General

You must log in to the Directory Groups Interface to create or update Directory Groups. You do not need to be logged in to view directory groups and group details, however.

• How to Log In
  1. Go to https://dir.jpl.nasa.gov/groups/ for the Directory Groups Interface.
  2. Enter your JPL Username and JPL Password. If you forgot your JPL Password, call 4-HELP.
  3. Click Login.
  4. The next screen is the "logged in home page" from which you can create and update groups: (below)
  

Viewing Group Details

You can view a group's details at any time, whether or not you are logged in. You may view groups in any of the following ways:

• How to View by Group Name
  

  If you know the exact group name, you may type it in the designated box and click View to view group details.

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• How to Search for Existing Group(s)

  When you click the Search for Existing Group(s) link, the following dialogue box pops up.

  

  Enter part or all of a group name, and the following box will appear in the lower portion of the screen.

  
  Enter a partial group name using the following criteria:

  Example Search (using Org Group 173):

  • Enter 173 to match anything that starts with 173.
  • Enter *173 to match anything that includes 173.

  

  Click on the desired group name, and it will take you to the page to View Group Details:

  

• How to View All Groups that [username] is a Member of

  You must be logged into the Directory Groups Interface to view all of the groups that [username] is a Member of. The link, "View All Groups that [username] is a Member of," will appear.

  Upon clicking the "View All Groups that [username] is a Member of" link, it takes you to a table that lists all of the user's groups. Example:

  

  Click view group details to get the View Group Details page.
  Click update group to update that individual group.

Administrating Groups

You must be logged in to create or update groups. In order to update a group, you must be an administator for that group. Extranet users cannot be administrators. It is possible to be an Administrator without being a Member of a group, this allows admins to "opt out" of group communications but still maintain the group list.

• How to Create a Group

  In order to create a group, do the following from the logged in home page.

  
  1. Type in a name for the group in the New Group Name input box. Make sure you follow the group naming rules as outlined in Naming Rules.
  2. Type a short description of the purpose of the group in the Description input box.
  3. The Create Derived Groups radio buttons default to 'No'. Select 'Yes' if you wish to automatically create and maintain derived groups. Derived groups are available to facilitate meeting ITAR access control requirements. They can be thought of as subset groups such as "members of the parent group who are US Persons". Click here for further information including how derived groups are named.
  4. The Use As UMS (Mail and Calendar) List radio buttons default to 'No'. Select 'Yes' if you wish to use this group as a mail or calendar list.
  5. Click Create Group to create the group.

  The next screen allows you to add members to the group. For instructions on how to add members see Add Members.

  Note for DocuShare Users:

  Your new group will appear in DocuShare once you log in to your DocuShare library.

  • When you log in, your group may appear to only have one member (you).
  • As the members of your group log in, they will appear as members of the group in the DocuShare interface.
  • Once all your members log in to DocuShare, you will see all members appear in your group via DocuShare's Group Services interface.
• How to Add Members to a Group

  All group members must either have a JPL Username, Password and a Badge Number; or be members of the Extranet.

  

  1. Once logged in, select the group you wish to add members to.
  2. Click the Update Group(s) radio button.
  3. Click Continue.

  There are two methods for adding members to a group:

  1. Adding Members by Username or Badge Number
     

     1. Type the Username or Badge Number of users in the input boxes. (You can add up to five members at a time in this manner).
     2. When you click on the Look up a user link, a search tool opens in a new popup window.
     
     3. Type in all or part of the users first and/or last name and then click Look Up!.
     4. The search results appear in the lower frame of the popup window. Click the desired username, and it will populate the input box in the original window.
     5. You may choose to add/delete the member as a member only and/or Admin (group Administrator).
  2. Adding Members by Text File
     

     1. Prepare a text file with the Usernames or Badge Numbers of each member to add. You may add 100 members at a time with this method. Each entry should be in its own line.
     2. Click Browse next to the New Member File input box.
     3. Select the file.
     4. Click Update. The next page confirms the members or administrators who were added to the group.
• How to Update a Single Group
  
  1. From the logged in home page under Update a Group:
  • Select the group you wish to update.
  • Select the Update Group(s) radio button.
  • Click Continue.

  2. The Edit Group Details page will be displayed.

  

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  You can prepare any of the following changes to the group:
  • Change the Group Name. WARNING: changing the group name can affect related services such as DocuShare. For more information please see the FAQ.
  • Change the group description
  • Select whether or not to create/maintain
  derived groups. Derived groups are available to facilitate meeting ITAR access control requirements. They can be thought of as subset groups such as "members of the parent group who are US Persons." Click here for further information including how derived groups are named.
  • Choose whether to copy this group to the JPL Domain.
  • Choose whether this group is allowed to include Extranet members. NOTE: Selecting "No" will remove all Extranet members from this group.
  • Select the member visibility by choosing public or private radio button. If you create this group as private, no one but the administrator will be able to see the member list. It is recommended that most groups be made public. However, there are certain groups whose memberships need to be private, such as groups related to the Source Evaluation Board (SEB).
  • Change cognizant owner by typing in JPL Badge number.
  • Declare the group as "reviewed" by checking the I have reviewed this group checkbox and set a new date for review by typing the number of days into the future which the group should again be reviewed.
  • Create this group as a UMS list (if it is not already). Update UMS list options or delete the UMS list.

  3. The lower half of the form:

  
  • Add members to a group.
  • Add or Delete Member or Administrator status by checking/unchecking the appropriate boxes for each user.
  Notes:
  • Members are displayed in alphabetical order based on JPL Username.
  • By default, this page will only display 50 members at a time. You may advance the page forward or backward to view additional members, jump to a desired page, or you may view 50, 250, 500, or all members at a time. Please note that viewing large group numbers on one page can take time to load, and may time-out your system.
  4. Click Update for changes to take effect.
• How to Update Multiple Groups Simultaneously
  

  1. From the logged in home page under Update a Group:
     • Select the groups you wish to update by holding the Ctrl key and selecting groups.
     • Select the Update Group(s) radio button.
     • Click Continue.

  2. On the next screen you will see the selected groups (An asterisk (*) denotes a derived group.)

     
  3. You may make any of the following changes to the groups, simultaneously.
     • Select whether or not to create/maintain derived groups. Derived groups are available to facilitate meeting ITAR access control requirements. They can be thought of as subset groups such as "members of the parent group who are US Persons". Click here for further information including how derived groups are named.
     • Choose whether to copy this group to the JPL Domain.
     • Choose whether this group is allowed to include Extranet members. NOTE: Selecting "No" will remove all Extranet members from the group.
     • Change cognizant owner by typing in JPL Badge number.
     • Declare the group as "reviewed" by checking the I have reviewed this group checkbox and set a new date for review by typing the number of days into the future which the group should again be reviewed.
     • Add members to a group.
     • Add or Delete Member or Administrator status by checking/unchecking the appropriate boxes for each user.
  4. Click Update to make the prepared changes take effect.
     
     
• How to Update Groups By User

  You may update user information for all groups that a user is a member of, and for which you have administrative privileges. You must be logged into the interface to update a user.

  1. From the logged in home page under Update a User:
  1. Type in the username of the user you wish to update.
  If you don't know a user's username or badge number, you may click Look up a user.
  1. When you click on the link, the search for a user tool opens up in a new popup window.
  2. Type in all or part of the users first and/or last name and click Look Up!
  3. The search results appear in the lower from of the popup window. Click the desired user's name, and it will populate the input box in the original window.
  2. Click Continue

  2. The User Update screen will appear.

     
  3. You can make any of the following changes to the user:
  • Make this user a Member of a group where you have administrative privileges
  • Make this user an Administrator of a group where you have administrative privileges
  • Remove this user as a Member of a group where you have administrative privileges
  • Remove Administrator privileges from this user for a group where you have administrative privileges
  4. Click Continue to make the prepared changes take effect.
• How to Delete a Group
  

  1. Highlight desired group from the group list on the main page.
  2. Click Delete Group radio button.
  3. Click Continue.
  4. At the next screen, click Click to DELETE the group "yourgroupname".
  5. A confirmation screen appears confirming your request.

  Note:

  If this group is a UMS List, the list will also be deleted.

  Note for DocuShare Users:

  If you have logged into DocuShare since creating this group, the group you deleted will still appear in DocuShare until deleted in DocuShare. Contact your DocuShare librarian or JPL IS Operations to request that additional step.

Manage UMS (Mail and Calendar) Lists

• How to Create a UMS List

  There are two ways to create a UMS List:

  1. When you are on the main page, and you Create a Group, you will see the following choice:
  2. When you are in the form to Update a Group, you will see the following choice:
  3. Click the Yes option, and press Update, to set up this group as a mailing list.
• How to Set Up and Maintain a UMS List

  Once you've Created a UMS List, you will see the fields listed below on your screen.

  • Post — This setting allows you to publish (send) a message to the list. Details >>
    • Anyone — Anyone, including those external to the Laboratory may post (send a message) to this list.
    • Anyone with approval (moderated) — Anyone may submit a message but it must be approved by a list Administrator first.
    • Members — Only the members of this group may post to this list.
    • Members with approval (moderated) — Only members may post, however they will also require approval a list Administrator.
    • Anyone with a JPL email address — Anyone with a JPL email address only. Email addresses that are external to JPL will be rejected.
    • Anyone with a JPL email address, all others need approval — DEFAULT. Allows anyone that has a JPL email address, including contractors, to post a message to this mailing list.
    • List administrators (no approval needed) – Only list administrators will be allowed to post to the mailing list. The post will be distributed automatically.
    • List administrators with approval (moderated) — Only the list Administrators will be allowed to automatically post. All others will require approval from a list Administrator.

    For detailed information about moderating messages, please see Approving Messages for Distribution.

  • Reply — This setting allows you to choose if the replies to your message should automatically be sent to the sender (author), the mailing list, or both. Details >>
    • Sender — DEFAULT. Replies to messages are addressed to the message's original sender, not the mailing list.
    • Mailing List — Replies to messages are addressed back to the mailing list. This feature is set when a mailing list is used for discussion purposes.
    • Both sender and list — Replies to messages are addressed to both the sender of the message and the mailing list from which the message was distributed.
  • Subscription — This setting allows you to choose how potential members can subscribe to this list. Details >>
    • Anyone — Anyone can subscribe; the subscriber must respond to the confirmation message before their submission request is complete.
    • Anyone with a JPL email address — Subscription requests are limited to anyone with a JPL email address - Potential subscribed members must have a JPL email address; requests are automatically subscribed.
    • Anyone with approval of list administrator — Anyone can subscribe; the subscription request must be approved by a list Administrator before the subscriber becomes a member.
    • Closed — DEFAULT. The list administrator is responsible for adding subscribers via the JPL Directory Groups interface.
  • Subscription Review — This setting allows you to choose who can review the list's members via email commands. Members can be reviewed by sending an email to <listname>-review@list.jpl.nasa.gov. The list server will send a listing of the list's members if the person requesting the members meets the selected critera. Details >>
    • Anyone — Anyone can review the list's members.
    • Anyone with a JPL email address — Anyone with a JPL email address may review the list's members.
    • Members — Only list members may review the list's members.
    • List Administrators — Only list administrator may review the list's members.
    • Closed — DEFAULT. This functionality is diabled.
  • Attachments — This setting allows group administrators to choose whether their mailing list will accept or deny emails with attachments. Details >>
    • Accept — DEFAULT. All messages and their attachments will be distributed to the mailing list.
    • Reject — Messages with attachments will be rejected and returned to the sender. The sender will receive a message with the returned email stating that the mailing list does not accept messages with attachments.
  • Email Addresses — This field will list what the email address is for this group.
  • Subject Tag — Should this mailing list's name be added to the Subject of every message? This is used for those that filter messages based on mailing lists. Details >>
    • No. Do not change subject line — DEFAULT. This does not change the subject line.
    • Yes. Add the List Name to the Subject line — This setting will automatically change the subject line to include the List Name prior to the actual subject.
  • Archive Access — List Administrators can choose who may have access to view archived messages for lists. Details >>
    • Anyone with access from within the JPL network (local and remote access) — Anyone logged into the JPL network may view the archived messages
    • Members — Members of the mailing list may view the archived messages.
    • List Administrators — Only the Administrators of this list can view the archived messages.
    • Closed — DEFAULT. This functionality is disabled.

    For detailed information about how to access archives, please see Review List Archives.

  • Archive Duration — This sets how long the message archives will be available. Details >>
    • No Archives (DEFAULT)
    • 30 days
    • 60 days
    • 90 days
    • 6 months
    • 1 year
    • 2 years
    • 3 years
    • 5 years
    • 7 years
    • Unlimited
  • External Members List Administrators may enter external (non JPL) email addresses in this field. Note: These email address are not maintained by the JPL Directory. It is the List Administrator's responsibility to ensure that email addresses are correct and current.
• How to Use a UMS List

  Once you have set up a group to be used as a UMS List, you are immediately able to email and/or invite the group to your meeting by using:

  [groupname]@list.jpl.nasa.gov

  So, if you want to email the group "demogroup", the email address will be:

  demogroup@list.jpl.nasa.gov

  The same rule applies when emailing a derived group (which have extensions of .us or .jpl). If you want to email only US Persons within this group, the email address would be:

  demogroup.us@list.jpl.nasa.gov

  Emailing and/or Inviting Organizational Groups

  Organizational Groups are automatically set up and are dynamically maintained, meaning that members are automatically added and deleted based on their LDAP attributes in the directory.

  Organizational Groups can be emailed and/or invited to meetings by using the following email address:

  jpl.org.[orggroupname]@list.jpl.nasa.gov

  So, if you want to email "Organizational Group 1702", the email address will be:

  jpl.org.1702@list.jpl.nasa.gov

• How to Delete a UMS List

  From the Update a Group form you will see the following field, if your group is currently set up as a UMS List:

  

  To delete the list, check the box Delete UMS (Mail and Calendar) List and click Update.

• How to Review List Archives
  Reviewing Archives of the JPL Mailing List (QuickTime Movie)
  

  A quick review of the Mailing List Archives system

  Note: In order to view list archives the following must be met:

  • The group is being used as a mailing list
  • The group has Archive Access enabled in the Advanced Mailing List Settings
  • The group's mailing list Archive Duration is set to 30 or more days

  Access to the mailing list's archives can be restricted to:

  • Anyone with access to the JPL network (local, VPN, RAS).
    • If the archives are open to anyone with access to the JPL network, then the user would only need to load the link https://list01.jpl.nasa.gov/listmanager/arc/<listname> into a web browser, replacing <listname> with the name of the LDAP group.
  • Members or administrators of the mailing list
    • If the archives are restricted to members of the mailing list, or the list's administrators, then, the person accessing the archives will need to access the link described above and login to the mailing list web interface before they can view the archived messages (see "How to log in to the mailing list web interface").

  

  • Navigating Through Archived Messages — Once the mailing list message archive is displayed in your web browser, you can choose to view one of the current messages. You may choose to view the messages from past months and/or years, if the archives are available. Months that have archives will appear in yellow, while those that do not will remain gray.
  • Viewing an Archived Message — When you have found a message you want to view, just click on the subject of the message and the selected message will be displayed with the message's headers and body. Attachments in the message will appear as links. Attachments within the message can then downloaded by clicking on the link representing the attachment. Click the BACK button on your web browser, or click Archive in the mailing list menu on the right of the mailing list web interface.
• Approve/Moderate Messages

  Message Moderation is a feature that holds messages sent to a mailing list until they are approved or rejected by a list administrator. Setting the mailing list's Post option to moderated allows the list administrators to review both the sender of the message and its content to determine if they are legitimate and relevant to the context of the mailing list. This feature is used to deter the distribution of Spam and virus content.

  Message Moderation for the JPL Mailing List (QuickTime Movie)
  

  A quick review of the Approve/Moderate Messages function

  Note: In order to moderate messages the following must be met:

  • The group is being used as a mailing list
  • The group has Post set to one of the moderate options in the Basic Mailing List Settings

  There are four Post options that will enable message moderation in the mailing list configuration of the directory group:

  • Anyone with approval (moderated)
  • Members with approval (moderated)
  • Anyone with a JPL email address, all others need approval
  • List administrators with approval (moderated)

  After the mailing list has been created and message moderation has been enabled--using one of the four settings identified above--all email sent to the mailing list will be held for review. The mailing list server will send an email notice to the list administrators. The list administrator can choose to approve or reject the held message using the instructions provided in the email notice or they can use the mailing list web interface to manage the messages.

  From: testlist-request@list.jpl.nasa.gov
  To: testlist-editor@list.jpl.nasa.gov
  Subject: Article to be approved for list testlist from
   thomas.m.berry@jpl.nasa.gov
  
  To distribute the attached message in list testlist:
  mailto:sympa@list.jpl.nasa.gov?subject=DISTRIBUTE%20testlist%20480a565cc32300046ab4f1813a692bd3
  Or send a message to sympa@list.jpl.nasa.gov with the following subject :
  DISTRIBUTE testlist 480a565cc32300046ab4f1813a692bd3
  
  To reject it (it will be removed):
  mailto:sympa@list.jpl.nasa.gov?subject=REJECT%20testlist%20480a565cc32300046ab4f1813a692bd3 
  Or send a message to sympa@list.jpl.nasa.gov with the following subject :
  REJECT testlist 480a565cc32300046ab4f1813a692bd3
  
  Number of messages awaiting moderation for this list : 1
      	

  The mailing list web interface provides a message moderation interface to review, and approve or reject messages that are being held for approval. To access the message moderation interface, load the link https://list01/listmanager/modindex/<listname> into your web browser. Be sure to replace <listname> with the name of the LDAP group.

  Next, log into the web interface using your JPL username and password. Enter this information into the fields labeled "email address" and "password" respectively, and click the Login button.

  

  The left side of the page provides the mailing list navigation options. To list the messages waiting for review, click on Message under Moderate--you may need to click Message in order to get its sub-options to display.

  To immediately distribute or reject the message, place a check in the box next to the message and click Distribute or Reject button. Clicking the Notified reject button will send a reject notice to the message's original sender informing them that the message was rejected.

  Click on its subject in the moderate message index to view the message in detail before distributing or rejecting it.