FAQs


General

Profile

Contacts/Connections

Communities / Discussions

Library / Resources



General | Top



Q: What is collaborate?

A: Collaborate is a private community platform or SDMS members and sonography professionals to connect, learn and share online.



Q: Who can use it?

A: Collaborate is open to all sonography and related professionals. However, SDMS Members have access to exclusive communities and discussions, the SDMS Image Library, and volunteer opportunities.



Q: What is my username/password?

A: Your login credentials are the same username and password that you use to log in to sdms.org. If you have forgotten your login credentials or need assistance with your login information, please contact us.

Q: What web browsers are supported by this site?

A: Collaborate supports the last version of the following web browsers:
  • Internet Explorer
  • Firefox
  • Chrome
  • Safari

JavaScript and cookies must be allowed/enabled in order for the website to display correctly.




Profile | Top



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. Please allow 30 minutes for changes made on the SDMS main website to be reflected on Collaborate.

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

A: Navigate to your Collaborate Profile, 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.

Q: what do the options in the privacy settings mean?

My Contacts = only the individuals that you have chosen to connect with on Collaborate will see this information

Public = anyone can see this information even if they don't have an account on Collaborate

Members Only = anyone who has an account on Collaborate can see this information. Please note that non SDMS members can have an account on Collaborate, but are limited to participating in the Sonography Career Resources community. Therefore, on Collaborate "Members Only" refers to anyone who has a Collaborate account.

Only Me = Only you will be able to see this information on Collaborate.


Q: How do i Opt In/out of the volunteer Pool?

A: On your your Collaborate Profile, use the slider at the top to opt in and opt out of the volunteer pool. By opting into the volunteer pool, you will be invited to participate in various volunteer opportunities based on your expertise and demographics. Note: Any SDMS members current as of July 18, 2017 has been automatically opted into the volunteer pool.



Contacts/Connections | Top



Q: How do I find other SDMS members?

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

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

  • Location
  • SDMS Fellow Status
  • Designations
  • Practicing Specialties
  • Job Category / Primary Role



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 SDMS 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.

Q: Why do I not have a “Reply to Message” option on a message sent to me?

A: If someone chose not to be included in the SDMS Member Directory, you will not be able to reply to the messages that they sent you.

Q: How do i change the information that appears in the member directory?

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.

Q: how do i opt out of the member directory?

A: Please navigate to your SDMS profile page and deselect "Make my profile available in the member directory and allow people to respond to the messages that I send through SDMS Collaborate" at the bottom of the page.

IMPORTANT: If you choose to opt out of the SDMS Member Directory, you will still be able to request to connect with other SDMS Members on Collaborate and send them messages, but they will not be able to respond to your messages.”



Communities / Discussions | Top



Q: What are communities?

A: Communities allow you to participate in discussions and share resources with others.

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.

Q: How do I join/subscribe to a community and the affiliated discussion group?

A:  Click on “Communities” in the main navigation and click on “Join a Community” 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).

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 "Community 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 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 available communities and those to which you’ve subscribed. Select "Leave Community” under the Actions column for the discussions you wish to leave. You can also go to the Community's landing page and click the Settings button by the title at the top of the screen, then "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 Discussion” to send your message to the entire community.

Q: How do I start a new discussion thread?

A: Go to “Participate" > “Post a message.” 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: How do I customize my discussion signature?

A: Navigate to your profile page, then select the "My Account" tab and choose "Discussion Signature" from the drop-down menu. The Available Variables on the right will auto-generate using your SDMS profile entries. Please do not edit any of the fields in brackets in the Default Signature box. Simply, double-click to add variables and to remove them, just highlight and delete.

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 "Community 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 communities?

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 Community?

A: 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.



Libraries | Top



Q: How do I find resources that may have been uploaded by others?

A: If you know which library the resource might be located in, find the affiliated community via the All 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.

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 also 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 community 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. Tags can be applied to blogs, library entries, events, and glossary terms.  Tagged items are prioritized in the search results.