As an AIEA member, you can view member-only content, sign up for events, and interact with other members through member directories, discussion forums, and blog posts.

 

You can also perform self-service functions such as updating your profile, paying invoices, and renewing your membership. In this guide, we'll help you get started, show you how to manage your membership, and introduce you to some of the functionality that might appear on your AIEA site.

Your AIEA site was set up on a Canadian platform called Wild Apricot using a responsive website theme, so you can view a mobile-friendly version from your smartphone or tablet.

 

Logging in

 

You have to log into your AIEA account if you want to access member-only pages on your AIEA site, or if you want to perform self-service functions such as changing your email preferences or paying an invoice.

 

New members are automatically logged in after supplying their email address when they apply for membership, register for an event, or make a donation.

If you don't remember your AIEA website address, check your email inbox for the welcome email that was sent to you when you joined. If you cannot find the email, check your spam folder.

 

Another option if you don't remember your AIEA address is to go to http://www.aiea.org.au and click the Login button in the upper right corner.

You will be asked for your email address. After you click Send login details, you'll receive an email with your site address.

 

In the log in fields, you enter your AIEA credentials – your email and password – then click the Login button. If you do not remember your password, click the Forgot password link next to the Login button. On the page that appears, you can enter your email address to receive a reset password link via email.

When you first log into AIEA, you will be required to accept AIEA's terms of use before proceeding. After you log in, a message will appear with links in the bottom right corner if you have unpaid invoices or incomplete registrations, or are lapsed, overdue, or within a week of your renewal date.

You can click any of these links to resolve the corresponding issue.

 

Changing your password

 

Passwords are automatically generated and emailed to you when join a AIEA member site, register for an event, or make a donation. Passwords can also be set manually by your AIEA site administrator.

 

You can change your password by clicking the Change password link that appears below or beside the link to your profile after you log into your AIEA site.

On the screen that appears, you enter your current password, then the new password, and the new password again for confirmation.

Password requirements

• Minimum of 7 characters
• Maximum of 50 characters
• Any combination of letters, numbers and characters (except spaces)

AIEA passwords are case sensitive.

 

Updating your profile

 

Information about you may be visible to other members or the general public on member directories, forum posts, and blog entries. You update your personal information from your member profile and control what information is visible to other members and the public.

 

Once you are logged into your AIEA account, a link will appear to your member profile. Depending on how your AIEA site was set up, the link will appear as your name or as View profile.

 

From the My profile screen that appears, click the Edit profile button to update your personal information.

After you've made your changes, click the Save button to save them.

 

Changing your privacy settings

You can control which information from your member profile will appear to the public and other members on member directories, forum posts, and blog entries, and whether your member photo albums (if enabled) are visible to other members and non-members.

 

Your AIEA site administrator can choose your initial privacy settings, and optionally, lock them so you can't change them.

To change your initial privacy settings, click the Privacy tab within your member profile then click the Edit profile button.

To change the privacy level for an item, click the circle under the appropriate column to limit access to anybody, members only, or no one.

If you uncheck the Show profile to others option, you won't appear in any member directories.

Once you are finished changing your privacy settings, click the Save button.

 

Setting your email preferences

 

From your member profile, you can choose whether you wish to receive emails from your organization, and if so, which kinds of emails you want to receive. To set your email preferences, click the Email subscriptions tab within your member profile then click the Edit profile button.

 

You can now indicate whether they consent to receive emails from your organization. If you agree to receive emails from your organization, you can then choose the type of message you want to receive.

There are three types of emails you can control:

• Event notifications – automatic event emails such as event announcements (sent to people not yet registered) and event reminders (sent to registered attendees only)
• Manual email blasts – email blasts sent by site administrators
• Forum subscriptions – if you have already subscribed to discussion forum updates

When you first join, you will have event notifications and email blasts turned on. For forum subscriptions, you can also control how frequently you receive forum update notifications.

 

After you have made your choices, click Save.

 

The email settings above do not affect other automatic emails such as membership renewal reminders and invoices/receipts. Only administrators can disable those emails.

 

Renewing your membership

 

There are two ways you can renew your membership.

 

A membership renewal notice and/or invoice will be automatically emailed to you a certain number of days before your membership renewal date. Within the renewal notice, you can click the link to log into your AIEA account.

 

Within the invoice, you can click the View invoice online link to view and pay the invoice online without logging in.

You can also renew your membership from your member profile on your AIEA site. To view your member profile, log into your AIEA site and click the link to your member profile. Depending on how your AIEA site was set up, the link will appear as your name or as View profile.

To renew your membership from your member profile, click the Renew button on your Profile page.

 

If you are limited to renewing only one period ahead or only within a certain number of days or months before the membership expires, a notice informing you of the next possible renewal date may appear in place of the Renew button.

 

After you click the Renew button, you can review and update your membership details, then click the Update and next button. Then, you click the Confirm button to confirm the renewal request. You will be taken to the Invoices and payments page where you can pay for the invoice for the renewal.

Until the payment is made, a Balance due notification will be shown on the notification bar, and a message will be displayed on your member profile:

 

Changing your membership level

 

If the security options for your membership level allows, you can switch to a different membership level by clicking the Change membership button that appears on your Profile screen.

 

Once you click the Change membership button, you can choose a new membership level then click the Next button. After reviewing your choice and updating any profile details, you click the Confirm and next button. Finally, you click the Confirm button to confirm the level change request. You will be taken to the Invoices and payments page where you can pay the membership fee.

 

The full price of the new membership term will be billed, and the next renewal date will be calculated based on new level settings and payment date. There is currently no pro-rating based on the previous membership level.

 

After the online payment is completed, your membership record will be updated with a new membership level and renewal date. Until the payment is received, notice about the level change is shown on the your profile, along with the option to view and pay the invoice.

 

Registering for events

 

The events that you can register to attend appear on the events page. Using the event calendar, you can view event details and register for events. https://aiea.org.au/Events

 

Viewing invoices and making payments

 

If you have any unpaid invoices, a message will appear after you log into your AIEA site in the bottom right corner.

 

To view or pay the outstanding invoice, click the link. You will be taken to the Invoices and payment tab on your member profile, where you can view and pay invoices, and view past payments. You can also access this screen by displaying your member profile then clicking the Invoices and payments link.

Invoices with open balances (unpaid or partially paid) will be shown at the top of the screen. To pay one or more outstanding invoices, click the checkbox beside the invoice(s) you want to pay, then click the Pay online button. If you have credits on your account, they will appear as payments that you can also select to apply against your outstanding invoices.

 

Once you click the Pay online button, you will be taken to an online payment screen where you can enter your credit card details.

 

You may also receive invoices via email. If you click the View invoice online link within the emailed invoice, you can view and pay the invoice online without logging in.

 

Using discussion forums

 

When you visit a discussion forum page, the options available to you may depend on whether you are a member, and if so, on your membership level.

 

Creating a forum topic

 

If you are authorized to create forum topics, a Create topic button will appear above and below the topic list. After clicking this button, you can enter the subject and the body of the new topic. You can use the options appearing on the content editor toolbar to format the body text, and add links and tables. Once you are done composing the topic, click Create. The topic will now appear on the main forum page.

 

Normally, the topics you post will identify you using your first and last name. If member pictures are enabled, your picture will be displayed unless the picture field is restricted under your privacy settings. If you chose to hide your entire profile from others in your privacy settings – or if you are not a member – the topic will identify you as Anonymous. If you restricted access to both your first name and last name in your privacy settings, you will be identified as Anonymous member.

Replying and commenting on forum topics

To reply to a topic, display the topic then click the Reply button. After clicking this button, you can enter the body of your reply. You can use the content editor to format the text and add pictures, document, or links. Once you are done composing your reply, click Post.

 

To comment on a particular reply within a topic, click the Quote link above the reply. This will include in your message the text of the reply that you are commenting on. Once you are done composing your comment, click Post.

 

To change the order in which topic replies are displayed, click the Show latest replies link or the Show oldest replies link. You can set the order differently for different topics, and your choices will be remembered between visits.

Subscribing to forums

You can subscribe to a forum, or to individual topics within the forum, so that you receive email notifications of updates. After receiving the notification, you can visit the forum to view the new topics or replies.

 

To subscribe to the entire forum, visit the forum page and click the Subscribe to forum link above the topic list.

 

Once subscribed, you will receive email notifications of updates to any of the topics in the forum, with links to the new or updated topics.

 

To unsubscribe to a forum, click the Subscribed (Unsubscribe) link that appears in place of the Subscribe to forum link, or clicks the Unsubscribe link in the email.

To subscribe to just one topic in a forum, display the topic then click the Subscribe to topic link above the topic messages.

 

You will receive email notifications of replies or updates to this forum topic alone, with the full text of the reply or update.

 

To unsubscribe to a forum topic, click the Subscribed (Unsubscribe) link that appears in place of the Subscribe to topic link, or clicks the Unsubscribe link in the email.

By default, email notifications of forum updates are sent on a daily basis. You can change the frequency of the email notifications from daily to weekly or immediately. Daily forum notifications contain a summary of the previous day's updates. Weekly forum notifications are sent on Sunday night/Monday morning, and contain a summary of the previous week's updates.

 

Managing forum subscriptions

 

To change your forum subscription settings, go to the Email subscriptions page within your member profile and click the Edit profile button.

 

In the Forum subscriptions section, you can unsubscribe from forums and topics and change the frequency of forum update notifications.

 

To unsubscribe to a forum or forum topic, uncheck the checkbox beside the forum or topic name. To change the frequency of the update notifications, click the dropdown and choose one of the following options:

 

Option	Description
Daily	A summary of forum updates for each day is sent the following day.
Weekly	A summary of forum updates for each week is sent on Sunday night/Monday morning.
Immediately	Notifications are sent immediately after an update is made (though the actual delivery could be delayed a few minutes or longer depending on the email server load).

Once you are finished making changes, click the Save button.

Using blogs

A blog displays a list of blog postings, with a short excerpt or abstract from each post. To view a complete blog posting, you click either the topic title or the Read more link below the abstract.

 

The options available to you on blogs may depend on your membership level.

 

Adding posts

 

If you are authorized to add a blog post, an Add post button will appear above the topic list.

 

After clicking this button, you can enter the subject and the body of the new topic. You can use the options appearing on the content editor toolbar to format the body text, and add links and tables.

 

You can also set the posting time and date. This does not affect when the post appears on the blog – it will appear as soon as you click the Post button – but only the time and date that appears below the post title.

 

Once you are done composing the topic, click Post. The post will now appear on the main blog page.

 

Normally, the topics you post will identify you using your first and last name. If you chose to hide your profile from others in your privacy settings – or if you are not a member – your posts will identify you as Anonymous. If you restricted access to both your first name and last name in your privacy settings, you will be identified as Anonymous member.

 

Commenting on a post

 

To comment on a blog post, display the topic then click the Add comment button. After clicking this button, you can enter your comment. You can use the options appearing on the content editor toolbar to format the text and add pictures, document, or links. Once you are done composing your comment, click

Post.

 

To reply to a particular comment, click the Reply link below the comment. Once you are done composing your reply, click Post. Your reply will appear below the comment.

 

To copy a link to a comment or reply – so you can share it or link to it from another page – right click over Link and copy the address to your clipboard.

 

Modifying and deleting posts

 

After you've added a post, you can modify or delete it.

 

To modify a post, click the Edit link below the topic in the blog post list.

 

To delete a blog post, including all comments and replies, click the Delete link below the topic. You can only modify or delete your own posts.

 

Deleting comments and replies

 

After you've commented on a post, or replied to a comment, you can delete your comment or reply.

 

To delete a comment or reply, display the comments then click the Delete link.

You can only delete your own comments or replies.

 

Subscribing to a blog

 

You can subscribe to a blog and automatically receive updates in your RSS reader (e.g. Google Reader) by clicking the RSS icon that appears beside the page title.

 

If you're using Google Chrome, you may need to add a RSS subscription extension to your browser. If the blog appears on a member-only page, the RSS feed will not be accessible to your RSS reader.

 

Member photo albums

 

You can add photos to a photo album on your member profile.

 

Members photo albums are different from the photo album pages that can appear on a AIEA site.

 

You can create multiple photo albums and upload photos to your albums. You can add descriptions to their albums and captions to your photos. You can also control whether other members and non-members can view your albums.

 

Your photo albums appear on the Member photo albums page within your member profile.

 

Depending on your privacy settings, your albums may also appear on your public profile which visitors can access by clicking your name within a member directory.

 

Viewing member photo albums

 

To view a photo album, you click the album name or cover. Thumbnails will be displayed for each photo in the album. If there are more than 60 photos in the album, links will appear at the top-right and bottom-right of the page to allow you to scroll through the album pages.

 

To view a larger version of a photo, click the thumbnail within the photo album page. On the individual photo page, the photo will be displayed as close to full size as can fit on the page.

 

Managing member photo albums

 

From the Member photo albums page on your member profile, you can add and delete photo albums, and change the name and description of each album.

To add a photo album to your profile, click the Create album button, if you don't have any albums yet, or the Add album button if you do.

 

On the dialog that appears, enter a title and description for the album then click Submit.

 

With the album now created, you can change the title and description by clicking the Edit details button or delete the album by clicking the Delete album button.

 

Adding photos to member photo albums

 

To add a photo to one of your member photo albums, open the album then click the Upload photos button.

On the dialog that appears, you can select up to 5 images to be uploaded at a time.

 

You can select photos saved using the following file formats: .jpg, .gif, .png and .tif. The maximum file size of each photo will depend on your AIEA site's billing plan.

 

After selecting the files to be uploaded, click the Upload button.

 

Managing member album photos

 

After adding photos to a photo album, you can set a photo as the album cover, assign a caption to the photo, or delete photos.

To set a photo as the album cover – so that the photo is used as the thumbnail for the album – hover over the photo within the album then click the Set as cover link.

The photo will now appear as the first photo within the album, and as the album cover on the

 

Member photo albums page.

 

To assign a caption to a photo, click the photo within the photo album, then click the Add caption link that appears below the photo. In the field that appears, enter the caption then click Save.

 

The caption will appear below the photo thumbnail within the album and on the individual photo page.

To delete a photo, hover over its thumbnail within the photo album page then click the Delete link that appears.

You can also delete a photo from the individual photo page by clicking the Delete photo button that appears in the upper right corner.

 

Photo album pages

 

Your AIEA site may include a photo album page, displaying a gallery of photos.

 

Public photo albums are different from member photo albums which appear on members' individual profiles.

Depending on the photo album settings, you may be able to add photos to the album, or just view the existing photos.

Each photo album shows thumbnails of photos. Photos are displayed in the order in which they were uploaded. If you are logged in as a member, you have the option to show all photos or only photos that you have uploaded.

 

Adding photos

 

If you have permission to upload photos, an Upload button will appear. Clicking this button will display a dialog where you can select up to 5 images to be uploaded at a time.

 

You can select photos saved using the following file formats: .jpg, .gif, .png and .tif. The maximum file size of each photo will depend on your site's billing plan. After selecting the files to be uploaded, click the Upload button.

 

After adding a photo, you can add a caption to the image or delete the image.

 

Adding captions

 

To add a caption, click on the image within the album and then click the Add caption link that appears below the photo on the individual photo page.

After you enter a caption and click on Save, the caption will appear below the photo thumbnail and on the individual photo page.

 

Deleting photos

 

You can only delete the photos you have added yourself to the photo album. To delete a photo, hover over its thumbnail within the photo album then click the Delete link that appears.

 

You can also delete a photo from the individual photo page by clicking the Delete photo button that appears in the upper right corner.

 

Viewing photos

 

Using the links that appear at the top-right and bottom-right of the album, you can use to scroll through the album pages.

To view a larger version of a photo, click the thumbnail within the photo album. On the individual photo page, the photo will be displayed as close to full size as can fit on the page. Above the image, you will see the date the image was uploaded, as well as the name of the member who uploaded it (depending on the member's privacy settings).

 

To view the full version of the photo in a separate browser tab, click the photo within the photo page. To scroll through other images in the album, click the Previous or Next links.

 

Making a donation

 

So that visitors and members can make financial contributions to your organization, your site may include an online donation form.

If you are already logged into your AIEA account, the form will not display contact fields, only donation fields. If you are not logged in, the form will display both contact fields and donation fields.

 

To make an online donation, fill out the required fields on the donation form and click the Pay button.

 

Once your payment processor confirms the successful processing of the payment transaction, a confirmation email and a payment receipt will be emailed to you.

 

Using a subscription form

 

Your AIEA site may include an email subscription form that you can use to sign up to receive newsletters, updates, or other email blasts.

 

Signing up for email subscriptions is separate and distinct from the process of subscribing or unsubscribing to automatic emails.

 

If you are already logged in to your AIEA site, the contact fields will be filled in automatically, so all you have to do to subscribe is click the Subscribe button. If you are not already logged in, complete the subscription form fields and click the Subscribe button.

You can manage your subscriptions from the Email subscriptions tab on your member profile.

 

Using a member directory

 

If there's a member directory on your AIEA site, you can use it to see a list of other members, search for members, and view their profiles.

Clicking on a member listing within the directory will display that member's profile (subject to their privacy settings).

 

Depending on how the member directory was set up, you can filter the directory by clicking on a particular field value.

 

You can search for members by entering a search string in the Search field, or you can click the Advanced search link to search using a combination of different search criteria.

 

On some sites, the advanced search fields may appear on the member directory rather than as a separate page.

 

From the Privacy tab on your member profile, you can control whether your profile is viewable by others, and if so, which fields are viewable by members and non-members. If you set your profile to private – by unchecking the Show profile to others option in your profile – you won't appear in the member directory at all.