1. NITRC USER GUIDE INTRODUCTION

1.1. Getting Started

This section describes the basic functions that allow you to access and utilize the other functions within the NITRC system.  It also walks you through the NITRC Home page.

1.2. User Functions

This section describes how different users may take advantage of NITRC for their specific purposes.

1.3. Tool/Resource Functions

This section explains the functions of the NITRC system related to any particular tool or resource.

1.4. Site-Wide Functions

This section explains the functions available to visitors and all users of the NITRC system.

2. GETTING STARTED

2.1. NITRC Users

The NITRC community is made up of researchers, developers, academics, clinicians, administrators, scholars, and others interested in finding, developing, improving, and sharing fMRI tools and resources.  Depending upon the tool or resource, site users may fill different roles as they utilize different functions.

NITRC has been developed to have roles with predefined permissions.  This allows users to easily move from acting in one role in one tool/resource (for example, acting as a team member) to another role in another tool/resource (for example, acting as a developer or reference). Below is a general definition of the roles to help you understand your options:

Unregistered user: Everyone starts out as an unregistered user. Unregistered users, or observers, may see the NITRC Home page and access NITRC Community functionality.  An observer may visit public tools and resources, read postings by others in public forums, read wikis and news, browse documentation, and download tools and resources. For public tools and resources observers may view the feature request and bug trackers to see what may be coming or what may be a problem in a tool or resource.  If you are an observer or a registered user who has not logged in and you attempt to perform any function that requires registration, you will be taken to the Login page.

Registered user: Registered users may do everything unregistered users can do.  In addition, registered users may receive e-mail about changes in tools and resources they are following, respond to surveys, rate and review public tools and resources, contribute to public discussion forums, and submit documentation to the NITRC Community that may be posted at the discretion of the NITRC Community administrator. A registered user may request to join tools and resources, and as a tool/resource member or developer, he may be given additional capabilities by the tool/resource administrator. A registered user may also register his own tool or resource with NITRC, and once approved by a NITRC administrator, become a tool/resource administrator for that tool or resource.

Member: Members are registered users who have been granted permission to join a tool or resource.  A registered user may request to join any public tool or resource by clicking the “Request to join” link on the Tool/Resource Summary page.  The tool/resource administrator reviews the request and accepts or rejects it.  The level at which the member is allowed to participate is set by the tool/resource administrator through the role the member is assigned.  A member may be able to fully participate in discussion forums, submit documents, and edit wikis. A member may be able to suggest enhancements to tools and resources and report bugs through the trackers.  A member may also be able to administer the document manager.

Reference: References are members who have elected to be a point of contact for the tool or resource and have been assigned the role of “Reference” by the tool/resource administrator. If other users have questions about a tool or resource, they may contact anyone listed as a reference for that tool or resource.

Developer: Developers are members who have chosen to help build or improve the tool or resource and have been granted permission to do so by the tool/resource administrator. Developers may download and upload code for a tool or resource, offering changes and enhancements. They may also be assigned specific tasks by the tool/resource administrator, or they may volunteer to take on tasks in the tool/resource task manager.

Tool/Resource administrator: Tool/resource administrators are decision makers for the tools and resources on the NITRC site. Using NITRC, they can manage their tools and resources more easily. They decide who may be a member or developer, which suggestions for enhancements will be accepted, which bugs will be assigned to which developers, which documents and files will be published for their tools and resources, and what news is presented for their tools and resources. They also have the ability to delegate these responsibilities, or limit them to certain users. A tool or resource may have only one tool/resource administrator or it may have many administrators. The person who first registers the tool or resource is the default administrator, and that tool/resource administrator may designate other tool/resource administrators.

2.2. NITRC Home Page

Use a supported browser to go to www.nitrc.org. Once you are using the NITRC site, you may access the NITRC Home page from other NITRC pages by clicking the “Home” menu link below the NITRC logo.

The NITRC Home page contains a lot of useful information at a glance. On this page you may read about NITRC and what it does, catch up on the latest NITRC news, or scan some interesting statistics about NITRC.  The statistics show you how many tools and resources are currently in NITRC, how many people are registered to use the site, which tools and resources are the most popular by showing the most often downloaded and the most active, and which tools and resources are new.

Latest News: This section shows the latest news with the most recent post first. News that is displayed on the Home page is selected from news posted for individual tools and resources and is approved by the NITRC News Team for publication on the Home page. The five most recent posts are shown with some descriptive information, including the author, the date of submission, the tool/resource for which the news was submitted, and the first three lines of text. To read the news article or submit comments on the article, click on the article title or on "Read More/Comment." The five previous posts are also shown with just the article title and submission date. To see older posts, click "News archive" at the bottom of this section.

Hosted Tools/Resources: This is the total number of approved public tools and resources that have registered with NITRC. This statistic does not include private tools or resources, and it does not include recently registered tools and resources that have not yet been approved.  To view all the hosted public tools and resources, click the "fMRI Tools & Resources" menu link.

Registered Users: This is the total number of active users who have registered with NITRC. This statistic does not include users who are pending, deleted, or suspended.

Top Tool/Resource Downloads: This is a list of tools and resources that have had the most file downloads from NITRC. The number of downloads is counted whenever a user downloads a released file directly from NITRC or through an external link provided in NITRC. The list is presented in order with the tool or resource with the most downloads at the top. You may click the tool/resource name to get the Summary page for that tool or resource. You may click "More" to get more statistics.

Most Active This Week: This is a list of the tools and resources with the most activity this week. The activity percentile indicates how active the tool or resource is in comparison to other tools or resources for the current week. Activity is measured through submitted forum messages, bugs, patches, supports, tasks, cvs commits, and file releases and through the number of members and downloads. The most active tool or resource will have a 100% activity percentile. All other percentiles are based on the activity level of this tool or resource and the number of tools or resources with activity. If there are 10 active tools or resources, then the tool or resource with the next highest level of activity will have a 90% activity level, and so on. Public and private tools/resources are used to determine the percentile, but only public tool/resources are displayed. You may click the tool/resource name to get the Summary page for that tool or resource. You may click "More" to get more statistics.

Recently Registered Tools/Resources: This is a list of the last ten tools and resources that have registered with NITRC and have been approved. The month and day that the tool or resource registered with NITRC is included in the list. You may click the tool/resource name to get the Summary page for that tool or resource.

The NITRC Home page is also the place where you may access NITRC Community Web feeds.  Your browser's feed icon is enabled for the NITRC Home page when using a browser that provides Web feed support.  Three RSS feeds are available for the NITRC Community:

NITRC Community News RSS: Contains the news items that are posted to the NITRC Home page.  These are news items that are of general interest to the NITRC Community and have been approved for publication by the NITRC news team.  The most recently published news item is displayed first.

All Tool/Resource News RSS: Contains all the news items that have been posted for any public NITRC tools and resources.  The most recently published news item is displayed first.

Tool/Resource Listing RSS: Lists all the approved registered tools and resources in NITRC.  The most recently registered and approved tool/resource is displayed first.

2.3. Registering as a New User

To register as a new user, click the “Register Now” link in the banner below the NITRC logo. You will be taken to a form where you may fill in the following data:

Required Fields:

Login name: You need a unique user name to access to the system. Login names must be all lower case. If the name you choose is already in use, the system will tell you. Be sure to use a name you can remember; the system will not remind you if you have forgotten your login name, and you will have to set up a new account and reset all your preferences.

Password: Passwords must be at least six characters.

First name, last name: If you use a middle name, include it in the first name field.

Email address: Your e-mail address is the one to which NITRC will send a confirmation e-mail message to activate your registration. When you receive the confirmation message, you will need to connect to NITRC using the URL in the message to activate your account.

Suggested Fields:

Time zone: The NITRC site uses GMT as the default, but you may want to change your time zone, as all dates are shown relative to the time zone.

Receive email about site updates: This box is checked by default. If you leave this checked, you’ll periodically receive information about the NITRC site. The traffic is very low; we recommend that you activate this option.

Receive NITRC Community mailings: This box is unchecked by default.  Check this box if you are interested in other notices of interest to the NITRC community.

Click the “Register” button and your registration is automatically accepted on NITRC—it does not have to be approved by a NITRC site administrator. Within minutes you will receive an e-mail message with a URL to click on to establish your account. When you do, you will be asked to log in, and then you will see a welcome screen; NITRC is happy to have you join!

NOTE: If you happen to lose the e-mail message with the URL to establish your account, do not submit a new registration. At the bottom of the New User Registration page, and at the bottom of the Login page, is a “Resend confirmation email to a pending account” link. Click this link, enter your username, and click the “Submit” button. A new account registration e-mail will be sent to you to complete the registration process.

2.4. Registering a New Tool or Resource

To register a tool or resource, click the “Register New Tool or Resource” sub-menu link below the “fMRI Tools & Resources” menu link. You need to insert the following information to register a tool or resource:

Required Fields:

Full Name: The official name of the tool or resource. This is the name that will be displayed on the NITRC site.

Purpose and Summary: A brief summary of the tool or resource. This description will be used by the NITRC team to decide whether to approve your tool or resource. This is not the public description—that is entered below.

License: The license (if any) for your tool or resource. If your tool/resource license is not in the list of licenses, select “Other/Proprietary License” and provide a description of your license in the text box.

Public Description: A description of the tool or resource. This description will appear on the Tool/Resource Summary page.

Unix Name: This is how the NITRC database will identify your tool or resource. This name must respect the following rules:

1. It cannot match the Unix name of any other tool or resource.
2. Its length must be between 3 and15 characters.
3. It must be lower case.
4. Only characters, numbers, and dashes are accepted.

The Unix name will be used in NITRC URLs.

NOTE: Although you might change the public name of your tool or resource as it develops, the Unix name can never change.

SCM: You have a choice of two source control management systems for your tool or resource. You may select CVS or SVN. Once you have registered your tool or resource, you will not be able to change the SCM.

Optional Fields:

Forge Import: NITRC has the ability to automatically pull in pages from an existing GForge-based site.  If your tool or resource already resides in SourceForge or a GForge environment, you may provide your existing site's URL and specific Project ID here. NITRC will automatically set up your tool/resource links to redirect to your "Forge" site.  In the event that invalid links to your SourceForge or GForge environment are generated, the NITRC moderator will contact you directly to complete the registration process.  Once your registration is approved, you can remove or modify any of the links to the "Forge" site through your Tool/Resource Administration Custom Tool Menu Entries page.  Please refer to that section of this User Guide for more information on managing NITRC tool/resource menu links.

Click the “Submit” button to send the tool/resource registration to the NITRC site administrators for approval. This approval step is to ensure that only fMRI and related tools and resources are part of NITRC. When the tool or resource is approved, you will receive an e-mail message from the NITRC site administrators confirming that the tool or resource is active.

2.5. Logging In

You may log in to NITRC by clicking the “Log In” link in the banner below the NITRC logo. You will be taken to the Login page where you may enter your username and password. Click the “Log In” button to be taken to your personal page.

If you have forgotten your password, click the “Lost your password?” link and fill in your username. You will receive an e-mail message at the address associated with your account. Click on the URL in that message to set a new password.

2.6. Logging Out

To log out from NITRC, click the “Log Out” link in the banner below the NITRC logo.

3. USER FUNCTIONS

The user functions are available to those users who are registered with NITRC.  Observers cannot access the user functions.

3.1. My Personal Page

Your personal page is your customized view of NITRC, and this page appears when you first log in and when you click the “My NITRC” main menu link or the “My Personal Page” sub-menu link. On this page you will see:

My Assigned Items: This list shows the Tracker items assigned to you. Only currently open items are listed with the most recently entered item shown first. Click on the item name to get more details.

My Submitted Items: This list shows the Tracker items you submitted.  Only currently open items are listed with the most recently entered item shown first. Click on the item name to get more details.

Monitored Forums: This list shows the Forums you are monitoring. Forums are discussion groups about specific tools or resources. If you choose to monitor a forum, every time there is a new post to the forum you will be sent an e-mail with the direct link to the new message. To search or post to a forum, click on its name.

Monitored FileModules: FileModules are tool/resource releases. You may monitor FileModules to receive e-mail when new releases are issued. This section lists the FileModules you are monitoring.

My Tasks: This list shows the Task items assigned to you.  Only currently open items are listed. Click on the item name to get more details.

My Bookmarks: This list shows your bookmarked pages. When you click on a bookmark, you’ll go directly to the page you bookmarked. When you click the “Edit” link to the right of the bookmark, you can edit your bookmark title or URL.  Click on the trash can to the left of the bookmark to delete it.

My Tools/Resources: This list shows the active tools and resources in which you are participating. When you click on a tool or resource name, you will go to the Summary page for that tool or resource. Click on the trash can to the left of the tool/resource name to remove yourself from that tool or resource.  (If you are a tool/resource administrator, the trash can icon has a red X over it; you must drop your administrator status before you can remove yourself from this tool or resource.  This can be done by clicking the “Admin” menu link in your Tool/Resource menu.  In the Group Members box on the Tool/Resource Administration page, you may update your role from Admin to another role that does not have administrator privileges.)

3.2. Bookmark Page

This feature allows you to bookmark the page you are currently viewing.  Click the “Bookmark Page” sub-menu link under the “My NITRC” main menu link to bookmark a page.  Your bookmarks are displayed on your personal page.  There your bookmarks can be edited or deleted.

3.3. Diary and Notes

This feature allows you to keep notes on the NITRC site.  Click the “Diary & Notes” sub-menu link under the “My NITRC” main menu link to access the Diary and Notes page.  You may make a note public, or keep it private. If you make it public, those who are monitoring your notes will receive notification any time you add a public note.  To edit an existing note, click on the summary name in your list of notes, make your changes, and submit.   Notes cannot be deleted.

3.4. Account Maintenance

When you click the “Account Maintenance” sub-menu link under the “My NITRC” main menu link, you go to a page where you may change your personal information and your preferences. You may change everything except the registration date, user ID (which is created by the system), and your login name. If you change the e-mail address NITRC has on file for you, you will have to confirm the new e-mail address by responding to an e-mail message sent to this address.

The Account Maintenance page also allows you to view your user profile and establish your skills and experience profile.

3.4.1 User Profile

You may access your user profile by clicking the “View My User Profile” link toward the top of the Account Maintenance page.

Your user profile is what other users will see when they want information about you.  The profile information is taken from your account data.  Your profile includes a link to your skills and experience profile (which displays only if you have made it public), your name, address, e-mail address, and phone number.  More information about your skills and experience profile is provided in the next section.  If a user wishes to send you an e-mail message, he may click on the e-mail address displayed to get a form for sending a message.

The User Profile is also where other users may view and request to monitor your public diary entries.  Users view your public diary entries by clicking the “View Diary & Notes” link in the Diary and Notes section of the page.  Users request to monitor your public diary entries by clicking the “Monitor this Diary” link in the same section.  To stop monitoring a diary, the user must click "Monitor this Diary" again.

3.4.2. Skills and Experience Profile

You may access your skills and experience profile by clicking the “Edit My Skills and Experience Profile” link toward the top of the Account Maintenance page.

In this section you may enter your skills, most recent investigations, training, projects, proposals, or other relevant experience. You can set your skills and experience profile to public, so everyone may see it, or to private, so that only you can view it.

When you add a skill, you must enter:

• A name (title) for the skill, such as “PHP coding,” “Oracle DBA,” “Technical writing,” “QA testing,” etc.
• A description of the skill up to 255 characters.
• The period in which you gained the skill (month/year to month/year).
• The type of skill—project, training, proposal, or investigation.

Any skills you enter may be edited or deleted at any time from this same page.

4. TOOL/RESOURCE FUNCTIONS

The tool/resource functions become available through a separate menu that is displayed when you select a tool or a resource.  You may select any tool or resource displayed on the Home page, or you may look for a particular tool or resource. Tools and Resources can be found by using the search mechanism in the banner or by browsing by topic, by top downloads, or by most active through the sub-menu links under the “fMRI Tools & Resources” main menu link.  If you are a member of a tool or a resource you may easily access that tool or resource from My Personal Page.

4.1. Summary

Clicking the tool/resource menu “Summary” link shows summarized information about the current tool or resource. The following information is displayed:

Tool/Resource General Information: Description and general information about the tool or resource. 

Ratings & Reviews: The tool/resource description is followed by a summary of the user-provided ratings and reviews.  For detailed user-provided ratings and reviews, click the "User Reviews" link in this section.  If the tool or resource has any published reviews, there is a "Published Reviews" link next to the "User Reviews" link.  Click "Published Reviews" to view the reviews in Community Docs.  Users can review a tool or resource by clicking on the tool/resource "Contribute Reviews/Ratings" menu link.

Tool Tree Categorization: This section also includes the categories set by the administrator for classification in the fMRI Tool Tree.  When a user wants to browse for tools and resources by a particular category using the “fMRI Tools & Resources” main menu link, the fMRI Tool Tree is used.  To get a general description of a category, click the "i" icon next to the category name. To see the fMRI Tool Tree with a list of tools and resources assigned to a particular category, click the category name.  The tool/resource administrator manages the categorization through the Admin page.

Registration Date: The date and time the tool or resource was registered is also displayed.  This is the date and time when the tool/resource administrator submitted the request to register the tool or resource.

Activity Percentile: The activity percentile indicates how active your tool or resource is in comparison to other tools or resources for the current week.  Activity is measured through submitted forum messages, bugs, patches, supports, tasks, cvs commits, and file releases and through the number of members and downloads.  The most active tool or resource will have a 100% activity percentile.  All other percentiles are based on the activity level of this tool or resource and the number of tools or resources with activity.  If there are 10 active tools or resources, then the tool or resource with the next highest level of activity will have a 90% activity level, and so on.

Statistics: You can find out more about how much the tool or resource is changing by clicking on “statistics.” On the Tool/Resource Activity page you can see how much activity there is in the tracker, forums, documentation, tasks, and downloads.

RSS Feeds: The “RSS feeds” link takes you to a page that will allow you to add a Web feed to your browser to track what is happening in the tool or resource.  Web feeds are available for tool/resource news and file releases.

Help Wanted: If this tool or resource has any posted jobs, that also will be indicated here along with a link to a list of those jobs.  The tool/resource administrator posts jobs through the Admin Post Jobs page and manages jobs through the Admin Edit Jobs page.

Member Into: List of administrators and members.  This section gives you the names of the tool/resource administrator(s) and other members involved in the tool or resource.  Each name is a link to that user’s public profile. By clicking on “View Members” you can see the role of each member and a link to that user’s skills and experience profile.  If you are a registered user and would like to participate in this tool or resource, you may click on “Request to join”. Your name will be sent to the tool/resource administrator for approval.

Latest File Releases: Latest file releases published via the File Release System.  You may view the release notes for a particular package by clicking the notepad icon.  If you are a registered user, you may monitor the releases in the package by clicking the envelope icon.  When you monitor a package, you will receive e-mail messages whenever there are changes to the package.  If you would like to download a file from the package, click "download."  On the File Release System page, click the name of the file that you want to download.

Public Areas: NITRC tracks the number of Tracker items, the number of messages in public forums, the number of approved documents, the number of mailing lists, the number of surveys, and the number of SCM commits/updates and adds for each tool or resource.  This section shows these counts and provides links to the tool/resource functions. This section of the page also contains the link to the Web site for the tool or resource.

Latest News: This section of the page shows the news headlines and allows you to click through to the story. As a registered user, you may also create or join a discussion forum related to any news item. The “Submit News” link works only for tool/resource administrators.

4.2. Ratings and Reviews

Clicking the tool/resource menu “Reviews/Ratings” link or the "Display Reviews/Ratings" sub-menu link shows a detailed list of all ratings and reviews for the tool or resource. The summarized ratings are displayed first, including the number of reviews that contributed to the ratings, followed by all the individual reviews.  If the tool or resource has any published reviews, there is a "Published Reviews" link next to the "User Reviews" link.  Click "Published Reviews" to view the reviews in Community Docs.

If you are a registered user, you may provide your review of a tool or resource.  Click the “Contribute Reviews/Ratings” sub-menu link.  Select your rating, provide any comments, suggestion, or recommendations, and submit the review.  Your association with this review is kept confidential by the NITRC team, but if you are willing to be contacted regarding this review, you should include your username within the comments text box.  Other NITRC users may perform a “People” search with your username to find your user profile, which includes any contact information you have chosen to provide.

4.3. Administration

Clicking the tool/resource menu “Admin” link allows you to administer the tool or resource.  Only members with full administrator privileges will see this menu link.  By default, the person who registers the tool or resource is given administrator privileges.  Other members may be granted administrator rights by a tool/resource administrator.

4.3.1. Admin

The Tool/Resource Admin page presents the you with Misc. Tool/Resource Information, fMRI Tool Tree Categorization, Tool Admin, Group Members, Pending Requests, and Edit Roles.

Misc. Tool/Resource Information: This shows the public description of the tool or resource, the location of the tool or resource page, and important development locations. The “Download Your Nightly SCM Tree Snapshot” link allows you to download the nightly compressed collection of SCM files for your tool or resource.

fMRI Tool Tree Categorization: In order for people to be able to find your tool or resource, it must be classified in the fMRI Tool Tree. The fMRI Tool Tree is a set of categories in which like tools and resources are grouped. Click the “Edit” link in the fMRI Tool Tree Categorization section to select up to 15 classifications for each category. After you submit the selections you will be returned to the Tool/Resource Admin page. fMRI Tool Tree classifications may be changed at any time.

Tool Admin: This section provides links to the administration pages for the tool/resource functions.

Group Members: This displays the names of the members participating in the tool or resource, and it allows the tool/resource administrator to add members or delete them. To add a member, enter the login name into the box provided, select a role, and click the “Add User” button; or follow the “Add Users From List” link to get a list of registered users who can be added to the tool or resource.  To remove a group member, click the “Remove” button to the right of the name. To change a user’s role, select a new role next to the user’s name and click the “Update” button.  (Note:  Every tool or resource must have an administrator, so you may not change the role of a lone administrator.) To change permissions for an observer, click the “Edit Observer” button and you will be presented with a page for making tool/resource functions accessible to the observer.

Pending Requests: This section displays the names of users who have requested to join the tool or resource. You may reject the request by clicking the “Reject” button to the right of the user’s name, or accept the request by selecting a role for the user and clicking the “Accept” button.

Edit Roles: Certain permissions for user roles may be edited by selecting a role and clicking the “Edit Role” button.  You may then change the name of the role and set permissions for the file release system, the source control repository, the document manager, forum management (as well as permissions for individual forums), tracker management (as well as permissions for individual trackers), and task management (as well as permissions for individual task categories). You may also set tool or resource-wide administrative permissions.

New roles can also be created.  Click the “Add Role” link to create a new role.  You must enter a name for the role and define the permissions for that role. Roles may be created, but cannot be deleted. All roles inherit the observer permissions as minimums.

4.3.2. Edit Public Info

This page enables you to change the basic information and functionality available for your tool or resource.  You may modify the tool or resource (group) name, description, and tool/resource home page link that are displayed on the Tool/Resource Summary page. You may also activate or deactivate the built-in NITRC functions for your tool or resource.  These functions are accessed through your tool/resource menu.  The available NITRC built-in functions are:

• Mailing Lists
• Surveys
• Forums
• Task Manager
• SCM
• News
• Document Manager
• Tracker
• File Release System (FRS)
• Statistics
• CVS 2 Tracker (if CVS is chosen for the tool/resource’s source control)
• Mediawiki Plugin
• Wiki Plugin

In addition, you may link to your own tool/resource functions.  Click "External Links" to get a page where can enter the URLs for your external functions.  Refer to the Custom Tool Menu Entries section below for more information on that page.

The Edit Public Info page also allows you to set the e-mail address to which notifications of document submissions are sent.

4.3.3. Manage Screenshots

The Screenshot feature is an important publicity tool, allowing potential users to preview your software.  You can post images of your software in action, highlighting features you believe will most interest potential users.

Any screenshots that you have already uploaded will be displayed first.  The first image shown is the image that is displayed on your Tool/Resource Summary page.  If you would like to change the description of an image, make the change to the "Description" field, and then click the "Edit" button.  If you would like to delete an image, make sure you check the "I'm Sure" box, and then click the "Delete Screenshot" button.

You may add a maximum of six screenshots.  In order to add a new image, either enter the file location or click the "Browse" button to select the file.  The file must be a GIF, JPEG, or PNG that is no larger than 500kb.  We suggest that the image has a resolution between 150x150 pixels and 640x480 pixels.  Once you have entered or selected the image file, enter a description for the screenshot and click the "Add Screenshot" button.

4.3.4. Tool/Resource History

This page presents a history of the tool or resource, indicating dates for major changes such as adding or removing members, modifying public information, changing fMRI Tool Tree categories, etc.

4.3.5. Custom Tool Menu Entries

This page allows you to create new items in the menu for your tool or resource that will link to the page you specify here.  You first need to provide a name for your new menu item.  If you want to replace one of the built-in NITRC functions (like Forums or Tracker), then you would select the appropriate "Suggested Name" and leave the "Custom Name" field blank.  This will ensure uniformity across the NITRC tools and resources. (Note: If you have not already turned off the built-in NITRC functionality that you are replacing, the name will appear twice in your tool/resource menu.  You should go to the "Edit Public Info" page to remove the built-in NITRC function from your tool/resource menu.)  If you want to add a link to an external page or specific pages in NITRC, then you would select "Custom Name" and enter an appropriate menu name in the "Custom Name" field.  For example, you may want users to have easy access to a contact person for your tool or resource, so you may enter "Contact Us" for the "Custom Name."

Once you have given a name to the menu item, you must provide the link for the page.  Enter the full URL beginning with http://, https://, or ftp://.  If you would like the NITRC banner and menu system available when the page is displayed, check the box under "Display with NITRC Menu"; otherwise, leave the box unchecked, and your browser window will only display your page.  Click the "Add" button to insert your new menu item, allowing users to access your page from the tool/resource menu.

The Custom Tool Menu Entries page also allows you to update and delete custom menu entries that have already been created for your tool or resource.  You may change the menu name (either selecting a "Suggested Name" or entering a "Custom Name"), update the URL, and check or uncheck the box under "Display with NITRC Menu."  Click the "Update/Refresh" button to save your changes.  If you would like to remove the custom entry from your tool/resource menu, check the box next to "I'm sure" and click the "Delete" button.  (Note: If you would like to remove a built-in NITRC function from your tool/resource menu, click on the "Edit Public Info" link at the top of the page.)  Clicking the "Cancel" button will take you to the Admin page.

4.3.6. Post Jobs

This page allows you to post jobs for your tool or resource, so that registered users who visit the site can offer to help with the development. Start by selecting a category for the job.  If your job does not fit well into one of the listed categories, please send a request to the NITRC site moderator at moderator@nitrc.org to have a new category added to the list.  Enter a short description and a long description and click the "Continue" button to post the job opening.  At this point you may edit the job posting, including setting up a skill inventory for the job.  Job descriptions remain on the site for two weeks.

4.3.7. Edit Jobs

This page starts the process of updating posted job openings.  You must click on the title of the job you want to update from the resulting list of jobs.  A detailed view of the selected job is displayed.  Click the “Edit Job” link at the top of the page to get the form to update the job information.

You may edit the category, short description, and long description text that you entered when the job was posted.  You may also indicate the status of the posted job (open, filled, or deleted).  Click the "Update Descriptions" button to submit changes to the job listing.

You may set up a new skill inventory or modify an existing skill inventory for the job.  To add a skill, select the skill, the experience level, and the length of experience, then click the "Add Skill" button.  If you do not see the skill you are looking for in the skill list, please send a request to the NITRC site moderator at moderator@nitrc.org to have the skill added to the list.  To modify a skill, select the new experience level or new length of experience, then click the "Update" button.  Click the "Delete" button to remove the skill from the inventory.

4.3.8. Stats

This section shows information about your tool or resource in graphical form. To view a graph, select a component of interest (under "Areas": tracker, forums, docs, tasks, or downloads), the type of plot (daily, weekly, or monthly), and start and end months.

4.4. Advanced Search

Clicking the tool/resource menu “Advanced Search” link provides a way of searching within the particular tool or resource.  Advanced search allows you to select any combination of forums, trackers, tasks, documentation, and news as appropriate for that tool or resource.  It also gives the option of searching “with all words” or “with one word” so that you may specify a particular search phrase or just one of a few search words.

The search text must be at least three characters long.  If no matching results are found, “No matches found” is displayed under each heading (Forums Search Result, Tracker Search Result, Tasks Search Result, Docs Search Results, and News Search Result) on the Advanced Search page.  If one or more matches are found, a list of hits is displayed under each appropriate result heading on the Advanced Search page.  Clicking on the thread, title, or summary will open the appropriate page for more detailed information on the selected item.

4.5. Forums

Every project has its own discussion forums.  All users can access the NITRC Community Forums by clicking the "Community Forums" sub-menu link below the "Community" menu link.  Public tool/resource forums can be accessed by clicking the "Forums" link for that tool or resource.  When a new tool or resource is created, three forums are automatically created:

Open Discussion for general discussion.

Help for help requests.

Developers for tool/resource development discussion.

Tool/resource administrators can create other forums.

4.5.1. Creating a new forum

New forums may be created through the Forum Admin screens by a member with administration privileges.  From the Tool/Resource Admin page, click "Forum Admin" in the Tool Admin section; from the tool/resource pages, click the "Forums" menu link, then select a forum and click "Admin" at the top of the page.  To create a new forum, enter the name of the forum with no spaces and the description of the forum; make the forum public (open to all users) or private (available only to tool/resource members); and indicate whether anonymous (observer) posts are allowed on the forum. You may provide an e-mail address to which all forum posts are sent.

4.5.2. Using the forum

Click the "Forums" link for the tool or resource.  The Forums page displays a list of available discussion forums for this tool or resource.  The list includes the forum name, its description, the number of threads, the number of messages, and the date of the last post.  Clicking on the forum name opens a listing of the threads for that particular forum.  The default view is "Ultimate," but there are four types of displays that are described below.  For each of the thread lists, you my select to display 25, 50, 75, or 100 messages per page.

Nested: Shows all messages grouped by thread with the most recent posting first.  All information about each message is displayed.  This information includes the author, the message subject/reply text, the post date, and the actual message.  Clicking the author name opens the User Profile page for that person.  Clicking the subject/reply text opens the Forum Message page, where you may post your response.

Flat: Similar to Nested, but the messages are displayed in chronological order.

Threaded: Shows all messages grouped by thread with the most recent posting first.  Only the  message subject/reply text, the author, and the post date of each message are displayed in a table.  Clicking the author name opens the User Profile page for that person.  Clicking the subject/reply text opens the Forum Message page, where you may post your response.

Ultimate: Shows only the "topic started" messages with the most recent posting first. Topic starters are the messages that begin a new thread.  The topic name, the author, the number of replies, and the date of the last post are displayed in a table.  Clicking on the topic name opens a detailed view of all posts for that topic.  Like the nested list, each post shows the author, the message subject/reply text, the post date, and the actual message.  Clicking the author name opens the User Profile page for that person.  Clicking the subject/reply text opens the Forum Message page, where you may post your response.

The Forum Message page shows the details of the selected message, followed by the "Threaded" list of related messages and an area for users to post a response to the message.  Only registered users may post messages, unless the administrator allowed anonymous (observer) postings when the forum was created.  Click the "Post Comment" or "Post Comment Anonymously" button at the bottom of the page to submit your response to the message.

4.5.3. Available options

The forums have two very powerful options for registered users:

Save place: This function returns you to this point in the message list, highlighting new messages added since your last visit to the forum.

Monitor forum: If you choose to monitor a forum, every post to the forum will be sent to you by e-mail. This allows you to be informed about new messages without being logged on to NITRC. The name of the monitored forum will appear on your personal page in the Monitored Forums section. 

If you no longer want to monitor a particular forum, then click "Stop Monitor" on the Forum page.  You may also stop monitoring the forum by going to your My NITRC page and clicking on the trash can icon next to the forum name in the "Monitored Forums" section.

4.5.4. Forum Admin

Members with full forum administration privileges may add new forums (see above), and members who have been granted administration privileges for a particular forum may update that particular forum.  From the Tool/Resource Admin page, click "Forum Admin" in the Tool Admin section; from the tool/resource pages, click the "Forums" menu link, then select a forum and click "Admin" at the top of the page.  Select an existing forum to change the forum name, add or change the e-mail address to which all forum posts are sent, and change the forum description. The page provides links to pages where you can delete individual messages (and responses) or delete the forum entirely.

4.5.5. Searching

You can perform a simple search within a forum.  Make sure “This tool’s/resource’s forums” (or "This forum" for a particular forum) is selected in the search drop down box in the banner.  Enter the search text (at least three characters) and click the “Search” button.  The thread subject and message are used for the search.  If no matching results are found, “No matches found for <search text>” is displayed.  If one or more matches are found, a threaded list of messages is displayed, grouped by forum.  Clicking on the thread subject/reply text takes you to the Forum Message page, where you can view the message and post a response.

You can perform an advanced search within a forum.  Click the “Advanced Search” tool/resource menu link and refer to the Advanced Search section of this User Guide for more information.

4.6. Tracker

The Tracker allows users to report and store items like bugs, feature requests, patch submissions, etc.

You may use this system to track almost any kind of data. Each tracker may have its own set of permissions covering whether it is open to the public and whether it allows submissions from those who are not members of the tool or resource. You can also easily move items between trackers when needed.

Trackers may be set up for any kind of report, but when a tool or resource is created, NITRC creates four trackers automatically:

Bugs: Allows users to report and track issues/problems with the tool/resource.
Support: Allows users to request and receive support in using the tool/resource.
Patches: Allows developers to upload patches to the tool/resource.
Feature Requests: Allows users to request enhancements to the tool/resource.

The tool/resource administrators have the option to not display these or any tracker that may have been created for their tool or resource.

The following descriptions apply to any of the trackers.  The description uses the Bug Tracker, but the functionality for every tracker is the same.  To get to the Bug Tracker, click the tool/resource menu "Tracker" link, then click on the "Bugs" tracker name.

4.6.1. Submitting a new bug

Any registered user may submit a bug for a tool or resource.  Click on "Submit New" at the top of the page. A form will be displayed where you may insert/select the data:

Assigned To: If you have administration privileges on Bug Tracker, you may assign the item to a developer or other appropriate tool/resource member. Only members who have been granted "Tech" permissions for Bug Tracker can have bugs assigned to them.  Only those members are listed here.

Priority: If you have administration privileges on Bug Tracker, you may select the priority of the item. In the Browse Bugs list and the users' personal pages, priorities are displayed in different colors, and bugs can be ordered by priority.

Summary: Give a short description of the bug, e.g., Logout function gives an SQL Error.

Detailed Description: State the problem, giving examples, triggers, manifestations, etc.

Attach Files: You may also upload a file—a screen shot with the error or log file, for instance—as an attachment to the bug. To upload the file, select a file using the "Browse" button.

NOTE: Attachments to tracker items can be no larger than 256KB.

Other fields may also be displayed on the form, as the tool/resource administrator may define custom fields for each tracker.  When all required fields are filled, click the "Submit" button to insert the new bug.

4.6.2. Browsing bugs

Any user may browse existing bugs.  Click on "Bugs: Browse" at the top of the page.  The Browse Bugs page shows the list of bugs for the tool or resource. You may select to filter the bugs by Assignee or State. You may sort the items by ID, Priority, Summary, Open Date, Close Date, Submitter, or Assignee and may order them as ascending or descending.  If you change any of the browsing criteria, you must click the "Quick Browse" button to update the list of bugs.  The colored priority field indicates different levels of priority for each bug, and an asterisk near the open date indicates that the request is more than 30 days old. The overdue time is configurable for each tracker; the default is 30 days. When you click on the summary, you go to the Bug Detail page where you can view more information on the bug.  Registered users may update the information on the Bug Detail page.

Registered users can create and store filters to narrow their browsing results even further.  To create a custom filter, click the "Build Query" link toward the top of the page.  In the Build Query window, enter a name for the filter, select the data you want to filter on and the sort criteria, and then click the "Save Changes" button.  Refresh the Browse Bugs page.  The filter you created is now in a drop down box above the "Power Query" button and the "Build Query" link.  Select the filter and click the "Power Query" button.  The resulting list of bugs is now limited to those that match the filter you selected.  You can modify or delete the filter by clicking the "Build Query" link.  In the Build Query window, select the filter that you would like to modify or delete, select "Load Query," and click the "Save Changes" button.  If you want to modify the filter, make your changes, make sure "Update Query" is selected, and click the "Save Changes" button.  If you want to delete the filter, select "Delete Query," and click the "Save Changes" button.

Please note that the system remembers the last search that you performed for a particular tracker.  When you change the search filter through "Quick Browse" or "Power Query," the system remembers this.  Even if you log out of the system and log back in, the initial list of bugs displayed is based on the last search that you performed.  To update the list of bugs shown, modify the filter and click "Quick Browse," or select a saved filter and click "Power Query."

Note:  If you are looking for a particular bug by ID or Summary, use the simple search feature as described in the Searching section below.

4.6.3. Modifying a bug

On the Bug Detail page, any registered user can add comments to the bug, and the user who submitted the bug can also upload files.  A member with administration privileges can modify all the data associated with the bug (see "Submitting a new bug" above).  In addition, an administrator can modify the following data:

Data Type: This drop-down box lists the trackers for the tool or resource. If you select a different tracker and submit the changes, the item will be reassigned to the selected tracker.  This is very useful when, for example, you want to reassign a bug as a feature request.

State: The state indicates the status of the item. When an item is inserted, it is created in the "Open" state. When you fix a bug, you should change the state to "Closed".

Resolution: This indicates the resolution of a "Closed" item.

Canned Responses: Canned responses are prefixed responses. You may create canned responses for your tool or resource by clicking "Admin" next to the drop-down box.  Enter the title and message for the response, then click the "Submit" button to create the canned response.  You may select a canned response from the drop-down box.  All responses are visible to all users.

The Change Log on the bottom of the Bug Detail page shows the changes applied to the item in chronological order with the most recent changes at the top.

4.6.4. Downloading bug list

Any user can download the list of bugs on the Browse Bugs page to a comma-separated value (csv) file.   Run a query to get the desired list of bugs, and then click the "Download .csv" link at the top of the page.  Depending on your browser and software configuration, you will either see the list displayed in a spreadsheet in your browser window or spreadsheet application or you will see the download dialog box.  In any case, you may save the bug list as a .csv file locally on your computer for future reference.

4.6.5. Monitoring bugs

Any registered user can monitor the Bugs tracker.  If you select "Monitor" at the top page, tracker monitoring will be enabled. When you are monitoring the Bugs tracker, every change to any bug will be sent to you by e-mail.

To disable Bugs tracker monitoring, click "Stop Monitor" at the top of the page.

To monitor a particular bug, click  "Monitor" next to the envelope icon on the Bug Detail page.  When you monitor a particular bug, you will only receive e-mail when there are changes to that particular bug.

To disable bug monitoring, click "Stop Monitoring" next to the envelope icon on the Bug Detail page.

4.6.6. Reporting

The Reporting functions allow you to check the life-span of a bug. The life span is the duration of the bug; it starts when the bug is inserted (opened) in the tracker and ends when the bug is closed.  Only tool/resource members may access the Reporting function.  Click "Reporting" at the top of the page, and then select one of the reports:

Response Time: The Aging report shows the turnaround time for closed bugs, the number of bugs inserted, and the number of bugs still open.

By Assignee: The Report by Assignee shows information on each member of the tool or resource who has assigned bugs.  The information includes the number of bugs assigned to the member and the percentage of total bugs assigned.

4.6.7. Tracker Admin

If you are a tracker administrator, you may add a new tracker, change the settings and custom fields for the current tracker, clone the custom fields from another tracker for the current tracker, add or change canned responses, and delete the current tracker.  From the Tool/Resource Admin page, click "Tracker Admin" in the Tool Admin section, and then select the tracker to administer. From the tool/resource pages, click the "Tracker" menu link, select a tracker (bugs, for example), and then click "Admin" at the top of the page.  The Tracker Admin page provides the following functionality:

Add Tracker: To create a new tracker, click the "New Tracker" link toward the top of the page.  Here you can enter the following information:

Name: The name of the Tracker. This is the name displayed in the tracker list, e.g., Bugs.

Description: The description of the Tracker, e.g., "This is the tracker dedicated to the bugs of the tool or resource."

Publicly Available: By default, this checkbox is not enabled.  If this checkbox is enabled, all users may browse the tracker.

Allow non-logged-in postings: By default, this checkbox is not enabled.  If this checkbox is enabled, non logged-in users may post items to the tracker. If this checkbox is not enabled, only logged in users may post items.

Send email on new submission to address: All new items will be sent to the address inserted in the text box.

Send email on all changes: By default, this checkbox is not enabled.  If this checkbox is enabled, all changes to the tracker items will be sent out via e-mail. It is useful to check this box only if an e-mail address is inserted in the field above.

Days until considered overdue: The number of days a tracker item may remain open before it is considered overdue.

Days until pending tracker items time out: The number of days a tracker item may remain pending before it times out.

Free form text for the "submit new item" page: This allows you to put a specific introduction on the Submit New Tracker Item page.

Free form text for the "browse items" page: This allows you to put a specific introduction on the Browse Tracker Items page.

Click the "Submit" button to add the new tracker to the system.

Update Preferences: To update a tracker, click the "Update Settings" link toward the top of the page or the "Update Preferences" link toward the bottom of the page.  Here you can update the following information on the tracker:

Send email on new submission to address: All new items will be sent to the address inserted in the text box.

Send email on all changes: By default, this checkbox is not enabled.  If this checkbox is enabled, all changes to the tracker items will be sent out via e-mail. It is useful to check this box only if an e-mail address is inserted in the field above.

Days until considered overdue: The number of days a tracker item may remain open before it is considered overdue.

Days until pending tracker items time out: The number of days a tracker item may remain pending before it times out.

Free form text for the "submit new item" page: This allows you to put a specific introduction on the Submit New Tracker Item page.

Free form text for the "browse items" page: This allows you to put a specific introduction on the Browse Tracker Items page.

Manage Custom Fields: To add new fields or to modify existing fields, click the "Manage Custom Fields" link on the page. All the existing custom fields are displayed first.  You may edit the name and alias of the field, delete the field, or copy the field to create a new custom field.  You may also edit the name of any defined elements and add new elements to a field.  You may not change the type of field.

To create a new custom field, you must provide the following information:

Customer Field Name: The name of the field displayed on the Tracker Detail page, when adding, updating, and viewing a tracker item.

Field alias:  The name of the field used by the system.

Type of custom field:  The type of field displayed on the Tracker Detail page.  Types include:

• Select Box
• Check Box
• Radio Buttons
• Text Field
• Multi-Select Box
• Text Area
• Status
  

Text Field Size/Text Area Rows:  This sets how big the box is that is displayed on the Tracker Detail page.

Text Field Maxlength/Text Area Columns:  This sets how much data can be entered into the field by a user.

You can customize the way these fields are displayed on the Submit New Tracker Item page and the Browse Tracker Items page. To modify the rendering of the custom fields, use the template links at the bottom of the page.

Download default template: Click this link, and then use your browser to view the source code. Save the source code as a text file. For each custom field, you may add or change the HTML attributes to customize the look of the labels. For example, you may change the color or style of the font. Make sure you save the file, so you may upload it for your tracker.

Add/Update template: Click this link, and then browse and select the file that you saved with the custom HTML rendering for this tracker. Click the “Submit” button to upload the file and make the custom rendering take affect. View the Submit New Tracker Item page or the Browse Tracker Items page to see the affects of the uploaded template.

Delete template: If you no longer want the custom field labels displayed with the customized rendering, click this link. This will not remove the custom fields; it will just remove the customized HTML that you had provided. The original default template will remain.

Clone Tracker: You may copy the custom fields from another tracker to the current tracker by clicking the “Clone Tracker” link at the top of the page. Select the tracker that has the custom fields you would like for the current tracker, and click the “Submit” button. If you do this more than once you will copy the custom fields to the tracker each time you click “Submit.” You can then modify these custom fields by going to the Manage Custom Fields page.

Add/Update Canned Responses: Canned responses are predefined responses that may be used when commenting on a tracker item. Creating useful generic messages can save you a lot of time when handling common requests.  Click the "Add Canned Responses" link toward the top of the page or the "Add/Update Canned Responses" link in the middle of the page.  To create a new response, fill in the Title and Message, and click the "Submit" button.  To modify a response, click the listed response name.  Modify the Title and/or Message and click the "Submit" button.

Delete Tracker: You may delete an existing tracker.  When you click the "Delete" link, you will be presented with a page that makes you confirm that you want to delete the tracker and all its items, as you will not be able to recover these once deleted.

4.6.8. Mass Update

If you are a tracker administrator, you can use the Mass Update function. This function is visible on the Browse Bug page and allows you to update the following information:

• Priority
• Assignee
• Status
• Canned Response
• Other fields as set by the tracker administrator
  

When this function is enabled, a checkbox will appear at the left side of each bug ID. You may check one or more of the IDs for the bug(s) you would like to update.  Modify one or more of the values in the drop-down boxes, and click the "Mass update" button. All selected bugs will be modified with these new values. This function is very useful if you need to change the same information for a group of bugs, as when you are assigning five bugs to one developer or closing ten bugs.

4.6.9. Searching

You can perform a simple search for a tracker.  Make sure the tracker name (or “This tool’s/resource’s trackers” for a more general tracker search) is selected in the search drop down box in the banner.  Enter the search text (at least three characters) and click the “Search” button.  The tracker summary, detailed description, and responses are used for the search.  If no matching results are found, “No matches found for <search text>” is displayed.  If one match is found the Tracker Detail page for the resulting tracker is displayed.  If more than one match is found, a list of resulting trackers is displayed.  Clicking on the summary takes you to the Tracker Detail page.

You can perform an advanced search within a tracker.  Click the “Advanced Search” tool/resource menu link and refer to the Advanced Search section of this User Guide for more information.

4.7. Mailing Lists

Clicking the tool/resource menu “Lists” link shows a list of available mailing lists for the tool or resource.  Clicking on "<list name> Archives" will allow you to browse the archives of the selected mailing list. You may subscribe, unsubscribe or edit your preferences for a specific mailing list by clicking the appropriate link.

4.7.1. Lists Admin

Only tool/resource administrators can administer mailing lists.  From the Tool/Resource Admin page, click "Mail Admin" in the Tool Admin section; from the tool/resource pages, click the "Lists" menu link, then click "Admin" at the top of the page.  This brings you to the Lists Admin page, where the following options are available to you:

Add Mailing List: Clicking "Add Mailing List" will allow you to create a new mailing list. You can specify if it is to be made public (people who are not members of the tool or resource can see and/or join it) or not. You can also add a description of the list. You will receive an e-mail with the administration password for the list.

Administrate/Update Lists:  Clicking "Update" allows you to change the description of the list and whether or not it is available to the public.  Clicking "Administrate" allows you use GNU Mailman to add members to the mailing list, set the properties of the list, posting policies, and so forth.

4.8. Task Manager

The Task Manager is similar to the Tracker, with the following differences; it allows you to:

• Insert the start date of the item
• Insert the end date of the item
• Insert the number of hours for the item
• Assign more than one person to the item
• Track dependencies between tasks

Tasks are organized in subprojects. There are two predefined subprojects: To Do and Next Release. A member with task administration privileges can use the Tasks Admin page to create new subprojects. Task Manager allows you to create and manage tasks, or blocks of work, similar to the way projects are broken down in, for example, MS Project.

4.8.1. Submitting a new task

You may add tasks to the subprojects – for example, Write Design Doc, Review Doc, Update Doc, Write Code, Review Code, Update Code, Test, Log Test Results, etc. Tasks may be assigned to members of the team, have start and end dates set up for them, show dependencies on other tasks, indicate percentage completion, etc.

Only members with task administration privileges may insert a new task.  Click the tool/resource menu “Tasks” link to get a list of available task subprojects for the tool or resource.  You need to first select a subproject from the subproject list, and then click "Add Task" at the top of the page.  A form appears, where you are requested to insert the following data:

Category: You can select a category if categories have been set by the tool/resource administrator.

Percent Complete: You can select the percentage of the completion of the work.

Priority: You can select the priority (1-lowest and 5-highest) of the task.

Task Summary: You must insert a brief description of the task.

Task Details: You must insert the most detailed description possible of the task.

Estimated Hours: You must enter the estimated duration of this task in hours.

Start Date: You can change the start date of the task.  The default is the current date.

End Date: You can change the end date of the task.  The default is one week from the current date.

Assigned To: You can select one or more assignees of the task. Only members who have been granted "Tech" permissions for a task subproject can have tasks assigned to them.  Only those members are listed here.

Dependent on Task: You can select one or more tasks upon which this task depends.

When all required fields are filled, click the "Submit" button to insert the new task.

4.8.2. Browsing tasks

Clicking the tool/resource menu “Tasks” link shows a list of available task subprojects for the tool or resource.  Click the task subproject name to display a lists of tasks for that subproject.  You may limit the list of tasks by specifying any of the following:

4.8.3. Modifying a task

On the Task Detail page, a member with task administration privileges can modify all the data associated with the task (see "Submitting a new task" above), except for the Original Comment (Task Details).  In addition, the following data can be modified:

Subproject: This drop-down box lists the subprojects for the tool or resource. If you select a different subproject and submit the changes, the item will be reassigned to the selected subproject.

Add a Comment: You may add any comment to clarify the original description or to describe any changes that you are making to the task fields.

Status: The status indicates the state of the item. When an item is inserted, it is created in the "Open" state. When you complete a task, you should change the status to "Closed."

The Task Change History on the bottom of the Task Detail page shows the changes applied to the item in chronological order with the most recent changes at the top.

4.8.4. Viewing a Gantt chart

Clicking on the "Gantt Chart" link at the top of the page shows all the tasks for the tool or resource on a Gantt chart.  A red and yellow striped bar extends from the start date to the end date of each task.  Any blue band in the middle of the bar extends from the left to the right based on the percent complete value that is set on the Task Detail page.  (There will be no blue band if the task is 0% complete; the blue band will stretch across half of the bar if the task is 50% complete; the blue band will stretch all the way across the bar if the task is 100% complete.)

You may limit the tasks shown by selecting an Assignee, the Status, or a Category.  You may modify the look of the Gantt chart by changing the Sort On criterion, the Resolution, and the Size of the chart.  Click the Browse button to update the chart with the new criteria.

4.8.5. Downloading task list

Members with task administration privileges can download the tasks to a comma-separated value (csv) file. Click the "Download as CSV" link at the top of the page.  All the task data is displayed in the browser window.  Use your browser file saving function to save the the task data locally on your computer as a .csv file.  You may now import this .csv file to a spreadsheet application or database.

4.8.6. Uploading tasks

Task data can be manipulated outside of NITRC and uploaded through the Upload CSV function.  Only members with task administration privileges can upload a .csv file.  Click the "Upload CSV" link at the top of the page.  Use the Browse button to select the .csv file with the changes that you want to upload, and then click the Submit button to store the changes.

4.8.7. Reporting

The Reporting functions allow you to check the lifespan of the tasks. The lifespan is the duration of a task; it starts when the task is inserted (opened) in the Task Manager and ends when the task is closed.  Only members with task administration privileges may access the Reporting function.  You need to first select a subproject from the subproject list, and then click "Reporting" at the top of the page.

Aging Report: The Aging Report shows the turnaround time for closed tasks, the number of tasks inserted, and the number of tasks still open.

Report by Assignee: The Report by Assignee shows information on each member of the tool or resource who has assigned tasks.  The information includes the number of tasks assigned to the member, the number of closed tasks, and the number of tasks still open.

Report by Subproject: The Report by Subproject shows information on each task subproject that has assigned tasks.  The information includes the total number of tasks for the subproject, the number of closed tasks, and the number of tasks still open.

4.8.8. Tasks Admin

Tasks Admin allows a member with administration privileges to add new task subprojects and edit existing task subprojects.  From the Tool/Resource Admin page, click "Task Manager Admin" in the Tool Admin section; from the tool/resource pages, click the "Tasks" menu link, then click "Admin" at the top of the page.

Add a Subproject: This allows you to add a subproject to a tool or resource in order to group similar tasks . You need to include the subproject name and description, and indicate whether the subproject is public or private. You may also provide an e-mail address to which all updates of tasks for this subproject are sent.

Edit/Update Subproject: This allows you to change the subproject name, description, or update an e-mail address. This page also allows you to delete a subproject. You may add categories to the subproject or change category names (though categories may not be removed).

4.8.9. Searching

You can perform a simple search within a task subproject.  Make sure “This tool’s/resource’s tasks” is selected in the search drop down box in the banner.  Enter the search text (at least three characters) and click the “Search” button.  The task summary and original comments are used for the search.  If no matching results are found, “No matches found for <search text>” is displayed.  If one or more matches are found, a list of tasks is displayed, grouped by task subproject.  Clicking on the task summary name takes you to the Task Detail page, where you can view all the task information.

You can perform an advanced search within a task subproject.  Click the “Advanced Search” tool/resource menu link and refer to the Advanced Search section of this User Guide for more information.

4.9. Document Manager

The Document Manager allows you to view and publish documents on the site.

4.9.1. Submitting a new document

Any tool/resource member may submit new documents to be published on the site.  Click the tool/resource menu “Docs” link, and then click "Submit new documentation" at the top of the page or "Add document here" in the tool/resource main folder section or next to a document folder. You must provide the following information:

Document Title: The document title refers to the relatively brief title of the document.

Description: A brief description of the document contents.

The actual document must be uploaded to the site or the external URL where the document can be found must be provided.

Upload File: Select the file to be uploaded. You can upload text files (.html, .txt) or binary files (.zip, .doc, .pdf).  Do not upload a file if a URL is being provided.

URL: Enter the external site URL where the document can be found.  Do not enter a URL if a file is being uploaded.

Language: Indicate what language the document is written in.  English is the default language.

File this document in: Allows you to categorize documents into folders.  Additional categories can be created by a tool/resource administrator.  If the document is general in nature for the tool/resource, file the document in the tool/resource main folder.  On the View Documentation page, approved documents that are filed in the main folder are shown in the tool/resource main folder section rather than hidden under a document folder.

Fill in all the fields, select the folder from the drop down list if appropriate, and click the "Submit Information" button.  The document will then be placed in the Pending Submissions section of the Document Manager Admin page to be approved or rejected by the tool/resource administrator.  The document will not be viewable until the tool/resource administrator has approved it.

4.9.2. Viewing existing documents

Any user may view approved documents for a tool or resource.  Click the tool/resource menu “Docs” link to display a list of document categories.  Documents containing general information for the tool or resource are displayed first in the tool/resource main folder section, followed by a list of document folders that have been created for the tool or resource.  Click a document folder to show any documents under that folder.  You may click on a document name to view the document.

4.9.3. Deleting an existing document

4.9.4. Docs Admin

A member with document administration privileges can administer the documents.  From the Tool/Resource Admin page, click "DocManager Admin" in the Tool Admin section; from the tool/resource pages, click the "Docs" menu link, then click "Admin" at the top of the page.  The Docs Admin page shows all documents by state and category. The Admin section allows you to:

Add/Edit Document Groups: Each document must be categorized. Document groups (folders) are set up for that purpose.  Click "Add/Edit Document Groups" to show the existing document groups and to add more document groups. 

To edit a document group, click on the document group name.  You may change the document group name or make it a sub-group by selecting another group that it belongs to.  Click the "Edit" button to submit your changes.

To add a document group, enter the new group name.  If the group is a sub-group, select the group that this one belongs to.  Click the "Add" button to create the new document group.

Edit Documents: You may edit the document information (see "Submitting a new document" above), including uploading a new version of a document.  Click on a document group, then click on the document name that you would like to edit.  The Edit Document form will be displayed.  You may change any of the document information, including the document state.  The document states include:

Active Documents: Active documents are displayed are displayed to all users on the View Documentation page.

Deleted Documents: Old, outdated documents may be deleted, but they can always be recalled from the Docs Admin page.  To reinstate a document, edit the document, changing the state.  Deleted documents are not displayed to users on the View Documentation page.  (If you want to actually delete a document from the system, you must click "Click here to permanently delete this document and all its corresponding information.")

Pending Documents: Pending documents are waiting for your approval.  Pending documents are not displayed to users on the View Documentation page.

Hidden Documents: Hidden documents are not displayed to users on the View Documentation page.

Private Documents: Private documents are displayed only for members of the tool or resource on the View Documentation page.

Approve/publish pending submissions: You may approve pending documents by changing the state of the document.  Click on a pending document group, then click on the document name that you would like to approve.  The Edit Document form will be displayed.  You may change any of the document information, but you must change the State from "pending" to "active" to post the document.  Click the "Submit Edit" button to submit your changes.

Note:  Document administrators can receive e-mail notification of submitted documents that are awaiting their approval for publication.  The tool/resource administrator provides their e-mail addresses at the bottom of the Admin Edit Public Info page.

4.9.5. Searching

You can perform a simple search of the tool/resource documents.  Make sure “This tool’s/resource’s documents” is selected in the search drop down box in the banner.  Enter the search text (at least three characters) and click the “Search” button.  The document title and description are used for the search.  If no matching results are found, “No matches found for <search text>” is displayed.  If one or more matches are found, a list of documents is displayed, grouped by category folder.  Clicking on the document name opens the document.

You can perform an advanced search of the tool/resource documents.  Click the “Advanced Search” tool/resource menu link and refer to the Advanced Search section of this User Guide for more information.

4.10. Surveys

Surveys allow tool/resource administrators to ask questions of developers and users and view the results. Surveys may be helpful if you need some feedback from the users. Surveys may address:

1. User feedback: to ask users whether they like your tool or resource.
2. Developer feedback: to ask developers about new features to be implemented.

4.10.1 Browsing surveys

4.10.2 Responding to a survey

4.10.3 Administering survey questions

Before you can create a new survey or modify an existing survey, you need to set up the questions for your surveys.  As a tool/resource administrator, click the tool/resource menu "Surveys" link, then click "Admin" at the top of the page.  Click "Edit Questions" at the top of the page.  Here new survey questions can be added, and all existing survey questions can be modified or deleted.  NITRC surveys handle the following question types:

1. Radio Buttons 1-5: These radio buttons give users five choices, from 1 (low) to 5 (high). This might be used to indicate priorities or quality feedback.
   
2. Radio Buttons Yes/No: These radio buttons give users two choices, Yes or No.
3. Comment Only: This allows you to display a comment, directions, or other information to the user.
   
4. Text field: Text fields allow users to insert free-form text in a small text field.
5. Text area: Text areas allow users to insert free-form text in a large text area.
6. None: This allows you to display a comment, directions, or other information to the user.

4.10.4. Creating a new survey

You can create a new survey by clicking "Edit Survey" at the top of the Survey Admin page. You'll be asked to insert the following data:

Survey name: The name of the survey that is displayed to the users.

Active: This flag indicates whether or not the survey is active.

Questions: A list of all your questions, from which you select those to include in the survey.

4.10.5. Modifying a survey

You can modify an existing survey, although this is not recommended if answers to the survey have already been given.  You should know that the results of a survey are not consistent if you modify the survey and users have already inserted answers.

To modify an existing survey, click "Edit Survey" at the top of the Survey Admin page.  Click "Edit" for the listed survey that you would like to change.  You may change the name of the survey and whether or not the survey is active.  You can change the order in which the questions are displayed on the survey by clicking "Up" or "Down" for the question you would like to move.  You may also delete a question from the survey by checking the box in the "Delete from this Survey" column.  Click the "Submit Changes" button to modify the survey.

4.10.6. Viewing survey results

You can view the results of the surveys by clicking "Show Results" at the top of the Survey Admin page.

4.11. News

The news section allows you to release news relative to your tool or resource. News can be monitored similar to tracker items and forums. News will be displayed on the Tool/Resource Summary page and also on the NITRC Home page, if the site administrators approve the news.

News is generally used to announce software releases, milestones, or significant changes in the software.

Clicking the tool/resource menu “News” link shows a list of available news items for the tool or resource.  Clicking on a news item shows the news message and the discussion forum related to that news item.

4.11.1. Inserting a news item

Only tool/resources administrators can post news about their tools and resources.  If you are a tool/resource administrator, you can insert a news item by clicking on the "Submit" link at the top of the News page.  Enter the subject and details of your news, then click the "Submit" button.

All posts for your tool or resource will appear instantly on your Tool/Resource Summary page. You may include URLs, but not HTML in your submissions. URLs that start with http:// or https:// are made clickable.

The news item will go to the site administrators for approval for publication. Posts that are of special interest to the community are approved by a member of the NITRC news team and will appear on the NITRC Home page.

If you have chosen not to use the NITRC news manager for your tool or resource, you may still submit news for possible posting on the NITRC Home page.  As the tool/resource administrator, click the "Admin" menu link.  On the Tool/Resource Admin page, click "News Admin" in the Tool Admin section.  The News page will be displayed with a list of any previously submitted news items.  These items may be modified by clicking the on the news subject and then submitting the modifications.  To submit a new news item, click the "Submit" link at the top of the page.  Enter the subject and the details of your news, then click the "Submit" button.  The news item will go to the site administrators for approval for publication on the NITRC Home page.

4.11.2. News Admin

A tool/resource administrator may edit or delete a news item.  From the Tool/Resource Admin page, click "News Admin" in the Tool Admin section; from the tool/resource pages, click the "News" menu link, then click "Admin" at the top of the page.  Select the news item that you wish to edit or delete from the list.  You may edit the subject and the details of the news.  If this news item had been posted on the NITRC Home page, modifying it will remove the news from the Home page.  If you want to delete the news item, select "Deleted" instead of "Displayed" and click the "Submit" button.  This will delete the news item from the site.

4.11.3. Searching

You can perform a simple search within news items.  Make sure “This tool’s/resource’s news” is selected in the search drop down box in the banner.  Enter the search text (at least three characters) and click the “Search” button.  The news item name and description are used in the search.  If no matching results are found, “No matches found for <search text>” is displayed.  If one or more matches are found, a list of news items is displayed.  Clicking on the news item name shows the news message and the discussion forum related to that news item.

You can perform an advanced search within news items.  Click the “Advanced Search” tool/resource menu link and refer to the Advanced Search section of this User Guide for more information.

4.12. SCM

Clicking the tool/resource menu “SCM” link shows a page that contains information on how to access the source control management (SCM) repository.  When the administrator registered the tool or resource, either CVS or SVN was selected for source control management.  If the administrator has enabled anonymous access, anonymous access information is provided as well as developer access information.  Use this information to configure your client for CVS or SVN access. If public access has been granted, you may download a compressed file of all the files in the repository by clicking "Download The Nightly CVS Tree Snapshot" or "Download The Nightly SVN Tree Snapshot."

This page also displays some statistics about the SCM repository for the selected tool or resource.  The "Browse CVS Repository" link or "Browse Subversion Repository" link opens the SCM Web interface, where you can view the repository, view differences between revisions, and download versions of a file.

4.12.1. SCM Admin

Only tool/resource administrators can access the SCM Admin page.  From the Tool/Resource Admin page, click "SCM Admin" in the Tool Admin section; from the tool/resource pages, click the "SCM" menu link, then click "Admin" at the top of the page.  Here you may enable or disable public SCM repository access and enable or disable anonymous pserver access.

4.13. File Releases

Clicking the tool/resource menu “Files” link shows a list of available file releases for the tool or resource.  The File Releases System (FRS) is used to upload files to the NITRC site and to make these files available to the users in an easy and efficient way.  Files may be divided in different packages, and every single package can be monitored by registered users; these users will receive an e-mail every time a new file has been added to the package.

4.13.1. Viewing and downloading files

Any user may view and download files.  Click the tool/resource menu “Files” link to see a list of available files for the tool or resource.  The list includes the package name, the release name, the file name or URL name, the release date, the file size, the number of times the file has been viewed or downloaded, the architecture (processor) required for the file, and the file type.

To see the version release notes and change log, click the release name.  You may also view the release notes by simply placing the mouse over the release name; the release name will appear in the tool tip.

To view or download a file, click the file name or URL name.  Depending on your browser and the file type, the file may display in your browser window, download and display with an appropriate application, or invoke the download dialog box. 

If you are a registered user, you may monitor a package and be notified through e-mail of new releases to the package.  Click the envelope icon next to the package name to start monitoring the package.  If you would like to stop monitoring the package, go to your My NITRC page and click the trash can icon next to the package in the "Monitored FileModules" section.

4.13.2. Files Admin

The FRS allows members with file upload privileges to upload a file to NITRC and make this file available to the public.  From the Tool/Resource Admin page, click "FRS Admin" in the Tool Admin section; from the tool/resource pages, click the "Files" menu link, then click "Admin" at the top of the page.

Creating a package: You have to define a package before you can upload files. A package should have a descriptive name for the tool or resource, e.g., NITRC3.  To add a new package, insert a package name in the textbox at the bottom of the page, indicate whether the package can be viewed by the public or just privately by members, and click the "Create This Package" button.  Your package will appear in the Releases of Packages list toward the bottom of the page. 

Modifying a package: In the Releases of Packages section, you can modify packages.  You may change the package name or change the status (active or hidden), then click the "Update" button to submit the changes. 

Deleting a package: In the Releases of Packages section, you can delete packages. You may delete the package and all of its releases and files by clicking "Delete" next to the "Update" button.  You will be presented with a page to confirm that you want to delete the package and all its contents.

Adding releases to a package: In the Releases of Packages section, click "Add Release" before the package name to add a new release to the package. The Add Release form has the following fields:

Package ID: You can select the package name.  If you need to create a new package name at this point, you may click "create a new package" next to the select box.

Release Name: Insert the name of your release. The name should be indicative for the version of your file, e.g., pre-8 or NITRC 1.0.1.

Release Date: The release date is automatically populated with the current date and time.

File Type: Select the file type (.zip, .html, .exe, .tar. gz, etc).

File Name: Click the "Browse" button to select the file to upload. In some browsers you must select the file in the file-upload dialog and click OK. Double-clicking does not register the file.  Also note that the site administrator has set a 1024M limit to the size of uploaded files.  If your file exceeds the limit, please contact the site administrator at admin@nitrc.org.  (If you select a file to upload, do not enter an External URL or URL Name below.)

External URL: If "URL" is selected for the file type, then the URL to the external Web site must be provided here.  (If you enter an external Web site, do not select a File Name above.)

URL Name: If "URL" is selected for the file type, then enter the name of the URL here.

Processor Type: Select the processor required to run the application.

Release Notes: Enter the release notes.  If you have a text file of release notes that you would like to upload, release the file and go to the Edit Release page.

Change log: Enter the change log.  If you have a text file with the change log that you would like to upload, release the file and go to the Edit Release page.

Preserve my ASCII-style text: This checkbox applies to the release notes and change log fields.  The default in unchecked.  When the box is unchecked, the text entered in the fields is later displayed to a user with a proportional font and with word-wrapping at the end of the browser window.  All new line breaks are maintained, but extra spacing between words is not.  When the box is checked, the text entered in the fields is later displayed to a user with a fixed-width font and without word-wrapping.  A user may have to scroll horizontally to read all the text without word-wrapping.  All new line breaks and extra spacing between words is maintained.  Below are examples of how the text may be displayed:

Unchecked	Checked
123 3 X 2 X 1 X	1 2 3 1 X 2   X 3     X
This is just a sample of text that may be entered in the release notes field. New line breaks are maintained.	This is just a sample of text <You would have to scroll horizontally to read the rest of the text above.> New line breaks are maintained.

Click the "Release File" button. Your file will now appear in the list of files on the File Release System page.

Modifying a release: You may edit existing releases.  In the Releases of Packages section, click "Edit Releases" before the package name.  A listing of releases for that package is shown.  Click "Edit" next to the release name to change any of the information about the release.  The Edit Release page is split into three sections: 1. Edit Release, 2. Add Files To This Release, and 3. Edit Files In This Release.

Step 1. Edit Release: Here you can modify the release date, the release name, and the status (active or hidden) of the release.  You may also modify existing release notes or change log, or you could provide new release notes and change log.  You may cut and paste in new release notes or change log, or you may browse and upload text files with the release notes or change log.  In all cases, you still have the option to allow the system to display the text with proportional font and word-wrapping or to preserve your ASCII-style text with fixed-width font and no word-wrapping.

Step 2. Add Files To This Release: Here you can upload new files for this release.  Select your file type, select the processor type, select your file or enter the external URL and URL name, and click the "Add This File" button.

Step 3. Edit Files In This Release: Here you can update the information for uploaded files.  You may not change the filename, but you may change the file type and the processor type.  You may also associate this file with a different release and change the release date.  Click the "Update/Refresh" button to submit the changes.  To remove a file from the release, check the "I'm sure" box, and then click the "Delete File" button.

Deleting a release:  You may delete existing releases.  In the Releases of Packages section, click "Edit Releases" before the package name.  A listing of releases for that package is shown.  Click "Delete" next to the release name to remove the release.  You will be presented with a page to confirm that you want to delete the release and all its files.

4.13.3. Web Services Interface

If you would like to upload files and packages to NITRC without going through the GUI-based interface, NITRC supports Web service access using Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP).  Technical reference to the provided services may be found at http://www.nitrc.org/soap/.

4.13.4. Searching

You can perform a simple search within file releases.  Make sure “This tool’s/resource’s releases” is selected in the search drop down box in the banner.  Enter the search text (at least three characters) and click the “Search” button.  The release name and notes are used for the search.  If no matching results are found, “No matches found for <search text>” is displayed.  If one or more matches are found, a list of releases is displayed, grouped by package.  Clicking on the release name takes you to a page that displays the release notes.  From here, you can click on the release name to get to the list of all file releases.

4.14. Wiki

Clicking the tool/resource menu “Wiki” link displays the Wiki Plugin page.  The information on this page is unique to each tool or resource as its members decide what to add to the Wiki.

5. SITE-WIDE FUNCTIONS

The side-wide functions are available anytime. They are not dependent on individual tools and resources. The site-wide functions handle data that are not relevant to a single tool or resource.

The site-wide functions available to the users are:

• Search
• Community
  
• Tool/Resource Browsing
• Code Snippet Library
• Help Wanted

5.1. Searching in NITRC

You may search for public tool and resource information within NITRC.  The search mechanism is displayed in the banner and is always accessible.  You may select from one of three search arguments (Google, Tools/Resources, or People), enter your search text, and then initiate the search by clicking the Search button.

Google: You may search by keyword(s) across all public tools and resources registered with NITRC.  This gives you the ability to find public information in forum discussions, mailings lists, wikis, and all other NITRC functionality used by the tools and resources.  This search is powered by the Google AJAX search engine indexing interface.  It does allow for Boolean logic and any other Google supported search format.  The display, ranking, and clustering of search results is dependent on the Google search engine.  If no matching results are found, "Your search - <search text> - did not match any documents." is displayed on the Search page.  If any matches are found, a link to the page along with a snippet of the resulting information is displayed on the Search page.  Clicking the link will then take you to the appropriate NITRC page containing your search criteria.

Tools/Resources: You may search for a tool or resource based on its name or description.  Inserted text must be at least three characters.  The tool/resource name and public description are used for the search.  If no matching results are found, “No matches found for <search text>” is displayed on the Search page.  If only one match is found, the Summary page for that resulting tool o