Help/FAQs

General

• What are the official dates of the 2013 ASTC Annual Conference?
• Where is the 2013 ASTC Annual Conference?
• When does registration open?
• When does the meeting end?
• When will the preliminary program be mailed?
• What is the dress code for the conference?
• What nights are open for satellite events?
• Will child care be provided while I’m attending the conference?
• I am bringing my family with me to Raleigh. Will there be activities for them to enjoy?
• Interested in sponsorship opportunities?
• Interested in exhibiting at the conference?
• Interested in advertising opportunities?
• Do you have questions about membership, or want to check if your institution or company is an ASTC member?

Communities / Discussions

• What is my username/password?
• How do I control what information is visible on my profile?
• How do I change my title/address/phone number/etc?
• How can I control the frequency and format of emails I receive?
• How do I respond to others’ posts?
• How do I start a new discussion thread?
• I’m having trouble viewing the HTML email messages. How do I fix this?
• How do I change the information showing up in my signature block?
• How do I find other members?
• How do I add contacts to my contact list?
• Why should I add contacts to my contact list?

Resources Libraries

• How do the resource libraries get populated?
• How do I upload a document?
• What kind of documents can I upload?
• What are the tags for?

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General | Top

Q: What are the official dates of the 2013 ASTC Annual Conference?
Q: Where is the 2013 ASTC Annual Conference?
Q: When does registration open?
Q: When does the meeting end?
Q: When will the preliminary program be mailed?
Q: What is the dress code for the conference?
Q: What nights are open for satellite events?
Q: Will child care be provided while I’m attending the conference?
Q: I am bringing my family with me to Raleigh. Will there be activities for them to enjoy?
Q: Interested in sponsorship opportunities? 
Q: Interested in exhibiting at the conference?
Q: Interested in advertising opportunities?
Q: Do you have questions about membership, or want to check if your institution or company is an ASTC member?

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Registration | Top

Q: What is included in my registration fee?
Q: Will I receive my registration materials in the mail?
Q: How do I make changes to a registration I made online?
Q: I registered online. Should I have received a confirmation for my registration?
Q: What if I need to cancel my registration?
Q: What if I need to send someone else in my place?
Q: I am a member of the press – do you have press registration?
Q: If the breakfasts and lunches on Saturday and Sunday are included in my full conference registration, why do I have to have a ticket?
Q: Why is there a $10 fee for the Saturday Evening Event if I am a full conference attendee?
Q: How do I become a volunteer?
Q: Does ASTC offer any scholarships/assistance for conference?

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Communities / Discussions | Top

Q: What is my username/password?
A: You will use the same username and password that you use to log in to the MyASTC site. If you have forgotten your login credentials, please use the "forgot username" and "forgot password" links on the login page. If you are still having problems, please contact us.

Q: How do I control what information is visible in My Profile?
A: Hover over "My Profile” in the navigation bar, then click “My Privacy Settings.” This will let you control what information is visible and to whom. After you've made changes, click the “Save” button at the bottom of the page. 

Q: How do I change my title/address/phone number?
A: To change this information in your community.astc.org profile, you'll first need to change it in the ASTC database. Please go tomembers.astc.org and login with the same username and password you use for the ASTC Community site. Next, click Profile in the top navigation bar. On this page, you can edit any of your information by clicking the pencil icon in the upper right corner of each box. When you've finished saving your changes, click Community in the top navigation bar to be directed back the community.astc.org. Click My Profile in the top navigation bar, then click Refresh Member Data beneath your contact information. Your profile should now be updated. (You can also find these instructions on page 5 of this PDF: http://astc.org/about/pdf/HLhowto.pdf)

Q: How can I control the frequency and format of emails I receive?
A: Hover over “My Communities” in the top navigation bar, then click “My Subscriptions” in the drop down menu that appears. You have the option of Text or HTML emails. By default, this is set to HTML, and we encourage you to leave it set to this it is supported by your email client. However, if you are having problems viewing the HTML version or if it takes too long to open, please switch to the text version.

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
• Legacy: sends real-time text versions of the posts, which are compatible with Blackberries and most other handheld devices. This option also allows you to reply without logging into a web browser, but it does NOT allow you to include attachments with your post.
• 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 respond to others’ posts?
A: Click “Reply to Discussion” to send your message to the entire community or “Reply to Sender” to only send your message back to the sender; both links are located to the right of the post. 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 from which others could benefit.

Q: How do I start a new discussion thread?
A: Go to the community in which you wish to start a discussion, click on the Discussions tab, then click the "Post new message" button. From an email (HTML version) for a particular discussion forum, you can use the “Post Message” link in the right navigation bar.

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, hover over “My Communities” then click “My Subscriptions” and select the “Text” format option near the top of the page. Be sure to hit “Save” at the bottom of the page once you've made this change.

Q: How do I change the information showing up in my signature block?
A: We have set a default signature, but if you would like to change the information that appears or the order in which it appears, hover over  "My Profile” and click “My Signature.” You can add, delete, or reorganize the fields that show up in your signature by clicking the variables on the right-hand side of the screen. Please note that the content of these fields is pulled directly from your profile.

Q: How do I find other members?
A: Click Directory in the top navigation bar, then use the search fields provide, or click "Use more detailed search criteria." The Directory lets you search for other members based on:

• First and/or last name
• Company/Institution name
• Email address

Use the “Advanced Search” option to increase your search to:

• City
• State
• Country
• Functional Job Title
• 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 Directory, you will see an “Add as contact” button to the right of each person in your search results. Just click this link 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 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. 

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Resource Libraries | Top

Q: How do the resource libraries get populated?
A: The resource libraries are populated in two ways: Community members can upload documents directly by using the “Create New Library Entry” link found in each community's Resources tab. That is to say, resources are not required to be associated with a discussion. Alternately, when you include an attachment in a discussion post, the system automatically places it in the resource library.

Q: How do I upload a file?
A: Navigate to the desired community and click the Resources tab, then click the "Create New Library Entry" button above the list of resources. Next, follow the prompts to add information about the resource you are uploading. You can also hover over "Participate" in the main navigation bar and click "Share a File." Then follow the on screen instructions to choose the appropriate resource library and upload your file.

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 another way of organizing and searching for documents. You can help others find the file you uploaded by selecting the appropriate tags when you upload it.