Groups offer a free and powerful set of collaboration and information sharing tools. With Groups you can:

• communicate via discussion and announcement lists
• share important files
• schedule events on a group calendar
• share maps and charts you have created from your own uploaded data
• share custom geographies created in DataPlace

You can join existing groups on topics of interest, or you can start new groups. Groups can either be public or private, so you can start an open discussion group about affordable housing development in your state or city, for example, or you create a private working group for a specific project.

On the Groups page you will see a short list of the most recent and most popular groups. If you do not see a group of interest here, type a keyword into the Find a Group search box for a subject that interest you. For example, enter 'homeless' to find groups with that word in their title or group description.

To join a group, you must first register with DataPlace. Once you have created your profile, go to the Groups home page. You will see lists of recent and popular groups. You can also search for groups by keywords. When you find a group you wish to join, simply click on its name and you will be brought to that group's page. At the upper right, you will see the link . On the next page, you may send a message to the group's publisher(s), requesting membership. You'll then be redirected back to the groups' page where you'll see "Membership request pending" in the upper right. You will receive an email when your request is approved.

Setting email preferences:
Once you have joined a group, be sure to set your email preferences. You can choose whether-and how often-you receive group postings via email. Click on the Preferences link at the top of the Groups page of which you are a member. You have four options: you can choose to receive no postings via email, you can receive all posts via email, or you can have group postings bundled and sent to you as either a daily or weekly digest.

When you first join, you are automatically set to receive Daily Digests of group emails.

When you join a group you will be assigned one of four different access levels - Reader, Contributor, Editor and Publisher. These levels give a group creator control over the kind of group he or she wants to create. Group members may have different access levels for different types of content on the site. For example, you may have editor status for creating and approving discussions posts, and have Reader or Contributor status for calendar events or datasets. Group owners or Publishers can set a user access levels via the "Manage Members" link; this link is only visible to group owners and Publishers.

Here's a quick rundown of each user level:

Readers: This access level allows you to read all of the postings in a group, but not to make comments or post information. With public groups, everyone is a Reader, by default, until joining a group. To post messages to a public group, you must join.

Contributors: This access type allows you to read and post comments and files to a group. As a contributor, your posts are sent to a queue and are only visible to the group after the posts have been cleared by a group Editor or Publisher. In most cases when you join a group, you become a Contributor, and can post messages, datasets, calendar items, etc.

Editors: Along with being able to read and contribute to a group, as an Editor you can clear or approve content that is posted by Contributors. Editors can be assigned to certain group content types - such as calendar events, datasets, file library, or discussions --or may oversee all features. Some groups may wish to make everyone an editor, with all member posts showing up immediately; this is your choice to make when you create a new group. Other groups - for example an "Experts Forum" on a particular topic, may prefer to select a handful of experts to serve as Editors.

Publishers: As a publisher you have the additional abilities to assign access levels to group members, to delete discussion topics, and to send email announcements to all group members. Each group may have as many publishers as a group creator chooses.

Groups are integrated across KnowledgePlex, DataPlace, and affiliate sites. This means that you can access your groups from either KnowledgePlex or DataPlace. If you join a group on DataPlace, you can also view that group from KnowledgePlex - and vice-versa. Moreover, groups that are public can be browsed from either site.

To navigate between a particular discussion thread and a list of all discussion topics, use the navigation links near the top left of the Groups window. Clicking on "Discussions" will bring you to a list of all discussions, and clicking on the group name will bring you to the home page for that group.

You can post items to the group either via email, or on the group's website.

To start a new discussion topic, you can either:

• Click the Start a Topic link, to the right of the group's home page, and begin a discussion on a new topic. Your post will appear among the listed discussions.
• Or, send an email to the group email address. Your message will be posted to the group website under a new topic using your subject line as the topic title.

To reply to a discussion:

• Respond to a post on the web site by selecting the post, clicking on "Post a Reply," and entering your comments.
• Or, post a reply via email. If you choose to receive individual posts to the group via email, you can post replies by simply replying to the email. Your reply will appear on the group website located under the same topic heading of the original post.

Along with discussions and email, Groups tools make it easy to share and access four other types of resources. All users with appropriate membership status can view and post to these resources.

• Calendar Events - Your group can schedule and keep track of pertinent events - conferences, meetings, online chats, and so on, by posting them to the calendar. To add an event, just click the Add Event button under the calendar, and enter event information. When you're finished, click OK and the event will appear on the calendar, or - if you have Reader status - will be sent to a queue for approval by a group editor.
• Datasets - Group members can share datasets, indicators, and maps they have created using DataPlace's powerful data uploading tools. Map and chart your own Excel spreadsheet data, and share your work with other group members. To get started uploading your own data, visit your "My DataPlace" page - free to all DataPlace users who are registered and logged in.
  
  To share your uploaded datasets, go to My DataPlace, click on the dataset you would like to share, click on "Publishing Properties," and scroll down to see a list of groups for which you are a member and have member access to post datasets (group Readers, for example, will not see their groups listed here). Click on the checkbox next to the name of each group with which you would like to share the dataset, click OK, and your dataset will appear on the Group(s) dataset list within minutes. For more on datasets, see our Dataset Quick Guide.
• File Library - Group members can post and share files via the File Library. Documents and images posted to a library can be downloaded for use by all members of a group. Files can be sorted into folders, allowing you to create separate folders for different file types or projects.
• Custom Geographies - Group members can share custom geographies they have created using the DataPlace custom geography tool. This feature is especially useful for groups interested in particular places or regions. A group devoted to Chesapeake Bay environmental issues, for example, could share custom geographies for Bay tributaries or for the entire watershed region.
  
  To share geographies you have created, go to My DataPlace, and click on the geography you would like to share. Next, click on "Publishing Properties," and scroll down to see a list of groups for which you are a member and have member access (group Readers, for example, will not see their groups listed here). Click on the checkbox next to the name of each group with which you would like to share the custom geography, click OK, and your geography will appear on the Group(s) Custom Geographies list within minutes. For more on Custom Geographies, see our Quick Guide.

If you don't see a group covering a specific topic in which you're interested, you can create one by clicking Start a Group Now on the Groups home page. You will be asked to provide information about the group -- its name, a group email address and description - and can invite people to join by entering their email addresses in the appropriate box. You may also set the group's public or private status.

You can customize the message included in the group's email invitation by entering text in the optional 'Enter an Invitation Message' box.

The name you choose for the group email address will also form part of the group's address on the Web. For example, if you if you chose 'smartgrowth' for the email address, your group can be found on the web at: http://www.dataplace.org/groups/smartgrowth.html The basic format for each group's web address is: http://www.dataplace.org/groups/groupname.html

When you have finished entering the information, click "Create Group" at the bottom of the screen, or you can choose to cancel. You can go back and change the group description and invitation message later, at any time, via the group's Setup page. After you have created the group, you can customize the Group membership settings, and upload a group image or icon, by clicking the Setup link at the top left of your group window.

Uploading a Group Image On the group Setup page, you can upload an image or icon that will show up on your group's pages. Just click on the Browse button, and browse through your computer files to find your preferred image. The file will be uploaded from your computer, and posted as a group banner image, after you click on the Save button in the lower right of the Setup screen.

Inviting New Members
Click on Invite on the top of the group window. You have two options when inviting new members. You can send an email invitation, which gives individuals the option to accept or decline. Or you can simply enter the email address of the person or persons you would like to make members, and click the 'Add users to the group without invitation' checkbox. If you do the latter, no email notice will be sent to the email addresses you have entered, but the group you have created will appear among that user's list of group memberships when they visit the Groups homepage.

For each invitation that has received no response after seven days, a single reminder message will automatically be sent out by the Groups invitation system.

Approving Membership Requests
If you are a group publisher, you will see a note near the top of your group screen notifying you if any membership requests are pending approval. To approve the membership request, click on the link, and approve or deny the request on the following screen.

Sending a Group Email
Group Publishers have the option of sending email announcements to all group members-even to members who have set their email preferences to not receive group discussion posts via email. If you started the group, or have Publisher status, you will see a 'Send Group Email' link in the upper right corner of the screen. A checkbox to the lower left of the screen gives you the option to post your message to the website-thereby creating a new discussion topic-, or to send the email without also having the message posted to the Discussion lists. Either way, replies to group emails sent this way go to the individual sender, and not to the group discussion list.

Please note that all group members receive these messages, even if they have set their preferences to not receive group posts via email. This gives the group publishers a way to communicate quickly with members and to make important announcements.

Approving Content
When a Contributor posts an item to a group, all members of the group with editor or publisher status will see a link near the top of the group page stating that there are items awaiting approval. Click on the link, or click on the Approve Content link in the top toolbar, to review messages that await approval. To approve an item, click on the checkbox next to the item and click the Approve button.

Setting Membership Defaults
Group members are assigned one of four different access levels: reader, contributor, editor, or publisher - as described above. Publishers can set the default access settings for all new group members by going to the group's Setup page and adjusting the settings shown at the bottom of the page. Access levels can be different for each content type, so, for example, you can make all new members Editors for discussions and Readers for calendar, datasets, files, and custom geographies. Changing the default settings in this way will not affect the settings of users who have already joined the group; it will only apply to members who have yet to be invited.

Managing Members
As a group member with Publisher status, you can change each member's access settings by clicking on the Manage Members link at the top right of your group window. To change a member's access settings, click on the checkbox next to the member's name, and then choose the access levels you would like to assign using the dropdown boxes atop the membership list box.

So which settings should you use when you create a group? Here are some options:

• Open Forum: If you want your group to be an open forum, with all members able to view and post notes, you can designate all members as Editors.
• Experts' Forum: If you would like a select number of experts to weigh in on a topic - perhaps giving advice on best practices in a particular topic area - you can designate those expert members as Editors or Publishers, with other members as Contributors.
• Project Workgroup: If you are collaborating on a project and want to set up a shared workspace, you can make your group private, and designate each group member as an Editor or Publisher. If you want others to be able to read your posts and view your maps, but not comment or contribute, you can make the group public, with all non-project group members set to "Reader" access level.
• Blogs: If you want to use the Groups tools as a personal blog covering your area of expertise, you can make your group public, with yourself as Publisher and with all other group members as "Contributors." This gives you the option of receiving and filtering feedback and comments from readers.
• Large Organization Co-laboratory: Group tools are flexible and powerful enough for use by large organizations. You can establish a Private group, and designate one person as Publisher to handle calendar events, another person as Editor for discussion area posts, and someone else as Editor of File Library or Dataset submissions.

  If you don't see a group that fits your interests and needs, feel free to create a new one.

  For More Help with Groups:
  If you have questions about Groups features that are not answered here, try posting your questions to Groups FAQs and Figures. For further help, or if you would like to give feedback about problems you encounter or about features you would like to see added to Groups, please let us know via the Feedback link found at the bottom of KnowledgePlex and DataPlace pages.