Help/FAQs

Help/FAQs

General 

Q: What is my username/password?

A: Your login credentials are the same username and password that you use to log in to the STFM website. If you have forgotten your login credentials or need assistance with your login information, please click here.

Q: How do I update my contact information?

A: On your profile page, please select the pencil icon next to "Contact Details" in the left column.

Q: How do I control what information is visible in My Profile?

A: Please navigate to your profile page, then select 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 

Q: How do I find other members?

A: Click the "Member "Directory” link found in the main navigation bar. The Member Directory lets you search for other users based on:
  • First and/or last name
  • Company/Institution name
  • Email address

Switch to the “Advanced Search” tab to refine your search results by:

  • 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 Member 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 STFM CONNECT 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.


Connections / Discussions 

Q: What are Connections?

A: Connections allow you to participate in discussions and share resources with other members. The different types of connections include: STFM Member Forum, Collaboratives, and Special Project Teams.

Q: What Collaboratives and Special Project Teams do I already belong to?

A: Go to “Connections” in the main navigation bar. Select “My Connections” to view the Collaboratives and Special Project Teams you currently belong to.

Q: How do I join/subscribe to a Collaborative or Special Project Team?

A:  Because STFM stores these connections in our master database, you will make changes to the connections you belong to by going to "My Connections" in your STFM Profile. 

Q: How do create a new Collaborative or Special Project Team?

A:  Visit the Forming a New Collaboration page for information and requirements for creating new a new collaborative or special project team.STFM staff will also monitor the STFM Member Forum and consider adding new collaboratives or special project teams it there is a topic  receiving lots of discussion and it seems it could be an enduring topic. 

Q: How can I control the frequency and format of emails I receive?

A: Navigate to your profile and click on the "My Account" tab. Choose "Notifications" from the drop-down menu.  On that page, there are subscription options: Real Time, Daily Digest, No Email.  

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 Collaborative or Special Project Team or unsubscribe from a discussion?

A:  To unsubscribe from a discussion—Go to your profile and click on the "My Account" tab. Choose "Notifications" from the drop-down menu. Here, you will see a list of available connections and those to which you’ve subscribed, choose "No email” for the discussions you wish to leave. To leave the Collaborative or Special Project team completely, go to "My Connections" in your STFM Profile and remove yourself from the connections you choose.

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 Discussion” to send your message to the entire community.  To send a message to the only author of the post, please select “Reply to Sender” (located in the "Reply to Discussion" drop-down).  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?

A: From the Home Page, go to “Browse" > “Discussion Posts” From an email (HTML version) for a particular discussion forum, 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 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. If you would rather receive text-based email, go to your profile page and click on the "My Account" tab. Choose "Notifications" from the drop-down menu. Select the “Plain Text” format option for each of the discussions you are subscribed to.

Q: Can I search for posts across all the connections?

A: Yes, please enter a keyword in the search bar located in the main navigation. To refine your search results, please select "Show Advanced Search".

Q: How do I see a listing of all of the posts to a specific connection?

A: Locate the connection you are interested in viewing from the My Connections  page. Click through to the connection'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.

Libraries 

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 specific connection via the All Connections page. Click through the 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.

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:
1.  When you include an attachment in a discussion post, the system automatically places it in the affiliated library.
2.  You can upload documents directly to a library by using the “Share a File” link found under “Participate” in the main navigation or "Create New Library Entry" button 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 New Library Entry" on any connection landing page. Please note that uploading a document is accomplished by completing a few steps, and each step must be completed before you can move on to the next:
  • Choose a title for your document, and include a description (optional). Select the library to which you’d like to upload it, and select a folder to which you’d like to upload it (optional).  Then, choose an Entry Type (most will be Standard Files, but be cognizant of any copyright licensed material). Once you have completed these steps, please click “Next.”
  • Upload your file.
  • Select “Next” if you want to further describe your files and/or add tags to your file.  Otherwise, please click “Finish” to post your library entry

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. Tagged items are prioritized in the search results.

Q: Where is the STFM Resource Library? 

A: The STFM Resource Library now lives at resourcelibrary.stfm.org and is open to the public for browsing and downloading resources. Because STFM CONNECT is now only accessible to STFM members it made sense to keep these items visually separate. You will see that resources from the Resource Library are searchable here in STFM CONNECT for the ease of members.