Frequently Asked Questions
Group Administrators
Here are some questions from Directra admins. In additon to this FAQ we reommend that you also spend just a few minutes and review the Admin Guide.
Setting up an Group
- I'll bet I can figure this out pretty easily, but do you have any kind of setup guide?
- Will Directra work "out of the box" or do I need to do some configuration?
- I don't expect to use the web site much. I just want to set Directra up for communicating with Group members. How do I do this?
- How do I show and use family relationships in Directra?
Privacy
- How do I set up my Group so public info is public and private info is private?
- I want to share info (e.g. a photo) with someone who is not a member. How do I do this?
Home Page Layout
- How do I change the default homepage layout provided by Directra?
- There are too many discussions on my home page. What can I do about this?
- Can I add my own tabs?
I'll bet I can figure this out pretty easily, but do you have any kind of setup guide?
Yes. Just click here.
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Will Directra work "out of the box" or do I need to do some configuration?
Directra has been designed to make it a easy to get your Group going. If you have specified the type of Group you're ceating (e.g. a baseball team, or a neighborhood watch group) then setting should already be set. However you can review part of our Admin Guide here to see if anything else is required.
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I don't expect to use the web site much. I just want to set Directra up for communicating with Group members. How do I do this?
This is a common request, given the breadth of Directra's communication features. Here's all that is required:
- Add members to your Group, including their contact information. Learn more ...
- Create tagged member lists. Learn more ...
- Use any of the communication features available on the Communicate tab. Learn more ...
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How do I show and use family relationships in Directra?
Use these configuration settings in the Group Settings Page.
- (Required) For all Groups, in the Group Properties section, check the box Allow Family Relationships. When this box is checked, as new members are added to the Group, Directra will use auto-assign to add members with the same last name to the same family.
- (Optional) For sports teams, in the Template section, check the box Show Parent's Names on the Roster. This is a good idea for youth sports teams in particular, since for each player entry in the roster you can quickly see the names of the player's parents.
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How do I set up my Group so public info is public and private info is private?
Directra information can be marked as Public or Members Only. The former means that this information can be viewed by anyone who comes to the Group web site. The latter means a member must log in to see the information. Public vs. members-only access is controlled in two ways.
- Feature Level: On the Group Settings Panel use the Default Access section to specify the privacy level for each feature. For example, if you check the Is Default Access Public? box for Photos, then each photo that is added can be viewed by the public.
- Object Level: You can override the feature-level setting for each new object that is created. For example, when you add a photo you can specify whether it will be Public or Members Only. Directra will use this setting and ignore the feature-level setting.
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I want to share info (e.g. a photo) with someone who is not a member. How do I do this?
At the present time you can't do this directrly, but you can do it. Open the page with the information you want to share. (For example, if you want to share a photo, go to the page where the photo is displayed.) Make sure the information is marked Public, then, from the Communicate menu select Email a Link to this Page. Copy the URL that you see and paste it into an email message using your own email program. The recipient of this message can click the URL to see the information.
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How do I change the default homepage layout provided by Directra?
From the Settings tab select Edit Group Home Page. Use the checkboxes to add or remove gadgets from each column, and within each column move each gadget up or down. Click Save and the home page will update automatically. Learn more ...
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There are too many discussion topics on my home page. What can I do about this?
From the Settings tab select Edit Group Home Page. Use Discussion Options to specify how many discussions will be displayed on the home page. This won't delete the discussions, just restrict how many appear on the home page. To view all discussions. click Discussions on the Features tab.
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Can I add my own tabs?
You can't add new tabs, but you can create custom pages and access them through the Pages tab or through a custom gadget. Learn more ...
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