5 steps to get started

1. Check whether your organization is not already a partner. You can do so by going to the Core Partners and Regular partners sections and use the alphabetical index to identify your organization therein. You can also conduct a search using the search box (select "Partners"). This is necessary especially for large organizations in order to avoid double entries (partners are not easy to remove from the database once created- read the rationale why this is so).
   
   Please perform this check carefully since the software wouldn't detect that you enter the same organization if even one character is different (e.g. "Booz Allen and Hamilton Inc." and "Booz Allen and Hamilton , Inc." would be treated as two different entries). If you suspect your organization's name might have been preceded by other characters such as quotes or words like The and A in an earlier entry, check all possibilities. When in doubt, consult the site administrator prior to creating a partner profile.
   
   
• In case you found your organization already in one of the partner lists, view its partner profile by clicking on the link associated to its name in the partner list, and contact the person listed therein as Main contact or one of the Web contacts so they would add you as individual to the partners' profile and give you the appropriate level of authorization to enter data.
• If your organization is not yet listed on the site, make sure internally that you are authorized to create its profile and enter data according to your internal rules, and proceed to step 2 below.
  
  
  
2. Create your organization's profile. This is done by clicking the Become a partner link appearing on the left menu over the Login window (Note: you do not need to have an username or password for the site in order to register your organization as a partner. The data you submit will be checked and approved by the administrators and you can start entering data when this is done).
   
   You will see a form describing your organization. The fields marked with red asterisks are the required minimum of information and have to be filled in before you are allowed to submit the profile but you are strongly encouraged to fill all fields to create a full picture of your organization for the site's visitors. Please make sure you adhere to the Language, style and formatting rules when entering data to ensure the uniformity of contents.
   
   As part of this process, you will also create the profile of your organization's Main contact. This is the person responsible on the managerial level for the GFP partnership and policy issues connected with it. The day-to-day operation will be handled by one or more Web contacts from the Web team that will be added as described below in 3.
   
   
   
3. Create your web team. Once the Main contact has been notified of the approval of your organization as partner, (s)he can log in using the user name and password created during step 2 above. The website recognizes the user and his/her name and status is displayed in the place of the Login box in the left menu while the Login button's caption changes to Logout (for more information see also the tutorial part on Logging in and entering data). Next, the web team of your organization can be created:
   
• Create individuals: Under the Logout button, a link labeled My Partner Profile appears. By clicking it the Main contact can edit and update the data and also create the profiles of other individuals from your organization. This is done by clicking the Add individual link at the bottom of the partner profile. The form for adding individual allows also to assign to the person topics according to his/her areas of interest. Click Save when you have inputted all relevant data on the individual. Repeat this step for all other persons who will be involved with the website in your organization.
• Next, you will assign the Web Contact status to some or all of the individuals you created. To do so, scroll down to the bottom of your organization's Partner profile and click the Edit link appearing there. The profile edit form that is opened displays the Main contact and a link labeled Attach web contacts below it. Clicking this link displays a subform at the bottom of the current form showing all individuals you created in the previus step with a checkbox under each individual's name. Check the name(s) of the Web contacts and click Save so the change takes effect. To finish the operation, save also your Partner profile's main form by clicking on the Update button.
  
  
  
  
4. Identify and upload you data activities, events, news, newsletters of your organization, links to specific parts of its website. To enter this content, discussion groups etc., you will need to go to the bottom of your Partner profile and click the respective link that will open a specific form to enter each object.
   
   On top of each form you will find a link to the respective part of the Upload Guide describing the pecularities of entering data into this form. Also, prior to uploading you may wish to consult the section on General notes and conventions on data entry containing guidance on the use of the site's built-in HTML editor and other useful information.
   
   
   
5. Apply as a Core Partner or National Focal point. You organization may wish to become the local GFP partner in your country (National focal point), or, in case you have global trade facilitation activities - to become one of the Core partners who also maintain specific topics and publish their international conventions, recommendations, reference readings, etc.
   
   Both applications are made in the same way, again you need to log in as a Main or Web contact, click on the My Partner profile link, and then at the Edit link on its bottom. On the form you see, clicking the Become National Focal Point or Become a Core Partner links will trigger sending an e-mail to the site's administrators who will review and approve your application. During the time in which you are waiting for approval, the links in your Partner profile edit form are replaced by the respective message.
   
   If you are approved as Core partner and undertake to manage a topic or subtopic, one or more of your organization's Web contacts will be upgraded to Admins. Admins have the right to change page contents, add recommendations and documents, create and remove pages, etc. Many of the activities described in this Tutorial apply only to them and not to the non-admin users. To find out which further reading is appropriate to your user authorizationm you may wish to consult the User authorization and which parts of the Tutorial you will need part.

5 important things to know about data entry

1. When entering data, the most convenient way is either to use the links appearing on the left menu under your name and Logout button when you are logged in, or to bookmark your Partner profile and use it as a starting point. In either case, you have all links to relevant objects you may wish to enter gathered and at hand.
2. The data entry itself is done by filling forms that consist of lists, checkboxes etc., and some fields where you type free text, e.g. about your organization's mission. Entering text in these fields is done in a way very similar to the way you work in MS Word, using a built-in software called the HTML editor (HTML stands for FyperText Markup Language and is the language used to describe web pages but you do not even need to know that much to enter data - just fill the forms)
3. Always try to fill all information a form allows you to. This way, you will ensure that users searching the website for information will find you. A very powerful tool to this end is the precise attaching of topics.
   As an absolute minimum, enter the required fields (they are marked with asterisks). Othervise, the site's validator software will not allow you to proceed, and all kinds of Save or Submit buttons will not work.
4. If in doubt what kind of information to enter, read the guide on Sharing contents among partners - the policy part of this Tutorial.
5. If you are admin user, you also are entitled to change the text of the pages appearing above the tables of information and other items such as recommendations, news or events in the Topic pages. This is done by using the Edit plain text content link appearing to the right of the page title. Be cautios not to delete this text by accident since it often involves months of work (one example is the Tutorial you are reading). If you wish to add a database entry such as a partner, news or reference reading, use the links in the left hand menu..

More guidance: ask the web team and use the FAQ section

The website is not just a piece of software. It also has a web team that enters data and administers it, and will be happy to help you if you encounter problems.

Also, the web team has gathered the questions encountered up to now, and will publish the answers to all problems reported by GFP partners in the FAQ section. Please write to if you have any problems not answered in the Tutorial or FAQ.

5 useful features of the site

1. Any list you may need (e.g. of all Core or Regular partners, Reference readings, Links, etc.) can be exported to a MS Word file using the Export to Word link under the respective table.
2. Core Partner's staff may subscribe for monthly updates in their fields of interest. The monthly update is an e-mail generated automaticaly and containing all new and updated items in the topics you have subscribed to. To subscribe for a monthly update, check the "Receives monthly updates" checkbox of your user profile (edited by following the My profile link that appears under the Logout button once you log in), and use the Select your topics of interest link in the bottom of your profile's form to choose the topics and subtopics you monitor.
3. Core Partners may undertake to manage a topic and thus ensure the quality of its offering. For detailed guidance, see the Guidelines on managing a topic, the Language, Style and Formatting part of this Tutorial and the Policy questions in the FAQ section.
4. The web site has different levels of user privileges. Therefore, depending on the access rights assigned to you, you will be able to perform different tasks and will not necessarily need to learn how to use the entire functionality of the site. For details, see User authorization and which parts of the Tutorial you will need
5. Privacy - who views my data? Your personal profile is only visible to Admin users, main and Web contacts of Core Partners when they are logged in. All other users, whether logged in or not, only see your e-mail address when clicking on your user name in various forms, and it's up to you how many personal data you wish to disclose to the publics.