Groups
Set-up & Maintenance
About this Guide
Thanks for choosing a Group on XING!
Here are a some basic steps to get your Group up and running.
The first part of this guide will explain everything you need to do before you start your Group: from basic settings to editing your membership page and making changes to your Group layout.
The second part of this guide will provide you with an insight into the active management of the members of your Group. It shows you how to add and delete members, how to write member newsletters, invite members to events and more.
We wish you every success in setting up your Group and in your active networking! Your Community Relations Team
P.S.: If you still have questions or concerns after reading this guide, we would appreciate hearing from you.
Part 1: Getting Started
Roles... 05
The “Settings” Menu... 07
Change basic settings... 08
Create a text for the start page ... 10
Setting up a Welcome Message ... 11
Editing the Layout ... 12
Setting up the “About this group” Page... 16
Adding an RSS Feed... 17
Editing the Access Page ... 18
Creating a new forum section heading... 19
Creating a New Forum... 20
Editing a Forum ... 21
Moving Articles ... 22
Part 2: Administration
The “Administration” Menu ... 24
Invitations to Your Group ... 24
Managing Your Members... 25
Member Tagging ... 26
Creating a Newsletter... 27
Administrate Files... 30
Creating a News Entry for the Start Page ... 31
Roles
You and members of your Group serve various roles that come with different rights and responsibilities. These include: the members of your Group, the co-moderators and the moderators, who have the most rights and responsibilities. The rights assigned to each role are detailed below.
Rights of Group Members, Co-Moderators and Moderators
• Reading, writing and commenting on Forum articles
• Searching within the Group (first name, last name, industry, business location) • Writing comments on Forum articles
• Subscribing to and cancel Group newsletters
• Inviting members to the Group via invitation link or Group-URL
• Setting up and editing subscriptions to forums (members receive an email as soon as a new article appears in this forum)
Moderators and Co-Moderators’ Additional Rights
• Editing and deleting articles
• Managing member administration (approval/rejection/access to the members list)
• Creating and editing forums/administration rights
• Creating and sending out newsletters
• Writing and editing news for the start page
• Setting up events and inviting Group members
Additional Rights for Moderators
• Editing Group layout (frame color and logos used) • Editing the start page text
• Setting up RSS imports
• Adding or removing additional languages
• Setting up and activating welcome messages for new members • Making changes to the access page and the “About this group” page • Assigning co-moderator rights
Roles
Appointing Co-moderators
Once the Group has been approved, at least one moderator will be set up by XING as a default.
This moderator is then able to appoint co-moderators to support him in setting up and further developing the Group.
The following procedure is used to add a co-moderator: • Select the menu option “Administration.” • Click the button “Member administration.”
• From the drop down menu item select “Confirmed members” to see a list of your members. • Under “Options” click on “Appoint as co-moderator.”
The “Settings” Menu
The “Settings” menu contains all of the important features you need to set up your Group quickly and to create your own distinct look. The following information shows you how to design your start page, how to set up an indi-vidual welcome message for new members, how to upload and incorporate graphics and how to edit your Group layout.
Change basic settings
Setting up a New Language
When setting up your Group you can specify in which language your Group should be available. This will be the standard language for your Group, which can only be changed by a XING employee.
To add a new Group language e.g. English, click on the button “New Language.” • Select your chosen language (English) from the drop-down menu.
• Now compose the name of your Group in the chosen language and confirm your entry by click-ing the “Save” button at the bottom of the page.
Deleting a Language
The following procedure is used for deleting a language:
• Click on the button “Delete Language.” You will find this next to the Group name entry field, if the name is in a language which is not one of your Group‘s standard languages.
• You will be prompted to delete this language. Please confirm this by clicking on “Delete”.
Options
You have the possibility of determining the basic settings of your member administration under “Settings” using the option “Change basic settings”.
These options have the following meanings:
• “Joining members must be approved by one of the moderators.”
Members cannot join your Group automatically. Membership requests first have to be checked and approved by a moderator. You should select this option if you wish to have complete con-trol over members joining your Group.
• “Moderators will be notified when new members join.”
Moderators are informed as soon as new members join the Group. We recommend this option particularly for Groups with more than one moderator or where members can join your Group automatically (i.e. where option 1 above has not been chosen).
Change basic settings
Visibility
We offer a range of different options for the visibility of your Group.
You can decide whether you want your Group to be visible and accessible to all XING Members (an open Group) or if you want your Group to be available only to a particular target group of members (a closed Group).
The following procedure is used to change the visibility of your Group: • Under “Settings” click on the button “Change basis settings”.
• Confirm your entry by clicking the “Save” button at the bottom of the page. The following options are possible:
• "Articles and comments in this group may be written by"
These options allow you to decide whether all XING Members or only your Group members can write and answer articles.
• "Articles and comments in this group may be read by"
These options allow you to decide whether only Group members (closed Groups) or all XING Members have permission to read articles. "Everybody" means that non XING Members may also read articles.
• "This group is visible for"
These options enable you to decide how the Group is shown in the groups list. We recommend that you choose the option "Everybody" so that your Group will attract as many new members as possible. Choosing this setting makes your Group visible to "non XING Members".
If you choose the option "Group Members", the Group will only be visible to previously existing Group members and you will need to invite new members of your choice to the Group. However, although the Group itself is visible, individual forum articles written by Group members will re-main hidden.
Create a text for the start page
This text appears on the start page of your Group. You can use this text to provide more detail about the content and goals of your Group. Furthermore you can integrate HTML content.
If your Group exists in more than one language please make sure that you provide a description in each of the rele-vant languages.
Please make sure that you write the description in the correct language. The designated language is shown directly over the entry field.
The following procedure is used to compose a text for the start page of a Group or to make changes to an existing text:
• On the “Settings” tab click on the button “Change settings.”
• Compose your text for the start page in the empty field. You can also insert pictures here using HTML code (for an introduction to HTML, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTML_element). How-ever, the photos will need to be uploaded before they can be added. (See Administrate Files, p. 30)
• There is an option to see a preview of your text (click on the button “Show”) or you can save your text immediately (confirm your changes by clicking on the “Save” button).
Illustration 3: Creating a Group Description
Supported HTML tags: <a>, <b>, <big>, <br/>, <center>, <cite>, <em>, <font>, <h1>, <h2>, <h3>, <h4>, <h5>, <h6>, <hr/>, <i>, <img/>, <li>, <ol>, <p>, <small>, <strong>, <table>, <td>, <th>, <tr>, <tt>, <u>, <ul>. Line breaks and web page links will automatically be recogni-zed.
Setting up a Welcome Message
Group members receive a welcome message via email once they have successfully joined a Group (open group) or a Group moderator has accepted their request to join (closed group). You can chose to add personalized welcome message to this standard email.
The following procedure is used to set up an individual welcome message:
• Under “Settings” click on the button “Create a welcome message.”
Illustration 4: Setting up a Welcome Message
• Write your welcome message in the field provided. If your Group operates in more than one language, make sure that you include a description in each language offered in the individual fields provided.
• In order for the individual welcome message to be activated, i.e. to be sent out to new mem-bers, the “Activate welcome message” option needs to be selected (check the box). You will see this option directly under the message field.
• To finish, click on the “Save” button to save your message.
If you decide not to activate the welcome message, the member will only receive a standardized mes-sage confirming their membership.
Editing the Layout
Use the “Edit layout” function to upload logos for your Group and select frame colors that match your corporate design.
There are three top logos, a Group logo and a so-called list logo as well as the option to select a background color. The list logo is displayed on your member‘s profile page and in the Group overview list.
The following procedure is used to edit a Group‘s layout: • Under the option “Edit layout.”
• Select your chosen layout, e.g. Layout 1. You can choose between one top logo, two top logos (one wider and one narrower logo) or three top logos of the same size.
• Choose the number of logos you would like to upload by clicking on the corresponding button. • In order to change from Layout 1 to Layout 2, you will need to delete the previously uploaded
top logo for Layout 1 and add a new logo.
Please use the specified size formats (shown in pixels) to prevent your graphics from being distorted. If your graphic is not available in the correct size format, you could use an external picture editing program (e.g. Paint, Adobe Photoshop etc.).
Editing the Layout
• Click on “Change” to find the option “Browse.” A Windows file selection window will then ap-pear.
• Select the top logo you want to upload and confirm your selection by clicking on “Open”. The file path will then be shown in the “logo” field.
You can also change the background color for your logo. Please note that the uploaded logo will only fill approx. 99% of the top logo banner.
To choose a color, click on “Choose color.” You can choose from the selection of Web colors.
• The “Background color” box will automatically show a character/number combination (hexadecimal code). If you already know the combination for your desired Web color, you can enter it manually in the field using a keyboard.
You should now arrange the format of your logo inside the banner.
• Select your desired alignment (left or right) by clicking on the corresponding radio button. • Please confirm your changes by clicking on the “Save” button.
Illustration 6: Editing the Top Logo
Banner and logo areas are not to be used for advertising, except for the Group itself. Using the XING logo in whole or part is not permitted.
Editing the Layout
Adding a Group and a List Logo
The following procedure is used to upload a group or list logo:
• Click on the menu option “Edit layout” under “Settings.”
• Select the option “Upload” or “Change” under “Group logo and List logo”.
• Click on “Browse.” You will see a Windows file selection window.
• Select the top logo you wish to upload and confirm your selection by clicking on “Open.” You will see a file path shown in the “logo” field.
You have the option to use a group logo for the list logo as well. The latter will then be shown in your members’ profiles. To activate this option, select the option you wish from the “Group logo and list logo” overview. The group logo will automatically be scaled down to the correct size.
To change the background and orientation, see page 13. Please confirm your changes by clicking on the “Save” button.
Deleting
Logos
The following procedure is used to delete an uploaded logo:
• Select “Edit layout” under the “Settings” menu option.
• You will see all of your logos displayed. Select the logo you want to remove and click on “Delete.”
• Please confirm your changes by clicking on the “OK” button.
Illustration 7: Page view Group logo in event invitation
Illustration 8: Editing the Group and List Logo
The logo should have a maximum of 233 x 69 pixels (group logo) and 80 x 25 pixels (list logo). Im-age files that are too large will automatically be scaled down. Animated graphics are not permitted.
Editing the Layout
Changing the XING Header and Frame Color
As a group moderator you have the option to change the size of the XING header on your group page. The XING menu will then appear as a smaller version at the top of the page. This feature allows you to place a greater empha-sis on your individual branding and present a more coordinated and user-friendly page view to your members. The following procedure is used to change the XING header:
• Select “Edit layout” under the “Settings” menu option.
• Check the box “XING header and frame color.” The XING header should be minimized as the default.
• Please confirm your changes by clicking on the “Save” button. The XING header will then appear minimized as the default for new visitors to the Group.
The following procedure is used to change the frame color of your Group to match your corporate design:
• Select the option “Choose color.” You can then choose from a selection of preset colors. Simply click on the color of your choice.
• The “Background color” box will automatically show a character/number combination (hexadecimal code). If you already know the combination for your desired Web color, you can enter it manually in the field using a keyboard.
• Please confirm your changes by clicking on the “Save” button.
Illustration 9: Changing the XING Header and Frame Color
Each XING member can set their desired XING header. This setting is automatically saved by the system for future visits. As a result, your Group header setting will be replaced by a members chosen setting.
Setting up your “About this group” page
XING gives you the option to set up a so-called “About this group” page to introduce your Group to potential mem-bers. You can use this page to provide details about your Group’s objectives and subject areas and also explain the target group(s) it is aimed at. The “About this group” page also appears when a user who is not a member of your Group clicks on your page.
The following procedure is used to set up your “About this group” page:
• Under “Settings” select the menu “Edit “About this group” page”.
• You can set up your “About this group” page in the same languages that you used to set up your start page, in, e.g. German and English. Simply click on “Edit” and enter your text (in the respec-tive language) for the page. You can also insert pictures here using HTML code (for an introduc-tion to HTML, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTML_element). However, the photos will need to be uploaded before they can be added. (See Administrate Files, p. 30)
• There is an option to see a preview of your text (click on the button “Show”) or you can save your text immediately (confirm your changes by clicking on the “Save” button).
HTML such as a>, <b>, <big>, <br/>, <center>, <cite>, <em>, <font>, <h1>, <h2>, <h3>, <h4>, <h5>, <h6>, <hr/>, <i>, <img/>, <li>, <ol>, <p>, <small>, <strong>, <table>, <td>, <th>, <tr>, <tt>, <u>, <ul> can all be used here. Line breaks and Web page links will be automatically replaced.
Adding an RSS Feed
You have the option to set up an external RSS feed in the start page of your Group.
RSS (abbreviation for Really Simple Syndication) is a technology that allows you to integrate or subscribe to Web site content — or elements of Web site content – on other Web sites.
Newly published content is then automatically loaded onto your start page at regular intervals by the RSS feed. This means that you will always have the latest information on your start page, which, as a result, adds value to your Group.
In principle you can add a RSS feed from any Web site providing this information service. One of the following symbols will normally appear in the Web address:
The following procedure is used to set up a RSS Feed for your Web site:
• Under “Settings” select the menu option “Set up RSS import.” You will then see the following page.
• Enter the URL for the RSS feed of your choice in the empty field. You will normally find this on the provider‘s Web site.
• Please confirm your changes by clicking on the “Save” button.
Please note: The moderators have sole responsibility for ensuring that hyperlinks inserted in the Group do not refer to third parties, or violate applicable legislation.
Please note that the RSS feed will only appear on your Web site after a short delay of about 15 min-utes.
Editing the Access Page
If you have set up a closed Group that requires membership approval, XING members will be asked to provide a reason why they would like to join. You can use the access page to explain to members why you would like this information. For example, universities might choose to ask potential members to state their subject or year of graduation, companies might decide to ask for the department or similar information.
The following procedure is used to set up the access page:
• Under “Settings” select the menu item “Edit access page.”
• You will then see empty entry fields for each Group language you have chosen. • Insert your personalized access page text (in each of the corresponding languages). • There is an option to see a preview. Simply click on the button “Preview.”
• Activate each text to ensure that they appear on the access page. You can do this by checking the corresponding box.
• Please confirm your changes by clicking on the “Save” button.
If you have no individual access page, i.e. if you have not entered text, a standard page will be displayed.
Add new forum section heading
You can arrange forums according to topics and designate each forum with a separate heading. This makes your forums clearer and easier to navigate for you and your Group members.
Here’s how to create a forum section heading:
• Click on the “Forums” tab on the group page.
• At the bottom of the page you’ll find two green buttons. Click on the “Add new section head-ing” button.
• Choose a name for your section and type it into the empty field.
• Select the language for the section heading. This should match the forum language, otherwise it won’t be displayed in the forum overview page.
• Finally, decide where the section header should be placed (i.e., where it will appear in the list of forums). The default value is at the end, after all forums.
• Click on “Save” to confirm your changes.
• To change a section header, go to the “Forums” overview page and click on the pencil next to the heading you wish to change.
Illustration 13: Page View “Forums”
Illustration 14: Page View “Add new section heading”
Once you‘ve created the forum section heading, you can change the position at will using the “Edit” function (pencil) in the “Forums” overview.
Creating a new Forum
You can set up forums within your Group to promote communication among members about particular topics. The following procedure is used to set up new forums:
• Select the menu tab “Forums.” You will then see a list of the existing forums.
• Click on the button “Add new forum.”
• First, give your forum a name and then write a short description of the forum’s content.
• If only you, as moderator, should have permission to post articles in this forum, select this op-tion in the check box underneath the descripop-tion. Otherwise, leave this box empty.
• If this forum should only be visible to moderators, select this option in the check box under-neath the description. Otherwise, leave this box empty.
• If the subject heading of these articles may only be changed by moderators, select this option in the check box underneath the description. Otherwise, leave this box empty.
• Please select the language for this forum and its position in the forum overview list. New forums are placed at the end of the forum overview list as standard.
• Please confirm your changes by clicking on the “Save” button.
Illustration 15: Page view: “Forums”
Illustration 16: Adding a new forum
You can also decide here, whether members can write new articles in this forum or only respond to ex-isting articles. This is particularly important if you want to have an active influence over the flow of discussion.
Editing a Forum
Forum settings can also be changed by the moderator once they have been set up. This includes: the forum name, the description and its position in the forum overview.
The following procedure is used to edit a forum:
• Click on the “Edit” button which you will see directly next to the forum.
• Make the changes you desire and confirm them by clicking on the “Save” button.
Deleting a Forum
The following procedure is used to delete a forum:
• Select the forum and click on the “Delete” button.
• Please confirm your changes by clicking on the “OK” button.
Editing and Deleting Articles
As a moderator, you have the option to edit or delete articles written by your members. You only use this option if one of your members:
• is breaking the law
• is going against netiquette, i.e. the “appropriate tone” or
• writing articles containing statements that violate XING’s General Terms and Conditions. The following procedure is used to edit or delete an article:
• Select the article.
• Underneath the article you will see the following buttons
• Click on the corresponding button.
• Make your changes and confirm these by clicking the “Post” button. • The article will now appear in its edited form with the notice
• To delete the article completely, simply click on the “Delete” button underneath the correspond-ing article. This will then be irreversibly deleted from the forum.
Illustration 17: Editing a Forum
You should only use this option as the last measure! If there is a conflict within the Group, you should first contact the member concerned and try to resolve the problem. If you have questions or need any help, please do not hesitate to contact the XING support team.
Moving Articles
If you want to move an article to another forum, where it fits the subject better, you will need to carry out the fol-lowing steps:
• Open the article you would like to move with a double click. • Go to “Edit.”
• You will see the option “Move thread to a different forum.” Click on the arrow and choose the forum you wish to move the thread to.
• Please confirm your changes by clicking “Post.”
Illustration 18: Article
Please note, it is not possible to move individual articles, only the whole thread can be moved. You should therefore open the first article in the thread.
The “Administration” Menu
The “Administration” menu provides you, as the Group moderator, with all the functions you need to make your role easier. This guide will now give you an overview of how to manage the members of your Group , how to create a newsletter and how to write news for the start page.
Illustration 19: The “Administration” Menu
Invitations to Your Group
Under the menu option “Administration” you will find an invitation link in the upper area. You can include this, for example, in an email inviting new members to your Group.
Illustration 20: Group invitation link
By clicking on your invitation link a person is automatically taken to your Group “About this group” page. They will then have the opportunity to register to join your Group.
Managing Your Members
Depending on whether or not membership to your group requires approval, you will need to deal with the requests from XING members to join your group on a regular basis.
You will see the request to join your Group on the start page in the right-hand frame.
In order to edit these requests, simply click on the link “XXX members have requested to join this group.”
You will then see an overview of the members wanting to join your Group.
As moderator, you can decide whether the member should be able to join your Group or not, depending on the rea-sons they have provided.
• To accept a member, click on “Confirm membership.”
• To decline membership, perhaps because the member has not provided a reason or if they do not fit your Group’s target group, please click on the “Decline membership” button.
Under the menu option “Administration - Member administration“ you can view the list of members who want to join your Group. You can also see the reasons for wanting to join your Group in the overview list.
There is also an option to display a list of people who were denied membership to your group. Click on the arrow in the drop-down menu and select the option “Denied people.”
Please note, you can also provide a reason for declining membership. If you do not provide a reason the member will be sent a standard answer. It is possible to reverse the decision and accept the membership.
If you want to reverse a declination, i.e. accept their membership request, simply click in the list of “Denied peo-ple” under the options “Confirm membership.” You always have the option to reverse your decision.
Member Tagging
You can tag the members of your groups to identify them. This works much in the same way as with your address book. The only difference is that these tags only apply within the Group, and not on the rest of the platform.
Here’s how to assign tags:
• Go to the “Administration” tab and then select “Member administration” to display all catego-ries of members: Members to confirm, Confirmed members, Denied people, etc.
• To the right of each member you’ll find the box “Enter tags“. Here you can enter keywords of your choice, such as “Law Faculty” or “Department XY”.
• When you’re finished, click on “Save”.
Creating a Newsletter
• Under “Administration” select “Create newsletter.”
• Choose a subject heading, e.g. Alumni Newsletter #01, 2007 and enter your newsletter text. • You can then select the group of recipients for the newsletter on the right-hand side. Under
“Filter recipients by tags” you can enter the respective tag and confirm your selection by click-ing “Filter”. The number of members with this tag will then be displayed.
• Click on “Preview.”
• Click “Send”, or “Back” if you want to change something.
The “Create newsletter” function is a way to inform your members about new events or other features in your Group. Creating and sending a newsletter to the members of your Group is simple. Old newsletters are automati-cally archived in a newsletter forum, where they can be viewed, edited or commented upon.
The following procedure is used to create a newsletter:
Illustration 21: Page view: “Create newsletter”
You can now use the member tag-ging feature already available to send information to certain spe-cific groups of group members only, e.g. only those members who live in a particular town or city.
You can also combine several tags at once. A new tag can be added after each filter (max. 10). News-letters will be sent out just once to members, even if there is a crossover between different target groups.
Formatting Newsletters using HTML
Newsletter Template
You may format the newsletter text using HTML tags. The following HTML tags are available:
<a>, <b>, <big>, <br />, <center>, <em>, <font>, <h1>, <h2>, <h3>, <h4>, <h5>, <h6>, <hr>, <i>, <img>, <li>, <ol>, <p>, <small>, <strong>, <table>, <td>, <th>, <tr>, <tt>, <u>, <ul>.
You’ll find a brief overview on those and other tags at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTML_element .
What are some tips for using HTML tags?
• Create a headline with <h1> or <h2> • Insert a horizontal ruler with <hr/> • Start a new paragraph with <p> and make
sure to end it with </p> • Start a new line with <br />
• Mark characters as strong with <strong> • Mark characters as italic with <em>
• Start a list with <li> (and remember to close it with <li/>); there are two sorts of lists: or-dered <ol> and unoror-dered <ul>
And here´s what your newsletter would look like:
<h2>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet</h2> <hr/>
<p>Consectetur adipisici elit, sed eiusmod tempor incidunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.<br />
<strong>Quis aute iure reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.</strong> </p>
<p>Sed ut perspiciatis, unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium,</p>
<li>
<ol> totam rem aperiam eaque ipsa, </ol>
<ol>quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt,</ol>
</li> explicabo.<br />
<br />
<em>Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exer-citationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur?</em><br /> Et harum quidem rerum facilis est expedita distinctio.
Illustration 22: Example Newsletter
All the graphics that you have previously uploaded under “Administrate files” will be displayed as thumbnails when you create an HTML newsletter. If you want to use a graphic in a newsletter, all you need to do is click on the respective file. The corresponding code will then be automatically integrated into the newsletter.
Designing Newsletters with templates
You can create personalized newsletter designs for your Group using HTML templates. The same tags listed in the previous section can be used to set up the template. For example, to include graphics in the template, use the <img> tag. You need to upload the template files in the Group administration (See next page) first. You can then choose among the uploaded design templates when creating your newsletter.
Make sure to include the placeholder %%TEXT%% in the template. This is where the actual newsletter text will appear.
• Go to “Administration” and select the “Administrate files” tab. • Upload the template file under “Administrative documents”.
When creating your newsletter (“Create newsletter”) use the drop down menu on the right to choose among the uploaded templates.
When the newsletter is sent, the HTML template is automatically merged with the text entered on this page. And here’s what your newsletter embedded in a template would look like:
Illustration 23: Page view “Administrative documents”
Administrate Files
Illustration 25: Administrate files
You can add graphics and documents from external sources to your Group. However, you will need to upload these graphics and documents to XING first or they will not be displayed correctly.
Go to the “Administration” tab and click on the “Administrate files” button.
There are two sections in the upload area: “Your files” and “Administrative documents”.
The Administrative documents section includes newsletter templates. The documents in this section are linked to a language during the upload process. The following procedure is used to upload a document to “Administrative documents”:
• Select the language of the document from the drop-down menu. • Click on the corresponding button to upload the new file.
• Select the file you want to upload and click on the “Open” button. • The file will then be uploaded and displayed in the file overview list. • It can then be used as a newsletter template.
Your files contains all the materials used for creating the “About this group” page. The following procedure is used to upload a document/image in “Your files”:
• Click on the “Upload” button.
• Select the file you want to upload and click on the “Open” button.
• The file will then be uploaded and the following information will be displayed in the overview list: Document name, URL, File Size, Date and the trash icon for deleting the document.
Creating a News Entry for the Start Page
Here you have the option to compose an up-to-date news entry for your members, which will then be shown di-rectly on the start page of your Group and also archived in a news forum. News entries can be written in more than one language. A separate forum will automatically be set up for each language. Your members will have the opportunity to comment on news entries in the forums.
The following procedure is used to compose and post a news entry: • Under “Administration” select “Compose news entry.” • Choose a heading and enter the text for your news entry.
• Select the language that your newsletter is written in. • Click on the “Preview” button.
• Click on the “Save news entry” or “Make corrections to news entry,” if you want to change something.
Illustration 26: Page view: “Compose news entry”
Outdated news entries can be viewed, edited or commented under the menu option “Forums” ► “News.”
Creating an Event
Meetings and events for your Group can be quickly and easily arranged with the help of the XING events tool. Once an event has been arranged, your members will be automatically informed about the event by private mes-sage and can either confirm or cancel their participation in this event. As event host, you will be able to view the actual status of your guest list at any point and you can also make this information available to participants. The following procedure is used to create a closed event (only visible to members of your group):
• From the XING main menu, click on “Events.”
• Under “Private Event” (or “Public Events”) click on “New Event,” provide a name for your event and confirm your entry by clicking on the “OK” button.
• Provide a description of your event, i.e. the title, the nature of the event, etc.
• Enter the start and end date and the time of the event. The event location should also be speci-fied in the corresponding fields.
Private Events are only visible to group members and the members invited. Public events are visible to all members of the Group and all other members of XING.
Illustration 28: Entering the Start and End Date and Time Illustration 27: Page view: “Events”
Creating an Event
• Use the arrow button to select the group you want to arrange an event for (in the example be-low, we show a “Test Group”).
• You can also decide here whether an organizer should be named as the event host (for example, if external providers are being used) and whether there should be a deadline for signing up for this event. The last point is particularly useful if you want to know the exact number of partici-pants a few days before the event.
• You can determine who is able to see the guest list (only you or all invited parties) and whether you will be taking part personally in the event. It is also possible to set up an email reminder for the event.
• Please confirm your details by clicking on the “OK” button.
Creating an Event
The next window allows you to edit the list of guests to invite. Your group members will already be in the “Guest List” field.
The following procedure is used to invite additional guests or to remove people from the guest list:
• Click on the person required and click the button “+” (or press Enter). This person will then be added to your guest list.
• To remove people from the guest list, highlight the required person in the list and then click on the corresponding button.
• Please save your changes by clicking on the button “Finish.”
You can also filter your XING contacts using your own personalized tags. There is an introduction to setting up tags in the XING help section.
XING AG Gaensemarkt 43 20354 Hamburg Germany Phone +49 40 419 131 0 Fax +49 40 419 131 11 [email protected] Texts/Illustrations: XING AG
