Connections Online October 2011 Newsletter

Connections Online 4.0 Advanced
Features Webinar

Tuesday, November 1^st at 1:30 ET

This 30-minute training webinar highlights advanced functionality of Connections Online 4.0 and Q&A.
Click here to register

Connections Online 4.0 Application Training Webinar

Tuesday, November 8^th at 1:30 ET

This 60-minute training webinar dives deeper into an overall “how to use” Connections Online 4.0.
Click here to register

Past Educational Webinar Recordings  For a listing of our past Educational Webinars, use this link:
http://www.connectionsonline.net/news/events.aspx   

Training Library

Click here to link to our Training Library

Informational Webinar

If you know someone outside of your company who may be interested in learning more about Connections Online, we have an informational webinar scheduled on Thursday, October 20^th  at 1:30 ET – Please pass this link on to them to register:  https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/472612098

or to register for our webinar on Wednesday, November 9^th at 1:30 ET – Please pass this link on: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/193803274

Connections Online Migration

If you have not already done so, and are ready to migrate to 4.0, please contact Karla Norwoodat 800.395.1410. 

Jim Cardwell Interview –
CEO Succession Planning

Jim was again interviewed for Mike Lawson's CU Broadcast channel -- this time the topic was CEO Succession Planning. 

Click here to see the interview.

COL  IQ – Templates

We have just completed a Project template and it is ready for beta testing – you can enter the project tasks into the Excel template and it will sync with Connections.  We also have a Basic Role Template ready for beta testing.  This allows you to create multiple Basic Roles without having to retype them i.e. Tellers, MSRs, etc.  You can also enter employees using the Basic Role template.  Coming soon will be a Business Case template so when you have finished completing the Business Case, you can sync with Connections and it will update the project without having to retype the information into the application.

If you are interested in helping us test any of these templates, please call Karla at 800-395-1410.  The templates will work with Office 2007 or 2010.  They will not work with Office 2003.

If you have not already subscribed to COL IQ, please contact Karla Norwood at 800-395-1410 or karla.norwood@connectionsonline.net  

4.0 Tips of the Month

Pages Loading Slow in COL?
Check the "Number MS" at the bottom of your page (right next to your login name) to see how fast your page in Connections is loading.  The number displayed in Connections Online is how long it took the server to put the page together and send the response back to you. Other things that influence the page load speed are how long it takes for your request to go from your computer to the server, how long it takes the response to travel from the server to your computer, how many separate objects make up the page (graphics, style sheets, etc.), and how long it takes your computer to display the web page after it has received the response.

So, the full time is something close to: ping time + server time + (page size * download speed) + browser display time.

The number shown is representative of the server time only. We can make the page load time faster by keeping that server time low, by minimizing the number of objects returned (mostly graphics), and by making the page size as small as possible.  The biggest variable we cannot control is the speed of the client browser.

In general, the newer browsers are much faster than older ones, so keeping your browser up-to-date with the latest version is a big part of keeping it fast.

This site seems to have some good tips on speeding up a slow Internet Explorer: http://bootstrike.com/Articles/SpeedUpIE/

Forgot Your Password Feature
If you use the “forgot your password” feature but do not have your email address entered in the edit window for your individual page, the system has no way of knowing your email address.  Be sure to enter your email address in your personal information (even if your username and email address are the same).

Please Note:  Related Links on Local Servers
If your related links that are connected to your local network suddenly stop working, this could be due to updates to Windows or to Internet Explorer. All web browsers are removing or already have removed the ability to open local or network-shared files by using a web link. Internet Explorer is one of the last browsers to have supported that feature for backwards compatibility, but it will eventually drop support for links to local files altogether. So, even if you can find a way to open local files through IE by turning off some security setting now, this really should be seen as a wake-up call to move those files to a more web-friendly location.

The web-friendly options for file storage include: a local web server (possibly using SharePoint or another file management system), a local server running a shared Web Folder, or a hosted file storage solution like Dropbox, box.net, Amazon S3, Google Docs, etc. Many of the online file storage companies are former SAS70 and now SSAE 16 compliant systems and use the latest AES encryption, so they are in most cases just as secure as local file storage.

Our experience with IT departments trying to set up local web-friendly file storage has led us to highly recommend the online storage options. It *is* possible to use any of those online options with Connections Online today, but we have plans to simplify the integration in the future.

While we do not recommend local files any longer, you can still use Internet Explorer to use local file links, but you will have to lower the security settings to do so:

1. In Internet Options, open the Security tab
2. Select the Trusted Sites zone
3. Press the Sites button to open the list of trusted sites
4. If https://my.connectionsonline.net is not listed, add it here
5. Close the site list and return to the Security tab in Internet Options
6. Set the security level to Low
7. The checkbox for Enable Protected Mode should not be checked

Once this is set, Internet Explorer should open local files, at least for now.

Using Connections with Outlook

Technical requirements – you must have the latest Internet Explorer installed on your machine (IE7 or IE8 – it will not work with Firefox) and Office 2003 or 2007.  On your main Outlook view, open “Shortcuts” and “restore window down” – make the Outlook window small, open Internet Explorer and open URL http://my.connectionsonline.net  Enter your login information and check the “Remember Me” check box.  “Restore down” the IE page, click to drag the URL to the Outlook Shortcuts Group list.  Rename as appropriate.  Here is a short movie showing how this is done.  http://www.connectionsonline.net/docs/outlook.mht  (Click the “next” button below the word “steps” to view the process for adding Connections as a shortcut to Outlook).  Once this is added, you will be able to click Shortcuts in Outlook, click the Connections shortcuts, and edit Connections within Outlook.

Client Care Notes

To view previous Connections Online Newsletters, go to http://www.connectionsonline.net/News/Newsletters.aspx 

Monthly Calendar of Webinar Events Link:

Click here to see our upcoming webinars or to register for a free training webinar. 

Connections Online
24481 Detroit Road, Suite 300
Cleveland, OH 44145

(440) 892-1410 or (800) 395-1410

www.connectionsonline.net