Trail Life USA

This Help document provides details of the views and functions of the Documents section within a Troop.  Views shown will be from the perspective of the Troop Ministry Liaison.

Adding New Troop Documents

To add a new document, expand “Documents” on the left menu, and then select “Manage Documents.”

On the Manage Uploaded Documents page, click the Add New Static Document button to upload a new document.

On the Create Static Document screen, there are several options.  Provide a Title for the document and specify what starting date it should begin publishing (or begin being available to access.)  If the document is only relevant for a specified time period, you can also include a date to end publishing (the document will no longer appear in Troop Documents.)  Upload your file by ‘drag & drop’ or through selecting a file by searching the local computer.  You will then specify in which member profiles the document will appear (via the ‘Troop Documents’ tab of their profile) as well as other members who can view the document with a valid link.  (View permissions can be assigned by role, levels or patrols, or by selecting specific members.)  Finally, you can decide whether the document can be accessed and downloaded publicly (accessible without requiring a valid login to Trail Life Connect.)

When all of the items are correct, press the Create button to upload the document.

The Manage Uploaded Documents page displays a list of the uploaded documents for the Troop.

As the document list grows, you can utilize the column filters to search for specific documents for which you need to review or make any changes.

Edit an Existing Document

To edit an existing document, on the Manage Uploaded Documents page, click the pencil icon on the far right of the listed document you wish to edit.

The same options will be presented as when you are adding a new document, allowing you to make any adjustments to existing information, wording, or availability of the document.

*Note:  if the document itself needs to be edited, you can make the edits offline to the source document and then upload the newly edited version to the existing listed item.  There is no need to delete an incorrect document and make a whole new listing or create a new instance/link.  This is especially helpful if you have already sent out and shared a link to this document.  If you need to correct an error, or change information within the document itself, you can make those changes on your computer.  Then, come to the initial document listing in Trail Life Connect, choose to edit the listed document, and upload the new, corrected version.  Everyone who received the link previously can continue to access the document using the same link – however, when they next click the link, they will get the most updated version.

Expand Document Details

To expand brief, summary details about a document, you can click the expand button listed next to the document title.

The summary details will expand and provide at-a-glance information such as the Document title, the URL link to the document, whether it is currently active, any specific start and end publish dates, and whether it is currently visible to selected users.

Download Documents

Downloading a document within Trail Life Connect can be accomplished in several ways:

1. On the Manage Uploaded Documents page, click the download link to the right of the listed document.
   
2. On the Manage Uploaded Documents page, expand the document details and click the provided ‘Document Link’ shown in the summary details.
3. Within your member Profile, navigate to the ‘Troop Documents’ tab and click the download link next to the document you wish to access.
4. Within your member Profile, navigate to the ‘Resources’ tab and click the download link next to the document you wish to access.
5. On the ‘Badges & Awards’ page, click the download link next to the document you wish to access.
6. Within a TLC Email, Announcement, Calendar event, etc., click the document link (if present) provided in the body or description*

*Access to documents provided in emails, announcements, Calendar events, etc. will be controlled by the “Who can view…” settings for that document.  For Region and Area leaders, who can switch to other Areas and/or Troops within TLC, access may be prohibited due to your current role and/or location.  Switching roles and/or locations may be the answer to gaining access to the provided document.
 

Viewing and Searching for Troop Documents

When documents are uploaded within a Troop, Troop members will be able to view and access those documents within their member Profile by clicking the tab for ‘Troop Documents.’

Within the ‘Troop Documents’ section of the member Profile, you can search and filter the list of documents by using one or more of the 3 optional methods on-screen:

• Search for words in the title or description by typing in the blank space under that column header
• Filter the document list by category, using the drop-down options under that column header
• Filter/search by typing and selecting tags using the field above the list of Troop Documents (only relevant if tags were used on the affected documents)

*Note:  the ‘Resources’ tab appears next to the ‘Troop Documents’ tab within each member Profile.  ‘Troop Documents’ is a listing of documents specific only to your Troop.  ‘Resources’ is a listing of documents available to all Troops.  The search and filter tools exist within each list as you look for specific items.

Using Documents in Communications

When using Trail Life Connect communication tools (Email and Announcements,) or event descriptions in the TLC Calendar, you can include documents by providing the document link within the communication tool or Calendar event.  (These can be added by either copying/pasting the entire document URL, or by adding the URL to existing text as a hyperlink.)  These tools also have a button to insert (or attach) a file into the message or description.  However, attachments in TLC function differently from attachments in other messaging and Calendar systems.  “Attachments” in TLC effectively takes the file you wish to attach and uploads that file to the Troop’s Documents library.  The “attached” file will need to be checked to ensure the view settings are correct for the intended audience.  When viewing the “Manage Documents” page, the listed documents can be differentiated by the ‘Document Type’ column.  Those items that were added as attachments will be labeled with the document type of “Attachments.”  These attachment type documents will only appear here, and not on the ‘Troop Documents’ tab within a member’s Profile.  All other uploaded Troop Documents will be listed with the document type of ‘Standard Documents.’