Help Index
Welcome to SAG’s Help Index! Here you will find information about how to use the site’s various features and instructions for tasks such as uploading, downloading, purchasing, and selling art on our site.
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Add Your Site, Home Page: Provides a list of member sites and their links. Click on Goto to visit a site. To list your own site:
· Click Exchange Links
· Provide a Title, site description, a URL for a link image, and the URL for site itself
· Click Submit
Artists Voice, Home Page: To hear artist interviews, click on “Read More”. Requires Windows Media Player.
Become A Member, Home Page: To become a member of SAG, click the link to access the Become a Member information form and select a membership type.
· Free Membership: Post up to 1 MB of static media (photos, still images, and documents) to your gallery, access our member chat room, see your latest updates posted to our home page, be included in our bi-weekly artist updates, and upgrade your gallery.
· Premium Membership: All the amenities of the free membership PLUS post up to 10 MB of static media, customize the colors and textures of your gallery or choose from our templates, include your events in our newsfeeds, sell your art over the Web with e-commerce features, access our online lessons.
· Premium Multi-Media Membership: All the amenities of the premium membership PLUS post up to 50 MB of static media, audio, or video.
Checkout, View Cart: Click Checkout when you are ready to purchase your listed media items. A form will appear requesting shipping and billing information. See Purchasing Art for more detailed instructions.
Community: The Community Page is your link to events worldwide. Click on a region of the map to view events in that region. Click an event in the event list below the map to be connected to related stories on the Internet. Members with Premium Memberships can have their events listed on this page.
Competitions, Home Page: To learn more about competitions and view current entries, click on “Contributions”.
Donations, Home Page: To make a donation to the site, click the “help SAG” link and enter an amount. You will be taken to an online payment site for credit card or digital check payments.
Emailing, Gallery: To email the artist, click on “Email this artist”. You will see an email form that will send a message directly to the artist-owner of that gallery.
Events, Viewing in Galleries: To view an event, select an event link from the list. This will take you to the gallery where this event’s details are listed. Use the scroll bar at right to view the entire list.
Events, Viewing on Internet: Events listed on the Communities page have been posted by members (Premium level memberships only). Click on event links listed below the regional map to read more about these events on the Internet. You will be redirected to an external website. Use your “Back” button to return to the SAG site.
FAQ, Home Page: Accesses Frequently Asked Questions. Select individual questions from the list or click View to be directed to the entire FAQ list.
Featured Artist, Home Page: Provides an in-depth profile of a selected SAG member. To read about the current featured artist, click on “Read More”.
Forums: The Forums Page is your link to ongoing, moderated discussions about a variety of art-related topics. A forum file tree is provided on the left side of the screen to help you navigate the forums. To participate in a forum:
· Register a forum username and password.
· Log In with your username and password.
· Select a Topic from the forum list.
· Read the posted messages for that forum.
· Post a message to any forums you choose.
Forum, Menu: The Forum Menu includes:
· Home: SAG Home Page
· Profile: Update your user profile (forums only)
· Register: Registers your forum username and password
· Active Topics: Lists forum topics where you have active posts.
· Members: lists registered forum participants and their forum activity
· Search: Allows you to search posted messages for specific terms or member names
· FAQ: Answers common forum questions.
Galleries: The Galleries Page lists the primary and secondary categories for all of the galleries available on the SAG website.
Galleries, Browsing: To browse the galleries by category, select a category and/or subcategory from the list. This will take you to a Gallery List page. Scroll through the galleries listed. To go to a different page, click a page number at the top or bottom of the list.
Galleries, Creating: To create your own gallery, click on Become a Member on the Home Page and fill out the information form. Then enter your username and password in the Log In to Your Gallery box on the Home Page. This will take you to the My Gallery Administration Page.
Galleries, Navigating: To move to the next page of the Gallery List, choose a page number at the top or bottom of the list.
Galleries, Searching: To search for an artist by name or a specific gallery entry, enter a keyword, artist name, or artist title into the Search All Galleries box and click “Find.”
Galleries, Viewing: To view a gallery, click on the photo, the artist’s name, the “Posted Media” link, or the “View More by this Artist” link in the gallery you choose. The gallery will open in a separate window. Close the gallery window to return to the Gallery List.
Gallery Tools, My Gallery: Tools include:
· Post Media: Adds new media items to your gallery.
· My Details: Contains information about you that will be displayed in your gallery.
· Properties (Premium membership only): Allows you to change the appearance of your gallery.
· My Events: Manages your event list in your gallery.
· My Password: Changes your member password used to log in to the site.
· Online Chat: Allows you to chat live with other SAG members.
· Logoff: Signs you out of your gallery.
Home Page: The Home Page welcomes you to SAG, provides links to various stories and features, provides portals to other sections of the website (such as membership), and has a main menu for the site. It also provides illustrated links to recently updated artist galleries (click on photos to access these galleries).
Log In, Forums: Enter your registered forum username and password in the spaces provided at the top of the forum screen.
Log In, My Gallery: Enter your username and password and click Login to access the My Gallery Administration Page. Once you have logged in, you can access your administration page from anywhere on the site by clicking the “My Gallery” link at the top of each page next to your username.
Membership Types,
Free: Benefits include:
· Post up to 1 MB of static media (photos, still images, and documents) to your gallery
· Access our member chat room
· See your latest updates posted to our home page
· Be included in our bi-weekly artist updates
· Upgrade your gallery.
Premium: Benefits include:
· All the amenities of the free membership
· Post up to 10 MB of static media
· Customize the colors and textures of your gallery or choose from templates
· Include your events in our newsfeeds
· Sell your art over the Web with e-commerce features
· Access online lessons
Premium Multi-Media: Benefits include:
· All the amenities of the Premium Membership
· Post up to 50 MB of static media, audio, or video.
My Details, Gallery Tools: Customize the text appearing in your gallery by adding the following:
· Title: appears after your name in your gallery
· Biography Entry: appears next to your photo and describes your background and interests.
· Email: provides an email link so people can contact you through your gallery.
·
Add/Upload Photo:
Places a photo or art image of your choosing on your gallery page. Photo will also appear on the Gallery
List. Maximum file size is 150 kB.
·
Update Detail:
Click here after updating your artist information to send it to your gallery.
· Refresh Photo: Click here after loading a new photo or replacing a previous photo.
My Events, Gallery Tools: Customize your event list by adding the following details:
· Title: Name of event that will be listed in your gallery.
· Date of event
· City, State, Country of event
· Details: Description of event
· Attach to gallery: Click here to display this event on your gallery. If you choose not to attach an event, it will list in the My Events list on your Administration Page, but not appear in your gallery.
· Upload Event: Click here to add this event to your gallery.
My Events (list), My Gallery: This displays a list of your events, both those posted on your gallery and those not posted. To manage these entries, use the following tools:
· Edit: Allows you to edit the details of the event as they appear in the gallery(See My Events, Gallery Tools)
· Email: Click to email a link to the event to a friend
· Remove: Click to remove an event from the list (and your gallery)
· Title: Name of event as it will be listed in your gallery (if attached)
· Date of event
My Gallery Administration Page, My Gallery: Your gallery administration page contains information about your member account and the contents of your gallery.
· Gallery Tools: Links used to create and maintain your gallery, participate in discussions, and administrative options for your member account.
· My Media: A list of all the media you have posted to your gallery
· My Events: A list of events posted in your gallery.
My Media, My Gallery: Media management options include:
· Edit: Allows you to change the properties of an individual item. Give file size and file name at bottom. Allow you to delete this item or upload again.
· Email: Allows you to email a link to your gallery to a friend
· Remove: Removes an item from your gallery.
· Title: A link to your gallery so you can view the item. Once in the gallery, click on that item’s title to view it.
· Date Posted: The date you added the item to your gallery.
· State: May be set to Active or Inactive. You can change this setting by editing the item’s details using the Edit link.
· Views: Tells you how many times an items has been viewed by you and by other visitors to the site.
My Password, Gallery Tools: Enter your new password. Re-enter the password to confirm.
Newsletter: The Newsletter Page shows the text of the current SAG newsletter.
Newsletter, Subscribing: To subscribe to the newsletter by email, enter your email address in the “Newsletter” box on the Home Page.
On The Road, Home Page: Coming Soon!
Online Chat, Gallery Tools: To chat online with other SAG members, follow these steps:
1. Register a chat room username and password.
2. Type in username (or guest) and password (unless participating as a guest).
3. Click Login.
4. Choose a chat room to participate in.
5. Type messages in the lower box. Click Newline to add a hard return (since the Return key will send your message).
6. Click Send to send a message to the room.
7. Click Exit Room(far right Option button) to leave chat room.
8. Click Logout to leave Online Chat session and return to gallery.
· Current users are listed to the right of the message box.
· Formatting buttons are located above the message entry box.
· Option buttons for managing messages and display are in the upper right of the display.
· Click Help for more detailed instructions.
Online Lessons, Home Page: To access a list of online lessons available, click the “Read More” button.
· To view a video preview of a lesson, click “Play Trailer” (requires Windows Media Player).
· To purchase a lesson, click the “Buy My Lesson” link beneath each lesson description. You will be taken to an online payment site for credit card or digital check payments.
Password, My Gallery: To receive your password and username by email, click “Forgot Your Password?” You will be asked to submit your email address.
Password, Forum: When registering to use SAG Discussion Forums, you will be asked to select a username and a password for forum use. These do not have to be the same as your username and password for the SAG website. Once registered, you must log in using your forum username and password on the main Forum page.
Post Media, My Gallery; adds new items to your gallery.
Note on file formats. The type of file formats that are supported depends on which gallery type you have. The Free (1MB) and Premium (10MB) Membership galleries currently supports jpg, gif, png, pdf and doc formats (text is typed in and stored as raw text). Premium Multi-Media Membership galleries also support mp3, mpeg, wmv or mov files. NOTE: If you upload a format that is not supported, it will not be rejected, but the file will not display in your gallery.
Note on file sizes. Current file size limits are:
· 150Kb per file on free 1MB gallery (Images & Text).
· 150Kb per file on 10MB gallery (Static Images, Text).
· 10MB per file on 50MB gallery (Images, Text, Audio and Video).
Follow these steps to post media to your gallery:
· Title: The name by which you item will be listed
· Search Strings: Keywords that can be used to search for your item.
· For Sale: Check whether the item is for sale.
· Terms and Conditions: Review these conditions if placing an item for sale.
· Price: Set a price in U.S. dollars, including shipping and handling, for this item.
· State: List as Active or Inactive
· Short Art Detail: A short description of the media item that will appears beneath the title of the item in your gallery.
· Art Notes: Notes from the artist/performer that appears as a Notes link displayed above the item in your gallery.
· Uploading instructions: Instructions for adding media to your gallery (also see Step 3 below).
· Note: The amount of media your gallery will hold depends on your membership type. Membership levels include 1MB, 10MB, or 50 MB. Media file types that are accepted in all galleries are .gif, .jpg, .jpeg, .png, and .prd. Premium Multi-Media galleries also accept .mp3, .mpeg, .mov, .wmv, .wav, and .doc files.
· Click Upload Media. The Upload Module Screen will open.
· The Upload Module Screen will display how much space is available for your media and the file types allowed for this upload (see list above).
· You will be asked to load the upload software from Persits Software. This is a trusted, commonly used upload software and is safe for your computer. When the installation page appears, click on the “Click here to install XUpload Upload Control” message to continue.
· You will be asked if you want to install this software. Click Install.
· Click Select to access your computer.
· Select a file to upload. Continue to select files until finished. The screen will display your selected files and their file size. If you exceed your maximum file size, you will be alerted and unable to upload that file.
· To remove (a) file(s) from the list, click Remove or Remove All.
· To upload the selected files to your gallery, click Upload.
· Click Close.
Price, View Cart: Displays the listed price for a media item in your cart.
Properties, Gallery Tools (Premium Memberships only): Includes drop-down lists for selecting background colors, fonts, and textures for your gallery and Static Media (zoom mode views of media items) as well as the layout of your gallery. After making selections, click Save Settings. Note: You may choose a background color or a texture, but not both. Texture choice will override color choices.
Properties, View Cart: Provides a media item’s Detail description assigned by the artist on the My Gallery Administration Page/Art Detail.
Purchasing Art: Follow the steps below to purchase art:
NOTE: Your secure payment
will be processed by 2checkout.com, Inc. Our online payment pages use the
highest encryption allowed on the Internet and your credit card details will
not be made known to us. Even our credit card processor does not record them,
as your transaction is passed directly to the processing bank for instant
approval.
Quantity, View Cart: To change the quantity of an item in your cart, use the drop-down box on the item line to select a new quantity.
Register, Forums: To register for participation in forums, click Register and fill out the profile form that appears, including a forum username and password (does not have to be the same as your member username and password).
Remove, View Cart: To remove an item from your cart, click the “remove” link in front of the item name.
Resources, Home Page: For more art and artist resources, click on the links (will take you to outside websites on the Internet).
Selling Art: When adding an item to your gallery, select For Sale in the Media Detail page and choose an appropriate price. Be sure to account for all shipping and handling costs in your price (See Post Media, Step 2). NOTE: Starving Artists Gallery confirms every payment before the transaction begins. We release payment immediately to the artist once the buyer confirms delivery and satisfaction of item purchased.
Title, Gallery: To view a title, click on the title name. Click on the image to see a larger view. To read more about the title, click Details.
Title, View Cart: Lists the titles of media items in your cart. Click on an item title to view and image of the item.
Uploading Media, My Gallery: See Post Media for full instructions.
View Cart: The View Cart Page lists all media items you have selected for purchase from the galleries. See Purchasing Art for a full description.
XML Feeds, Home Page: Provides XML code that can be copied to your site – includes an event newsfeed and links from SAG. Copy and paste into your website code to display the newsfeed on your site. To have an event listed on the newsfeed, you must have a Premium level membership.