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Help

Help Contacts

Get some real human help using the site by contacting: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

How to create a RIPPLE Login:

  1. GO TO: www.ripplenw.org
  2. CLICK “LOGIN” in the upper left corner of the page.
  3. Below “LOGIN” the Username and Password fields appear. You’ll see a note underneath these fields that says “Need a Username and Password?” Below this note, CLICK on the line that says, “Click here to register.”
  4. You will now see a registration page. FILL IN the blank fields with your information. CLICK on the “I agree to the terms of service” box to check the box, and CLICK on the “Submit” button below.
  5. You will now see a confirmation page. You will receive an e-mail at the e-mail address you entered to confirm your registration.

How to Login to RIPPLE:

(if you have already registered or had a login created for you)

  1. GO TO: www.ripplenw.org
  2. CLICK “LOGIN” in the upper left corner of the page.
  3. FILL IN the Username and Password fields with your Ripple Username and Password and CLICK Login.
  4. You will now have access to your learning materials and discussion boards.
    5. For video tutorial click here.

How to change your password:

  1. Go to the RIPPLE Discussion Forums.
  2. CLICK on “Your Control Panel” at the top of the page.
  3. In your control panel under “Personal Settings” CLICK on “Username and Password.”
  4. Type in your password in both of the “New Password” boxes. Then type in your old password and CLICK the “Update” button.
  5. RIPPLE will automatically log you out, but it won’t send you to the main discussion page. So CLICK on the “RIPPLE Community Forums” link at the top of the page.
  6. At the main forum page, CLICK “Login” and enter your username and new password.
  7. You should now be logged in with your new password.
    8. For video tutorial click here.

How to use the RIPPLE discussion forums:

  1. CLICK the “Discussion Forums” tab on the right side of the green menu bar or the “Discussion Forums” button on the left side of the page.
  2. SCROLL down the discussion forum page to find a forum and CLICK on the name of topic you want to view or discuss.

To view and respond to a discussion topic:

  1. CLICK on the title of the topic you want to view. You should now be able to view all posts under that topic.
  2. CLICK the “Post Reply” button below the comment you want to respond to. You will now see the “Post a New Reply” page.
  3. CLICK in the “message” field and TYPE your reply. Then follow the steps to add an attachment or finish your post below.
    4. For video tutorial click here.

To post a new discussion topic:

  1. CLICK the “New Topic” button located on the left side of the page and you will be taken to a new page.
  2. CLICK in the title field and TYPE a title for your post.
  3. CLICK in the “message” field and TYPE a message to accompany your title. Then follow the steps to add an attachment or finish your post below.

To add an attachment to your response or topic post (optional):

NOTE: File sizes must be less than 1 MB.
        You cannot add attachments to a “Fast Reply.”

  1. CLICK the plus next to the word “options” under the message field.
  2. CLICK “Attach files to this post. . .” link highlighted in blue. 
  3. CLICK the browse button, SELECT the file (which must be under 1 MB) you would like to attach to your message and CLICK the open button next to filename. Then follow steps 1 and 2 below.

How to subscribe to a discussion forum thread:

  1. Click on the thread that you want to subscribe to.
  2. Click “Subscribe to this thread” which is to the right of the thread title.
  3. You are now subscribed to the thread which means you will receive e-mail notifications of thread activity.
  4. If you wish to unsubscribe, click “Un-subscribe from this thread” and your subscription will be removed.

To finish your response or topic post:

  1. When you have completed your post with your message and attachment, CLICK the “Preview Post” button at the bottom left of the page. The preview will appear at the top of the “Post a New Reply” page.
  2. If you are satisfied with the preview of your message, CLICK the “Submit Post” button which is located to the right of the “Preview Post” button at the bottom of the page.
    3. For video tutorial click here.

How to use the Shared Workspace on Ripple:

  1. Go to www.ripplenw.org
  2. Click the ‘Resources’ tab in the green menu bar at the top of the page.
  3. Click the ‘Ford Institute Leadership Program’ under the ‘Resources.’
  4. On the fall left column under the ‘Ford Institute Leadership Program,’ click the ‘Leadership classes.’
  5. You will now see all the classes by region. Click on your class.
  6. After you click on your class, you will now see class profile. Now, click on ‘Shared Workspace.’
  7. On the fall left column you will now see list of things you can do using shared workspace such as go back to home page, class calendar, files, email, or add an announcement. Click on the menu you would like to use.

How to add an announcement:

  1. From the workspace home page, click ‘Add an Announcement’ on the left side of the page.
  2. Fill in the ‘Title’ and ‘Announcement’ fields and click ‘Submit.’ You will then be taken back to the home page and your announcement will be posted. From here you can edit or delete an announcement by clicking ‘EDIT OR DELETE THIS ITEM’ and following the instructions.

How to add a new calendar item:

  1. Click ‘Calendar’ on the left side of the page.
  2. Click ‘Add a New Calendar Item.’
  3. Fill in the appropriate fields and click ‘Submit.’
  4. You will then be taken back to the calendar page and your event will be posted.
  5. You can view an event by clicking on it in the calendar.
  6. You can edit or delete an event by clicking on the event in the calendar and then clicking ‘Edit or Delete This Event’ at the bottom of the page.
  7. To delete an event, click on ‘Yes’ in the drop down menu under ‘Close This Event.’ Click ‘Submit’ at the bottom of the page. The event will now be deleted.

How to upload a file:


(You can also view the short video tutorial on how to upload files. This video can be found on the left side of the page.)

  1. Click ‘Files’ on the left side of the page.
  2. Click ‘Upload a New File’ which is under the list of files.
  3. Fill in the ‘Title’ and ‘File Description’ fields.
  4. Select the file type from the drop down menu.
  5. Click ‘Upload File.’
  6. Click ‘Browse’ to navigate to the file that you want to post.
  7. Click ‘Upload.’
  8. Click ‘Place Image and Close Window.’
  9. Click ‘Submit Entry’ under Step 3.
  10. Your file will now be posted.
  11. To edit or delete a file, click ‘Edit/Delete’ in the box to the right of the file and follow the instructions.

How to send a group e-mail:

  1. Click ‘Email’ on the left side of the page.
  2. Fill in ‘Your Email,’ ‘Subject,’ and ‘Message’ fields.
  3. Click ‘Submit Form.’
  4. This will send an e-mail to each member of your group.
RURAL DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES

2620 River Road, Suite 205   .   Eugene, Oregon 97404   .   phone 541-684-9077   .   fax 541-684-8993