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Last updated: January 11, 2013
What is different with Be Communities?What new functionality is available?Is the web address different?Can I use the login credentials from the "old" Be Communities site? I have forgotten my username and/or password.What if I have registered but still cannot login? I have logged in before, but now cannot login?I already logged in, why do I get logged off automatically?Will all the forum posts that I have previously read still appear that way?How can I get a listing of all community activity (e.g. forum posts, blog posts, wiki articles, etc.)Do I have to rejoin communities, or "re-friend" members, etc.?What about Web browser cookies?What browsers are supported?Where can I get more information on the new site?If I have questions about Be Communities, where can I ask them?How can I find the product-oriented forums that I visited before?Are all the forum posts, wiki and blog articles, and images and files from the old site accessible?How can I find the product TechNotes, FAQs, etc. that were available previously?Why are multiple file uploads not supported for forum postings?How do I find things?Can I still search for articles posted on discussion.bentley.com?I had bookmarks and RSS feeds set for the old site, do they still work?How do "old site" links to other "old site" content work now?How do I get a new community created?I subscribed to a forum/media gallery/blog/etc. and am not receiving any notifications of new posts. What could be causing that?Forums, blogs, wikis... what are they and which should I use?
There are many things different with the site - all of which have been introduced to improve the user experience. The biggest change is how you get to information. In the new system, everything is a community - EVERYTHING. This provides much better organization and navigation as everything with the same context is always presented in the user interface. So instead of starting with an application (e.g. forum, wiki, blog, community, etc.) and then locating context (e.g. a specific product line, one of the Solutions, TechNotes, etc.), you now start with context (e.g. Product lines, Solutions, Bentley Programs, etc.) and then an application (e.g. forum, wiki, blog, etc.) within that community.
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There are many, many enhancements and improvements, many of which satisfy member feedback. Although a comprehensive listing is not available, some of the more notable improvements are:
Is the web address different?
The web address of the site remains what it was -- communities.bentley.com
Can I use the login credentials from the "old" Be Communities site?
Yes. The migration of information to the new Web site made it possible to preserve member names as well as each member's login credentials, profiles, etc.
I have forgotten my username and/or password.
If you forgot your username and/or password you can click on the respective links when you go to Sign-in.
What if I have registered but still cannot login?
If you have registered and cannot sign in, check to ensure you have a valid username and password. If you are sure the username and password are valid, but still cannot login you may either require account activation or your account may be on hold. In this case, it is best to contact us.
I have logged in before, but now cannot login?
Check to ensure your username and password are correct. If you still cannot login please contact us.
I already logged in, why do I get logged off automatically?
Due to various system processes currently set up to maximize site performance and health, all connections to the site are terminated about once a day. We are looking into other ways to handle this.
Will all the forum posts that I have previously read still appear that way?
This is something that we were not able to bring over to the new site, so all the posts in the forums that you had previously visited will appear as though they have not been read (only on the initial viewing of that forum).
How can I get a listing of all community activity (e.g. forum posts, blog posts, wiki articles, etc.)
The easiest way to do that is to go to the communities that you are most interested in and click the "Favorite this..." link in the area that interests you the most. That will subsequently keep a listing in your Favorite Places, which is specific to you -- no matter where you log in to Be Communities.
Do I have to rejoin communities, or "re-friend" members, etc.?
You should still be a member of all public or private communities that you had previously joined - those will appear in the respective menu tabs (e.g. Products, Communities, Users, etc.) Similarly, your member profile should also be the same that it was, including any contacts that you have previously "friended". You profile is accessible by clicking on your name at the top of any page on the site (after you have logged in, of course). We recommend taking a few minutes to visit your profile to see what additional personal configuration settings are available to you and to update it accordingly.
What about Web browser cookies?
If you had previously selected the "Keep me logged in" option, you will need to delete your Be Communities cookie to use the new site.
To delete your Be Communities cookie: Go to the Start menu, Search for Files and Folders, and then search for "communities.bentley.com". Delete the resulting cookie file with that name (for example, "Cookie:xyz@communities.bentley.com".
If you cannot locate this file, please follow the steps below to delete ALL cookies (NOTE: this may affect your browsing experience on other websites):
Microsoft Internet Explorer
Mozilla Firefox
Google Chrome
What browsers are supported?
We have tested the new site on most current browsers (e.g. Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Firefox, etc.), so those should all work okay.
Where can I get more information on the new site?
An area on the site exists where you can get the latest information pertaining to the site -- this can be found under the Help menu item. The Help community wiki contains various things like this FAQ, Getting Started with Be Communities, among other things, all of which will be updated on an as-needed basis.
If I have questions about Be Communities, where can I ask them?
Forums exist in the Help community where you can ask questions and share answers with other community members. If you require assistance from Be Communities site administrators, please contact us and include details to help us help you.
How can I find the product-oriented forums that I visited before?
The product-oriented forums are now applications in the respective Product communities. An overall index to the Product communities can be found in the Product Community Mappings list.
Are all the forum posts, wiki and blog articles, and images and files from the old site accessible?
We tried to migrate as much content to the new site as we could. That said, we did do some "housecleaning", where context-oriented content that no longer applies or seemed irrelevant was not moved. In situations where the latter is the case, we still have access to that data, so if you believe that something is missing, first try searching for the content... if it is not found, refresh your Web browser session. If that does not resolve the missing information, contact us and provide some details regarding what you think is missing. The site administrators will investigate and update where possible.
How can I find the product TechNotes, FAQs, etc. that were available previously?
Our Support TechNotes, FAQs, etc. are on the site, and organized on a product line basis. They can be found in the wiki application of each Product community, with an index to the respective articles. An overall index to the product TechNotes and FAQs can be found here.
Why are multiple file uploads not supported for forum postings?
There were various issues with multiple file uploads in forum postings - one was simply that attaching multiple images resulted in only the first being displayed (note that you can insert more than one image in a forum post or wiki or blog article). If you have more than one file to attach to a forum post, you should put all files (including images) that you want to post in an archive (e.g. .ZIP, .RAR, etc.) and attach that archive to your forum posting. Another option would be to upload your files to your member file area and link to those from your forum post.
Note that any forum post previous to May 6, 2010 containing multiple file attachments will only have the first attachment.
How do I find things?
Be Communities search is one of the more significant enhancements - simply enter what you are looking for in the search field and a short list of the most relevant results will be listed by category (e.g. FORUM, PEOPLE, WIKIS, etc.) If you do not see what you are looking for, click the Search All... link to see all the results. The Advanced search options... link gives you the ability to refine your search. More helpful tips can be found in the article How do I find stuff?
Can I still search for articles posted on discussion.bentley.com?
Yes, you can. The easiest way to do that is to use Google - start with this link, and then fill in the appropriate fields with what you are looking for. You can refine your search to narrow the results.
I had bookmarks and RSS feeds set for the old site, do they still work?
Previously set Web browser bookmarks and RSS feeds will not work on the new site. This is due primarily to the significant differences in the technology being used (along with the new organization of the site). That said, the new site does provide you with the ability to identify favorite forum posts, threads, blog articles, wiki articles, etc., which will follow you even if you log in to Be Communities on different computers.
How do "old site" links to other "old site" content work now?
To preserve the value of forum posts, wiki and blog articles, references to files on the site, etc., we spent a great deal of time ensuring that links to other content within the site were updated to take into account the new organization of the site. If you encounter a link that does not work and you cannot correct it, please contact us and identify the specific URL of the content where the broken link is and what the link is. The site administrators will investigate and update where possible.
How do I get a new community created?
Previously, any logged in Be Communities member could create a community. Currently, the ability to do that is now something reserved for site administrators. If you would like to request a community be created, please contact us with your request - the site administrators will connect with you for additional details.
I subscribed to a forum/media gallery/blog/etc. and am not receiving any notifications of new posts. What could be causing that?
Make sure your Be Communities e-mail configuration is set properly -- go to Settings, click the Site Options tab, and scroll down to the EMAIL CONFIGURATION section. If you make any changes there, make sure you click the Save button at the bottom of that page.
Forums, blogs, wikis... what are they and which should I use?
Each of the community applications serve different purposes. Although there is going to be some overlap, the general rule-of-thumb is:
More information on what these are and how they should be used can be found in this article and