. The previous page will then appear.
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Which of these two is used depends on a browser setting and once set, the browser will be consistent in opening all windows. The actual setting is different in different browsers, and you must use the available setting procedure for each type. If you want to change the way you work and need help, use this to contact me.
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A third type of opening also replaces the previous window, the difference being that this window shows an additional tab in the tab bar at the top which is not on the previous page. This tab will contain the title of the page. To close this window, click on the [x] in the tab with the title, (should be the right most), and the previous window will re-appear. The left-pointing arrow is greyed out in this kind of opening,but the [x] at the top right is still active and if you click on it, you will close out all the windows shown in the tab bar.
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A fourth type of opening is called a pop-up window. A pop-up window appears in a small box in the middle of the previous window. It may be closed by either clicking on the [x] at the top right or clicking on a button labeled 'Close Window' at the bottom of the screen which returns it to the previous window. These pop-ups can be resized to be more presentable. In some cases, a pop-up will contain links to other pages. Generally, these are pop-ups also and simply replace the existing pop-up. In any new pop-up opened from another pop-up, closing it as described always returns it to the original page which opened it. However, some links open a non-pop-up. These must be closed by clicking on the [x] at the top right which has the same effect as closing the original pop-up, namely, returning to the screen which called the original.
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There is a fifth type. This occurs when the window being opened contains a PDF[Note 1] file such as downloading a complete PDF version of a Newsletter. This is closed with the [x] at the top right.
Contacting Members
To communicate with other members via the CC, use the Members Lists to go to their profile. Below the profile information, there is a 'Contact xxxx' area where 'xxxx' is the name of the member. Click on 'Email xxxx' and it will give you a screen where you can enter a subject and text to be sent to member xxxx. At the bottom of the message area, there is a check box labeled 'send a copy of the email to yourself'. This is checked by default, so if you don't want to receive a copy, uncheck it.
Tabbed Browsing
Q My browser opens a new page in a new window. How can I cause it to open in a new tab instead.
A This depends on which browser you are using:
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To configure Internet Explorer, click on the 'Tools' tab at the top of the page[Note 2] --> Internet Options --> Settings[Note 3] (The 'Settings' labeled as 'Change How webpages are displayed'). Make sure that all of the check boxes are checked as shown in the image below. To disable Tabbed Browsing, simply uncheck the box labeled 'Enable Tabbed Browsing' and you will return to opening all new pages in new windows.
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To configure FireFox, Click on the 'Tools' tab at top --> Options[Note 4]. Click on the 'Tabs' tab to display the image that you see below. Make sure all of the boxes are checked and click on the 'OK' button at bottom (not shown).
