[TIP] How to Use Connect: Step-by-step Instructions

We've updated how to Get Started on Connect.

These step-by-step instructions with illustrations will help you get the most out of Connect. Find tips on how to:

  • Follow a Group(s)
  • Take Part in a Discussion
  • Start a New Discussion
  • Mention Members
  • Send a Private Message
  • Add and Edit My Profile
  • Set Notification Preferences
  • Subscribe or Unsubscribe from a Discussion
  • Stop or Restart all Notifications

Connect FooterThe Get Started on Connect instructions can be found any time on any page on Connect. Simply scroll down to the footer on any page. In the footer you can also read:

  • About Connect
  • About our Moderators and Mentors
  • Community Guidelines
  • Disclaimer
    and more...

Let us know what instructions you would like to have added to the Get Started page.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Just Want to Talk Support Group.

Hi @sunnyflower - I'm sorry to hear you are not feeling well. I thought I would answer your private message in this Just Want to Talk discussion - [TIP] How to Use Connect: Step-by-step Instructions so that other members struggling with the same questions may find some help.

You asked what is the best and easiest way to get to the list of all my private messages and how can I access the posts I've saved by tapping the bookmark icon to the right of the heart where we like a post?

To see a list of all of your private messages, click the small envelope icon to the left of your profile photo at the top right of the Connect page.
To see a list of all of your saved bookmarks, click the small down symbol to the right of your profile photo and click My Bookmarks.

Bonus question! - To see a list of all of the posts you have made, click the small down symbol to the right of your profile photo and click My Profile then scroll down the window until you see all of your posts shown in newest to oldest order.

Scroll to the top of the discussion for more how to information and a link to the Get Started on Connect guide.

Hope you have a great day!

REPLY

Great tips and with pictures, @johnbishop. Thank you.

Members may also appreciate the tips in this article:
- What can you learn from a profile: yours or a fellow member’s? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/page/about-connect/newsfeed-post/what-can-you-learn-from-a-profile-yours-or-a-fellow-members/

REPLY
@johnbishop

Hi @sunnyflower - I'm sorry to hear you are not feeling well. I thought I would answer your private message in this Just Want to Talk discussion - [TIP] How to Use Connect: Step-by-step Instructions so that other members struggling with the same questions may find some help.

You asked what is the best and easiest way to get to the list of all my private messages and how can I access the posts I've saved by tapping the bookmark icon to the right of the heart where we like a post?

To see a list of all of your private messages, click the small envelope icon to the left of your profile photo at the top right of the Connect page.
To see a list of all of your saved bookmarks, click the small down symbol to the right of your profile photo and click My Bookmarks.

Bonus question! - To see a list of all of the posts you have made, click the small down symbol to the right of your profile photo and click My Profile then scroll down the window until you see all of your posts shown in newest to oldest order.

Scroll to the top of the discussion for more how to information and a link to the Get Started on Connect guide.

Hope you have a great day!

Jump to this post

Again it's John to the rescue! My cell phone doesn't work for some of the instructions I've gotten over time but I'll try it here first and then on my computer. And I bookmark this so thank you very much John! I'm sure every single person on the blog is grateful for this information! Don't forget to take care of yourself John! I currently have over 400 emails in my neuropathy group and then of course more in my bones joints and mussels group. Stay safe stay well!

REPLY
@sunnyflower

Again it's John to the rescue! My cell phone doesn't work for some of the instructions I've gotten over time but I'll try it here first and then on my computer. And I bookmark this so thank you very much John! I'm sure every single person on the blog is grateful for this information! Don't forget to take care of yourself John! I currently have over 400 emails in my neuropathy group and then of course more in my bones joints and mussels group. Stay safe stay well!

Jump to this post

Hi @sunnyflower, The user interface for phones and mobile devices is a little different but not too bad once you figure it out. Here's how to access the same info on your phone.

REPLY
@johnbishop

Hi @sunnyflower - I'm sorry to hear you are not feeling well. I thought I would answer your private message in this Just Want to Talk discussion - [TIP] How to Use Connect: Step-by-step Instructions so that other members struggling with the same questions may find some help.

You asked what is the best and easiest way to get to the list of all my private messages and how can I access the posts I've saved by tapping the bookmark icon to the right of the heart where we like a post?

To see a list of all of your private messages, click the small envelope icon to the left of your profile photo at the top right of the Connect page.
To see a list of all of your saved bookmarks, click the small down symbol to the right of your profile photo and click My Bookmarks.

Bonus question! - To see a list of all of the posts you have made, click the small down symbol to the right of your profile photo and click My Profile then scroll down the window until you see all of your posts shown in newest to oldest order.

Scroll to the top of the discussion for more how to information and a link to the Get Started on Connect guide.

Hope you have a great day!

Jump to this post

Hi John, I have tried to follow your instructions exactly, to get to a list of my pms, bookmarks, etc. I have found the bookmarks recently but can't now. I'm using my Surface Laptop and on my profile page, my pic is all the way to the left, not at the top right as you said in your directions. And, there is no envelope icon anywhere on my profile page. Also, there is no small down symbol (drop down menu) to the right of my profile photo. I am fairly computer literate and believe my two devices are different than most people's b/c I struggle like none other. All these times I've asked for help and gotten it, my laptop and phone are different. No wonder I'm confused, frustrated and overwhelmed. The pain doesn't help.

On my Samsung Galaxy 10 note phone, my pic is in the center of my profile page and again, no icons; no envelope, drop-down menu, nothing. I must be a genius to have found the list of my pms and bookmarks before on my own but only once or twice so can't remember how I did it on either of my devices.

I am beyond frustrated! Any thoughts? Thanks so much, Sunny

REPLY

try going to the icon that looks like 3 dots on top of each other and reduce your resolution. I like to keep mine at 100%

REPLY
@sunnyflower

Hi John, I have tried to follow your instructions exactly, to get to a list of my pms, bookmarks, etc. I have found the bookmarks recently but can't now. I'm using my Surface Laptop and on my profile page, my pic is all the way to the left, not at the top right as you said in your directions. And, there is no envelope icon anywhere on my profile page. Also, there is no small down symbol (drop down menu) to the right of my profile photo. I am fairly computer literate and believe my two devices are different than most people's b/c I struggle like none other. All these times I've asked for help and gotten it, my laptop and phone are different. No wonder I'm confused, frustrated and overwhelmed. The pain doesn't help.

On my Samsung Galaxy 10 note phone, my pic is in the center of my profile page and again, no icons; no envelope, drop-down menu, nothing. I must be a genius to have found the list of my pms and bookmarks before on my own but only once or twice so can't remember how I did it on either of my devices.

I am beyond frustrated! Any thoughts? Thanks so much, Sunny

Jump to this post

@sunnyflower I think we've got two things going on in our conversation. I'm assuming you were not yet on your profile page. If I'm not mistaken, on your Galaxy 10 phone, it's similar to my iPhone with the profile photo in the top center of the screen. This is not your profile page on a phone. If you scroll down you should see MY PROFILE, MY GOALS & BADGES, MY BOOKMARKS and ACCOUNT SETTINGS should be highlighted. This is your account settings page and if you scroll further down you should see the information for General Settings, About Me and Notifications. So from this page you can access your profile to make changes to your profile, upload a new photo, etc. You can also click the MY PROFILE to access a list of all of your previous posts or click the MY BOOKMARKS to show a list of all of your saved bookmarks.

The Surface laptop might be similar to a tablet or iPad so when you see the profile photo at the left, do you see 4 buttons under your profile description - MY PROFILE, MY GOALS & BADGES, MY BOOKMARKS, and ACCOUNT SETTINGS? These are the keys to the kingdom to find your bookmarks and previous posts.

The only thing left is to access your private messages. On your phone, you would click the 3 dots at the top right of the screen (or 3 horizontal bars for iPhones). That opens the menu. The next to last items is Messages. Click on that link to see your private messages.
I'm thinking your Surface laptop may be the same - do you have 3 dots at the top right of the screen? If so, it should work similar to your phone but easier since it's larger fonts.

REPLY

@johnbishop. Hello, John. You are remarkable! Such a help to so many of us non-cyber-understanders......You've helped me a bunch. Now, maybe you have a solution for this issue that's been bugging me for a couple of months.

I can't get any of the new Connect messages on my email account. None. Ever. I don't get the daily digest either. The only way I stay up with sites is by using the notifications bell symbol a the to of the page next to the privacy envelope. I use it every day to catch up some. I also go to the groups and pages individually to catch newest messages. But, no more emails. NONE

I've reset my profile page, all the groups I follow, several times. Nothing.

What have I done? I must have done something weird when setting up my new HP laptop and Samsung Galaxy 20. Any suggestions as to what I did and what to do?
Hope you're doing well and perking along. I don't get much chance to read your messages and miss your good self!
Blessings and be well.
elizabeth

REPLY
@ess77

@johnbishop. Hello, John. You are remarkable! Such a help to so many of us non-cyber-understanders......You've helped me a bunch. Now, maybe you have a solution for this issue that's been bugging me for a couple of months.

I can't get any of the new Connect messages on my email account. None. Ever. I don't get the daily digest either. The only way I stay up with sites is by using the notifications bell symbol a the to of the page next to the privacy envelope. I use it every day to catch up some. I also go to the groups and pages individually to catch newest messages. But, no more emails. NONE

I've reset my profile page, all the groups I follow, several times. Nothing.

What have I done? I must have done something weird when setting up my new HP laptop and Samsung Galaxy 20. Any suggestions as to what I did and what to do?
Hope you're doing well and perking along. I don't get much chance to read your messages and miss your good self!
Blessings and be well.
elizabeth

Jump to this post

Hi Elizabeth @ess77, There could be a couple of problems if you are not receiving your Connect emails. The first thing to check is if your Connect emails are getting sent to your Junk or Spam folders. If none of the emails are in your Junk or Spam folders, please contact us using the Contact Mayo Clinic Connect form (link in the left footer column at the bottom of all Connect pages). Here is the link for your convenience - https://connect.mayoclinic.org/contact-a-community-moderator. It may be that your email is being hard bounced back to Mayo Clinics mail server and needs to be reset/cleared.

Another problem when using multiple devices for email is that if you want to see all of your emails on all devices, the email programs must be setup to use IMAP settings that leave all of the email on the mail server so each device can access it there. If you have Gmail, Yahoo mail or other service that you access online instead of downloading to your computer/device, then you don't need a special setup you just need to setup each device to use that email program.

If you get a lot of emails, I would recommend creating a specific folder for all of your Connect emails so that when you receive Connect emails they go into a Connect folder and do not appear in your Inbox. It makes it much easier to manage incoming emails and keep your inbox clean. There is a discussion that will help you setup a filter to move Connect emails into their own folder.

[Tip] Filter your Connect emails into a folder: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/tip-filter-your-connect-emails-into-a-folder-1/

REPLY

@johnbishop Well, John, you worked your magic again. After I sent my message to you for help, I went to my profile, my account and the end of the page to edit email notifications, again. I hit stop email and update, then hit send email and update. I also did the same re the digest. I ck'd my new emails and found 5 new connect emails and a digest!

You worked your magic, fast! I suppose I just bumped something into action.....but now have the new messages.....I want to do what you suggested re a separate connect active folder, but I currently use an email address w/comcast.net, the Xfinity online mail. Not one of the other normal deals. Any ideas how to set it up out of my email inbox?

Again, you are so dear and thank you! Blessings and hope your feet are surviving the cold. I find Requip helps my feet and legs so much, as well as the RLS that's really difficult and severe. dopamine issues, but still need more neuropathy help. Hands/fingers are getting numb more now at times. Ain't a good thing, dadblastit! Getting back to warm pool soon, hopefully, since son seems to be improving very slightly..... Botox and increase in Dilaudid pump and addition of bump ability...can give himself a little burst when he needs the extra relief, 2X daily.....why didn't they do that for him years ago?????? I had to get involved, get blunt and push for him to get the obvious help he should have been getting all along.....the spine doc and staff were coasting! I've had 20 years of this to get him help! Makes a mom really growl! SO, now he's seeing some light....Mayo will soon take over the pump and pain management from the spine doc and will I be thrilled.

Wow. I needed to rant. Sorry, John. You happened to be there.....
BTW: I wear only Skechers slip-on womens shoes, look like real shoes and only thing I can wear now with neuropathy, swelling, pain, arch, etc.! The seem to have the proper cushion and fit for me now. So, I've just bought online about 5 new pairs of shoes, thrown out everything else almost. Wear soft bottom leather ballet slippers inside, no bare feet at all and I love to live w/no shoes, Skechers and nothing else. I used to have a closet full of really neat heels.....may be part of today's feet and leg problem! Take care....chatty matty out....
elizabeth

REPLY
Please sign in or register to post a reply.