The Documents section of the web community is where all uploaded files are stored, including PDF and Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, audio and video files and more.
You can see a list of all accepted file types here.
Documents are a great way for members, as well as chapters and divisions, to share information with other IAAP members. In addition, many documents and forms from IAAP headquarters are also available to be downloaded through the
IAAP International Library.
Every chapter and division that subscribes to the web community also has its own document library that is only available to members of that chapter or division. This is handy if you'd like to store confidential chapter records, such as rosters, contact info, etc.
Many discussion (eGroup) groups also have a library associated with them so that members can attach related documents to messages they post. Below we'll explore how to search and find documents, how to add documents and go into more detail about document privacy.
IAAP International Library
Most of the documents you might need from IAAP headquarters are located in the IAAP International Library. In the Documents menu, it is the first link listed. Before attempting to search for a document from headquarters, we recommend looking here first, which organizes documents depending on which department (education, events, certification, etc.) they are related to.
All Libraries
The All Libraries section will provide a list of every document library that you have access to, including your chapter or division library (if applicable). If you belong to a lot of groups, this list can be a bit cumbersome to navigate because you may have several pages of libraries to navigate through to find the one you're looking for. To help make accessing the library you're looking for easier, you can use the search form at the top to search only a specific library. Other options include bookmarking in your web browser libraries that you access frequently, or if your chapter has a website on the web community, you may request that your chapter webmaster add a direct link to the chapter's library on your site.
Search Library
1) To search the document library, use the search fields provided to construct your search query.
Note: Searching by Document ID was phased out of the search functionality in Jan. 2011.
It is important when submitting your search query to filter your results, either by tag, library or file type. This will increase the quality of your search results and minimize the number of results you need to browse through.
(Note: IAAP also maintains a “Frequently Requested Documents” page, in case you’re looking for something many members might be after.)
As an example, let's say you wanted to find a form to transfer your membership from one chapter to another.
The search terms you might enter would include, "transfer membership form."
When you click the search button, your results will be returned.
But first, let's take a look at how many results we would get for this query if we did NOT filter by library. As you can see, the search returned over 1,000 results, which would make it fairly difficult to find the document you are looking for.
However, the same search query using the IAAP International Library filter returns only 175 results, and the top 3 results are very relevant (the document you would need for this example is actually third on the list).
Using Documents
Now that we've found our document, click on the title of the document to open the "View Document" summary page.
Below is a snapshot of what you can find on a "View Document" summary page.
- This section shows who uploaded the document, when it was uploaded and which library it was posted in. Links to the library and member profile are also included.
- A summary of the document you are about to download.
- To download and access the document, click the title or the green down arrow to download the file. (Note: Unless you uplaoded the document yourself, you will not see the red "X" there, which allows the owner of the document to delete the file.
- If you are the owner of the document, you will see a small "Edit" link in the upper-right corner of this section. If you are not the owner, you will not see this link. The edit link is used to add additional documents to the summary page. If two or more documents are related to each other, you might need to add multiple documents, or if a document has changed and you need to reupload it, you can delete the file and then click the Edit link to add the new file back. That way the link and other information remains the same.
In this section you can also add the document to your favorites, which is a great tool if it's a document you might want to find easily again. When a document is added to your favorites, it will appear in a list when you click the "My Favorites" link on the Resources dropdown menu.
You can also rate a document based on how useful you found it, and you can also email a link to the document or add it to your RSS feed setup.
- The links in this section will differ based on whether or not you are the owner of the document. If you are the owner, you can add tags, documents, move to a different library or delete the entire document.
The most commonly used item in this section is the "Permalink" option. Clicking that link will allow you to copy the link to the document to your clipboard, allowing you to paste the link inside an email, blog post or eGroup posting.
- This section provides a summary of how many times the document has been viewed or downloaded, its average rating, number of comments, etc.
Here's a look at the same View Document summary, from the perspective of a member who is NOT the owner of the file. You can see there are fewer options, especially in section 5 of our previous figure.
Don't forget to add the document to your favorites if you think you might need to find the document on a regular basis.
Adding Documents
You can also post your own documents to share with members of your chapter, division or all IAAP members. Click the Add Document link to get started.
First, you'll need to provide a title, description and select which library you'd like to post the document in. Your title and description should be as descriptive as possible to make searching for it easier. For example, if you're uploading your chapter's roster, don't call the document "Chapter Roster." Instead, use your chapter's name (I.E. Wings Chapter Roster) to make it easier to find for your members. Also, choose a library that is related to the documents subject whenever possible. If you want to share your chapter's newsletter with other chapters, upload it to he Newsletter Editors library. Documents uploaded to your chapter library are only available to members of your chapter. Note: You can only upload a document to one library. If you need a document to appear in more than one library, it will need to be uploaded twice.
After you've filled out the title, description and library fields, click Save to move on to "Step 2: Upload Your File(s)." You will need to upload the file or files you would like included. If you have multiple files that are related to each other, you should upload them at the same time to keep them together. Click Upload to upload your files (30MB limit for each file).
Once you have uploaded your files, you will move on to "Step 3: Add Tags/Keywords to Your Document." Use the checkboxes to check any related subjects (this helps in searching for documents). Or skip the tags and click Continue.
Once you click Continue you will be directed to the View Document screen that we showed previously in the Documents guide. You can also access your documents in the My Documents section of the My Profile menu.
Document Privacy
By default, any document uploaded to your chapter or division library is only accessible by members who belong to that community. This is currently the only way to restrict information to members of your chapter or division. For website admins, it is important to understand that creating a page that is accessible to "Members Only" means you are only restricting access to the page to IAAP members, not just members of your chapter or division. For more information about uploading documents, please see the Working With Documents tutorial in the Sitebuilder Guide.