1. FAQ page: find the answers to many common questions here

2. Members Directory: MPG members' profile data is available to MPG members and non-members alike (subject to each member's Privacy Settings). You can search by musical genre, role and/or instrument(s) played by selecting the appropriate tick boxes and clicking on the "Filter Directory" button. You can also search using the general search function, which you find at the top right corner of every page.

3. The Knowledge Bank: this is a depository of useful articles, similar to a reference library. They are arranged under subject, inside folders, or "categories". New articles or information can be added by submitting an email to the MPG admin team, as instructed near the top of the page.

4. The Dashboard: each member has their own section, known as the "Dashboard", where they can:

• edit their profile.
• set privacy options for the access to their personal details by other visitors to the site.
• upload audio files for access by visitors to the site. The files need to be non-variable bit rate mp3 files. You can upload as many as you like as long as the total does not exceed 5Mb.
• create blogs.
• add a photo to their page.

5. Editing your Profile:

• "Account Details": enter an email address, which visitors to the site will use to make contact with you. This is also the address that MPG will use to make contact with you, so please make sure it is cureent. Also enter a username (between 3 and 12 characters), which will be used when you log into the site. This username is case sensitive, and must not contain any spaces, but may contain any alphanumeric characters.
• "About Me": this is the area where you not only add details about yourself, but also should consider inserting as many keywords as you can think of that will help to identify you to visitors searching for producers, engineers, etc.
  (please note: to create paragaph breaks, use Shift-Return instead of a simple Return)
  
• "My Skills": when visitors are searching for MPG members they can limit their searches by selecting genres, skills and/or musical instruments played. Use this section to enter details of your talents. Click on a category to add it to your page; hold the Apple key (Mac) or the CTRL key (PC) whilst adding additional categories.

6. Privacy Settings: here you can specify how many of your personal details are visible, and by whom (members, non-members or no-one at all). On this page, you can also set the option to receive the MPG email enewsletter (or not).

7. My Image/Photo: here you can upload a photo, to appear on your member page. The format should preferably be JPEG (.jpg) and the picture will be re-sized automatically but try to use an image with size below about 200 KB.

8. General advice for entering text in the web site:

It's better to type text directly form your computer keyboard, but if you're copy/pasting from another text source, make sure that the text contains no formatting codes, e.g. from Word docs or internet web pages. These codes will, at best, make your entries look messy and possibly unreadable, and at worst can cause the website to crash. If you're copying from Word, export the file as "raw text", then copy/paste. If you're using a web source, import the text into a word processor, e.g. Word or Mac's Text Edit, then export as "raw text". This should clear the formatting codes, but at any rate, please check before pasting into your profile, blog, or a comment page on any part of the site. If in doubt, use the "Contact" link to seek advice from a member of the MPG website team.