Select Groups from the Community dropdown menu.
Manage Groups
The Manage Groups tab allows you to see all of the Auto-Created and User/Member-created Groups created for your community. Click the column title to sort by that value.
Search/Filter
Use the Group Name text box to search for a group. Or check/uncheck the boxes to show/hide the types of groups you want to display. Be sure to click Apply Filters to see the search results.
Reset Filters will display all the groups again.
- Name - Name of the Group. Clicking on the Name will take you to the Group homepage.
- Privacy Type - The type of privacy that was selected for the group.
- Open - Anyone can join and invite others to join. Anyone can see the group information and content.
- Closed - Administrative approval is required for new members to join. Anyone can see the group description, but only members can see the other content. Group owners will get a notification email if someone requests to join the group.
- Secret - The group will not appear in search results or in the profiles of its members. Membership is by invitation only, and only members can see the group information and content.
- Type - Type of Group: either Auto-created or Member-created. (See below for more information.)
- Field/Query - The Field/Query used to create the group.
- Field Value - The data in the Field which creates individual groups. For example, each value in a dropdown list will create a separate group.
- Members - The number of members in the group.
- Last Activity - The date the last change or update was made to the group.
- Date Created - The date the group was created.
Edit Group Information
- Click the pencil icon (
).
- Edit Name, Description, Photo, Tags and Privacy Type as needed.
- Click Finish to save changes.
Delete Group
- Click the red button (
).
- Click OK in the confirmation box to delete the group.
NOTE: Auto-created groups will not have a red delete button. You will not be able to delete them until you delete the Auto-create field for the group on the Create Groups tab. After you delete the field, a red delete button will be available to delete the group.
Import Members into Groups
Groups that are User-created or Admin-created (Assigned) can have members imported into them.
- Click Import Members.
- Enter each Constituent ID on a separate line to add members to the Group. Click Next.
- Select the Group you want to import members into. Click Next.
- Preview the list of members who will be imported into the group. Click Import.
Auto-created Groups
These Groups can only be created by Admins – Super Admins and Groups Admins. Auto-created Groups are built around the member data fields set in the client system as Auto-create fields. These Auto-create fields can be used to build two different types of Auto-created Groups:
- Assigned – The user is automatically joined to the Group. Assigned Groups are automatically displayed in the members’ My Groups listing in new systems for Home Page Module, Profile Page and Email Marketing. There is an additional admin configuration option for whether members Groups based on a specific Auto-create field are able to opt-out of those Groups.
- Opt-in – The user must choose to opt into the Group - the system will suggest the Group to the member. These Auto-join/Opt-in Groups are displayed to users via the Suggested Group systems for a Home Page Module, Profile Page listing and an Email Marketing module. Whenever an Auto-create Opt-in field is created, the system creates a group for every possible value in that field and suggests those groups to members with corresponding values. While Auto-join Groups automatically contain members, the Auto-create / Opt-in Group will start out with zero members until members choose to join. Any community members can join these Auto-create / Opt-in Groups - not just those that have the data value.
Member-created Groups
Members will be able to create their own Groups in the community, which they can then invite their friends to join, or rely on the Suggest fields and/or the Group tagging system to spread the word. If a member chooses to start a new Member-created Group, they automatically become the “Group Owner” and are granted access to the Group’s admin tools.
These Member-created Groups can be created by members in two different ways:
- Profile Page "Tag Fields" with associated "Create a Group" option.
- Standalone "Create a Group" option
There are a number of ways for these Groups to be presented to other members of the community. Both of these options utilize the Suggest Fields system to recommend specific Groups to users as Suggested Groups. In addition, members will be able to use the Group Search system to find matches with Group names, tags and Suggest Fields. There is also an “Invite Friends” capability in Groups that is another means for them to drive viral growth of the Group.
There is no approval system or admin notification process for Member-created Groups. Online Community Super Admins and Groups Admins have ultimate control over the continued existence of all Groups via the Manage Groups admin tool.
Clients have the option to disable the Member-created Groups option for the entire Online Community, or for a specific Sub-community, via an option in the Manage Groups-Settings admin tool. There is no role-based option on this – it is just on or off. With this setting enabled, the client will be able to setup Auto-created Groups – either Assigned or Suggested, but members will not be able to add their own Member-created Groups.
Create Groups
From the Community menu, select Groups. Select the Create Groups tab.
Auto-Create Fields are used to "auto-create" groups for your community. Auto-created groups are groups to which members are automatically assigned based on field values in their profile. Auto-created groups can only be created by Admins.
Auto-create fields can be based upon a single or multi-select finite list type of data field that appears on a Profile form. Examples are a dropdown list, radio button, list box, multi-select box or checkbox series - field types with a finite number of options. All other field types – including text boxes, date fields, and the dual dropdown - or any field that is not on a Profile form cannot be used to auto-create groups.
Some examples of common auto-create fields/groups are class year, major, hobbies, industry, etc.
NOTE: Group membership will be updated nightly based on any changes to your database.
Edit a Field
- Click on the pencil icon (
) next to the Field you want to edit.
- Click Update.
- Make changes to the Group Display Name (how the name of the Group is displayed) in the text box. (Do not change or delete the ##Value## token, or your Group name might not display properly.)
Groups based on Data Field values
Add New Auto Group - Adds a new Auto-created group(s).
- Select field for automatically creating Groups: Select a field from the dropdown list.
- Choose how members will join the group:
- Auto-created / Opt-In: The group will appear to members as Suggested Groups, and the member must select Join Group to become a member of the group.
- Auto-created / Assigned: Members will automatically become a member of the group.
- Allow members to opt-out - Select this option to allow members to opt-out of becoming a member of this group.
3. Group Display Name(how the name of the Group is displayed): Make changes to the Name (if needed) in the text box. (Do not change the ##Value## token, or your Group name might not display properly.)
Select values to exclude
You have the option to exclude certain values, so that Groups are not created for all the options. For example, for an address field, you might exclude certain States because you don't have members in those states. (You can add values back later if needed, but exclusions can help make your list of Groups more manageable.)
1. Select the field values for which you do NOT want to create Groups.
2. Click Add to save.
NOTE: The excluded values are not updated if the name of a field value is changed. If you change the name of one of the data values, then you will need to exclude it again from the list of included values (For example, if Freind is corrected to Friend.) You must explicitly exclude any changed value.
Groups based on DataViewer queries
Add New Query-based Group
1. Click Create new Group based on a query to create your group using DataViewer. (Click here for more info.)
2. Choose how members will join the group:
- Auto-created / Opt-In: The group will appear to members as Suggested Groups, and the member must select Join Group to become a member of the group.
- Auto-created / Assigned: Members will automatically become a member of the group.
- Allow members to opt-out - Select this option to allow members to opt-out of becoming a member of this group.
- Allow members to opt-out - Select this option to allow members to opt-out of becoming a member of this group.
3. Group Display Name(how the name of the Group is displayed): Make changes to the Name (if needed) in the text box. (Do not change the ##Value## token, or your Group name might not display properly.)
NOTE: Using a saved query to create a group
If a saved query is modified, then the membership of the Query-based Group will be adjusted in the nightly process to change the membership of the Group. This will be the same as if the member changed their data to no longer meet the query – the content they had posted previously to the Group would be remain ( except for Class Notes pulled in from their Profile) but they would no longer appear in the membership directory, receive emails, etc.
If the saved query is deleted, it does not affect / remove the Group – it just removes the Query from the Saved Query list. Everything set to use that Saved Query, including EM, Exports and Groups continue to function.
Delete a Field
- Click
next to the field you want to delete.
- Click OK in the confirmation box to delete the field.
NOTE: You will not be able to delete auto-created groups on the Manage Groups tab until you delete the auto-create field for the group. After you delete the field, a red delete button will be available to delete the group.
Objectionable Content
Select Groups. Select the Objectionable Content tab. The table on this page shows content that a member has submitted/flagged as being inappropriate or objectionable.
- Group - The Group page that contained the objectionable content. Clicking on the group name will take you to the Group page.
- Type - Where the objectionable content was found (Post, Photo, Event, etc.)
- Reason - The reason for the objection. This is required information.
- Objecting Member - The name of the member who submitted the objection. Click on the member's name to view their profile.
- View - Click on the link to view the objectionable content. You can Delete the content or Ignore the objection when you are viewing it.
- Date Flagged - The date the objection was submitted.
Delete Objectionable Content
1. Click next to the content you want to delete.
2. Click OK in the confirmation box to delete it.
Allow Objectionable Content
Click the icon to ignore the objection and leave the content as it is. (The objection will be removed from the list. There is not a confirmation box.)
Community Billboard
Select Groups. Select the Community Billboard tab.
Add Content (text, images, documents, etc.) on the Groups page that will be visible to everyone who comes to the page. The content will be displayed to both admin created and member created groups.
- Enter the desired content into the Content Editor box.
- Click Save.
Settings
Select Groups. Select the Settings tab. Admins can manage settings for the Groups feature of their community.
- Allow Users to Create Groups (applies to entire community) - Check this box to allow your members to create their own groups.
• If this feature is not enabled, users will not have access to the Create a Group function. - Segregate Groups (applies to this Sub-community) – If you check this box, this Sub-community will have its own groups that will not be available for the entire community. This allows each Sub-community to have its own groups. You must be in the Sub-community to enable this feature.
• Click on the name of the Sub-community.
• From the Community menu, select Groups.
• Select the Settings tab.
• Check the Segregate Groups option to enable it. (Make sure the name of the sub-community in parentheses is correct.) - Enable the Member Map feature – Check this option to allow all Groups to display a map that automatically maps all members of the Group to a Google Map. Admins and Group Owners may also remove the map from individual groups on a Group’s home page.
Google Mapping of Group Members:
- The system automatically maps all members of the Group with known zip codes to a Google Map.
- There is no individual opt-out of the map system, but no address information is displayed other than zip code.
- A small version of the map on the main Group page displays a marking for all zip codes that contain members.
- Clicking on the map takes the user to a larger display of the Google Map that shows a relative weighting of zip codes containing the least-to-most members.
- Clicking on one of the weighted markings brings up a listing of all members of the group that have a zip code Profile data value for that code. From there members can click through to the member’s Profile Page.
- The member is displayed in the Google Map listing, whether or not they have chosen to publish their zip code.