Compared to our old website, it is hoped that this new website will provide members with a curated resource of material relevant to members interests.

Initial email

Once your registration has been processed, you will receive an email confirming your acceptance into PICAA. This email will provide you with a link to the website and the ability to set your password on first login.

When you set your password, it must be:

·      Between 8 and 72 characters

·      Mixture of letters and numbers

·      Mixture of upper and lowercase

·      Special characters

·      Non-dictionary words

A minimum password strength guide will help you meet minimum-security requirements.

Once you have set your password, you will be logged in to the site. You will know this, as your name will be visible in the top right hand side of the homepage.

Profile

It is recommended that you visit your profile and confirm your details are recorded correctly, If you need to make changes, this is where you can do so. To view / edit your profile click on the ‘Edit Profile’ and make changes as necessary. Recorded address details will populate onto your membership invoices. Address and contact details cannot be viewed by guests browsing the website or by logged in members, only you and the Administrators.

Your profile, when viewed by other members will only show your birthday (if you choose to share), your membership number, collecting interests and items collected.

The second part of your profile is where you can let other members know your collecting interests and what items you collect.

The final part of your profile is where you can let others know a little bit about yourself – if you choose to do so. Remember, you can always come back and edit your details at any stage.

You can also change the look and appearance of your individual page. You can set a background image and you can even upload a photo of yourself – if you choose.

Please – use common sense. Do not put up any images or other content that might be considered controversial or offensive to others or that might go against community standards. Refusal to follow these simple requests may result in the offending images being removed, continual abuse of this common courtesy may result in membership suspension.

Once you have your page to the standard you wish, it may look similar to the following (in terms of general layout):

Fees were reduced for pensioners and members, being set to $20 per annum, with membership expiring June 30 each year. Renewal notices are normally set to go out 31 May of each year to cover the following year.

When renewals are processed, you will receive an email that looks like the below:

If you click on View Order, this is what you will see on the website (once logged in):

If you click on Pay Now, the following options are available to you:

Currently, options are available for Direct Deposit (which you conduct from your own banking platform) or PayPal transfer – all of which is later confirmed by Administrators and a receipt is issued.  Please note we can no longer accept cheques or money orders on advice from our financial institution.

Direct Deposit

Direct deposits will be confirmed by administrators. Per the details on screen, you are provided with the up to date bank account details for Direct Deposit. Once payment is confirmed, you will receive a receipt by email.

Manual Payment

Manual payments will be confirmed by administrators. Per the details on screen, you are provided with the up to date mailing address for Manual Payment. Once payment is confirmed, you will receive a receipt.

PayPal - Account or Credit Card

PayPal also offers the ability to ‘Pay with a Card’ if you don’t have or wish to use a PayPal account. This is a membership request that has long been asked about and is finally available for members!

Please note: the PICAA website does NOT collect or retain ANY credit card details - these are solely transmitted to PayPal on the PayPal website.

From the homepage, there are pages for Welcome, History and Dues. These can be seen by everyone. Gallery and Downloads represent the major category for the website and where the bulk of relevant material is located for members.

When you click on the Gallery menu, you will be presented with a list of Galleries by Country. If a country is not listed, just ask an Administrator to add the country to the list of available Galleries.

Underneath the Gallery list are featured images and New Images that have been added to the website since your last visit. Yes, the website will remember what you have visited and what’s new since your last visit!

Add Images. All members have the ability to add images to available Albums and also to add comments to pictures. In doing so, members can enrich the knowledge base of information available for all members.

When you select to add images, a pop up screen will appear. From here you can select which category to add your images to. If a category / Country is not listed, just ask an Administrator or any of the members listed under the Staff directory to add or create the requested category / Country.

In the below example, I requested to add images to the Australian Federal Police category. I have the option here to add directly to the main category, or if the images I want to add are more specialized, I can create a dedicated album within the category.

There is also the option when creating the individual Album to provide a description. Adding information here will help other members when searching for what they require.

From here, you will be presented with the Add Images screen. At this point you can add a list of images to upload, set copyright, if applicable, set credit, apply tags (to aid in searching) and notification preferences (if someone adds a comment to your image).

Images can be added singly, or multiples. If adding multiples, Copyright / Credit / Group Tags / Notifications (listed across the top) can be set for all items and individually, per the below screen shot. Once all images have the information you want included, then click on Submit all images. The suggested workflow is to sequentially work through each image, setting a caption, description, tags.

Please note there are a limited number of file types that can be uploaded.

Tags

If you are going to do a bulk upload, (for example a combination of patches and badges) it is possible to select particular images and apply attributes to that group of images along with tags. Courtesy of the work of member Eric Grimm on categorisation, an extensive list of tags has been developed that cover off on Collecting Interests, Items Collected, item condition and item type. If further tags are required, they will be actively considered. See below for a list of currently designated tags.