Help/FAQs


General Contacts / Connections Communities / Discussions Library / Resources

General | Top

Q: What is my username/password?

A: Your login credentials are the same username and password that you use to log in to NDIA.org. If you have forgotten your login credentials or need assistance with your login information, please click here.

Q: How do I update my contact information?

A: On your profile page, please select the pencil icon next to "Contact Details" in the left column.

Q: How do I control what information is visible on My Profile?

A: Please navigate to your profile and then select the "My Account" tab and choose "Privacy Settings" from the drop-down menu. This page will let you control what information is visible to whom. After you’ve made changes, click the “Save Changes” button at the bottom of the page.

Contacts / Connections | Top

Q: How do I find other members?

A: Click on "Engage" > "Member Directory” within the main navigation bar. The Member Directory lets you search for other users based on:
  • First and/or last name
  • Company/institution name
  • Email address

Switch to the “Advanced Search” tab to refine your search results by:

  • City
  • State
  • Country
  • Community
  • Education

Q: How do I add contacts to my contact list?

A: There are several ways to add contacts to your contact list. When you perform a search in the Member Directory, you will see an “Add as contact” button to the right of each person in your search results. Just click this button to send a contact request. Alternatively, if you click through and view an individual’s profile, you can click the contact request link to the right of his or her profile picture to send a contact request.

Q: Why should I add contacts to my contact list?

A: Creating this virtual address book makes it easy to send your contacts messages through the community site to stay in touch, ask questions, or even build a referral network. Additionally, when you view another member’s profile, you’ll be able to see any contacts you have in common. You can also choose to let your contacts view certain demographics in your profile that others can't.

Communities / Discussions | Top

Q: What are communities?

A: Communities allow you to participate in discussions and share resources with other members. The community site is made up of a combination of private and free-to-join communities. Private communities are ones based on Division and/or Chapter membership; free-to-join communities are ones based on interest or topic area.

Q: What communities do I already belong to?

A: Go to “Communities” in the main navigation bar. Select “My Communities” to view the communities to which you currently belong.

Q: How do I join/subscribe to a community and the affiliated discussion group?

A:  Click on “Communities” in the main navigation and click on “All Communities” in order to see a list of available communities. Click on the community that you wish to join and simply click "Join." Next, choose a delivery option for posts (Real Time, Daily Digest, or No Email).

Q: How can I control the frequency and format of emails I receive?

A: Navigate to your profile and click on the "My Account" tab. Choose "Community Notifications" from the drop-down menu. On that page, there are three subscription options: Real Time, Daily Digest, and No Email.  

For each discussion, you have the following delivery options:
  • Real Time: sends an email every time a new message is posted.
  • Daily Digest: sends one email to you each day, consolidating all of the posts from the previous day.
  • No Email: allows you to be part of the group without having emails sent to you. You can still post and read others’ messages by logging into the community site.
You also have the option to consolidate your digests into a Consolidated Daily Digest or a Consolidated Weekly Digest:
  • Consolidated Daily Digest: sends a single email per day, consolidating all of the posts from all your selected communities from the previous day. 
  • Consolidated Weekly Digest: sends a single email per week, consolidating all of the posts from all your selected communities from the previous week; you can determine the specific day on which you'd like to receive this single email.
To consolidate your digests, navigate to the "Community Notifications" page of your profile. For each community you'd like to have included in this new setting, check either the "Consolidated Daily Digest" box or the "Consolidated Weekly Digest" box on the right and switch the "Discussion Email" section to "No Email."

Q: How do I leave a community or unsubscribe from a discussion?

A:  Go to your profile and click on the "My Account" tab. Choose "Community Notifications" from the drop-down menu. Here, you will see a list of available communities and those to which you’ve subscribed. Select "Leave Community” under the "Actions" column for the discussions you wish to leave.

Q: How do I respond to others’ posts?

A: To respond to a discussion post, please navigate to the discussion post and click “Reply" or "Reply to Discussion” to send your message to the entire community. To send a message to only the author of the post, please select “Reply to Sender” (located in the "Reply to Discussion" drop-down menu). We recommend replying to the sender for simple comments like “Me, too” that add little value to the overall discussion; we recommend replying to the entire community when you are sharing knowledge, experiences, or resources from which others could benefit.

Q: How do I start a new discussion thread?

A: Go to “Engage" > “Post a Message” within the main navigation bar. From an email (HTML version) for a particular discussion forum, you can use the “Post Message” link located at the top of the discussion email.

Q: I’m having trouble viewing the HTML email messages. How do I fix this?

A: If images are not appearing, it is likely that your email client is set to suppress images. This setting should be something you can change in your security or viewing options. If you would rather receive text-based emails from the community site, go to your profile page and click on the "My Account" tab. Choose "Community Notifications" from the drop-down menu. Select the “Plain Text” format option for each of the discussions to which you are subscribed.

Q: Can I search for posts across all the communities?

A: Yes. Enter a keyword in the search bar located on the right-hand side of the main navigation bar. To refine your search results, please use the filters on the left-hand side of the search results page.

Q: How do I see a listing of all of the posts within a specific community?

A: Locate the community you are interested in viewing from the appropriate communities page. Click through to the community's landing page and then click on the “Discussions” tab. If you see a post you’re interested in, click the subject line to open the entire thread. Selecting “Show Original Message” at the bottom of all of the posts in a thread will display the original message that started that discussion.

Q: What sorts of community achievements are available to earn?

A: There are many types of community achievements available to earn, all of which fall into two categories: ribbons and badges. Ribbons are displayed underneath your picture on your profile and represent "who you are"; badges are displayed within the "My Contributions" > "My Achievements" page of your profile and represent "what you do." We have ribbons for military branches, leadership roles (e.g. Division and Chapter board positions), community roles, and so on. We have badges for event attendance, Division and Chapter membership, community achievements (e.g. engagement levels, number of posts/replies, number of contacts), community anniversaries, and so on. 

QWho makes up the "Most Active Users"?

A: Every time that a user engages with or contributes to the community site, he or she earns a predetermined amount of engagement or contribution points depending on what action was taken. Based on the accumulation of those points, users move up or down in the "Most Active Users" leaderboard available for view on the community site homepage.

Libraries | Top

Q: How do I find resources that may have been uploaded by other members?

A: If you know which library the resource might be located in, find the affiliated community via the "All Communities" page. Click through to the community's landing page and then click on the “Library” tab. If you do not know where the resource might be, enter search terms in the main search box the same way you might enter search terms into an online search engine.

Q: Can I search for specific file types?

A: Yes. Enter your desired keyword in the main search box. From the search results page, click "Show Advanced Search." Then, click on “Search for Specific File Types.” This process gives you the option to specify a file type such as Document, Image, Spreadsheet, and so on.

Q: How do the libraries get populated?

A: The libraries are populated in two ways:
1.  When you include an attachment in a discussion post, the system automatically places it in the affiliated library.
2.  You can also upload documents directly to a library by using either the “Add to Library” link found under “Engage” in the main navigation bar or the "Create Entry" button on any community's library page. Library resources are not required to be associated with a discussion thread.

Q: How do I upload a file?

A: Select the “Add to Library" link found under “Engage” in the main navigation bar or click "Create Entry" on any community library page. Please note that uploading a document is accomplished by completing a few steps and that each step must be completed before you can move on to the next one:
  • Choose a title for your document and then include a description (optional). Select the library to which you’d like to upload the file and then select a folder to which you’d like to upload it (optional). Next, choose an "Entry Type" (most will be Standard Files, but be cognizant of any copyright licensed material). Once you have completed these steps, please click “Next.”
  • Upload your file.
  • Select “Next” if you want to further describe your files and/or add tags to your file. Otherwise, please click “Finish” to post your library entry.

Q: What kind of files can I upload?

A: The system supports dozens of file types, including but not limited to hyperlinks, standard files (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), webinars, images, and YouTube videos.

Q: What are the “tags” for?

A: Tags are great way to organize and categorize content on the community site. Tags can be applied to blogs, library entries, events, and glossary terms. Tagged items are prioritized in the search results.