Looking for information on joining groups? Check out the CommUnity | Join and Interact with Groups article.

Groups within the community provide a dedicated space for smaller groups within your organization to connect, learn, share, and collaborate, allowing members to engage with other like-minded people in the community.

Group owners and community administrators can perform additional group actions, including:

• Creating a Group
• Managing Group Details in Group Administration

In addition to these actions, community administrators can also access the Groups Manager settings in the Admin Panel.

Creating a Group

From the main Groups page or from within a Group category, select the +Add Group button. 

On the Group Administration page, enter your new Group's Name and Description. The Group Category will be automatically set to the first alphabetical category. You can change the category as needed.

The Group Location is an optional way of making it easy to find your group. If your group has a geographic location, it can be found by users looking for groups close to them.

Once you have entered your Group's information, select the Save button to create your group and navigate to the Group Admin Details page, where you can view and edit the information you just entered. Alternatively, you can select the Save & Continue button, which takes you to the Group Administration Settings page, which is the next step in finishing your group setup.

Group Administration

Group Administrators can manage their group from the Group Admin tab, which allows access to the Group Administration pages.

Additionally, Group Administrators can perform actions from the group's contextual menu, including:

• Bookmark
  When this option is selected, the group will display in the My Bookmarks section on the Dashboard.
• Mark as Objectionable
  When this option is selected, the group is flagged and displays under Reported Content in the Admin Panel for community administrators to review.
• Add Photo
  This option allows Group Admins to change the profile photo for the group. The profile photo defaults to the category image set in the group Categories section of the Admin Panel.
• Add Cover Photo
  This option allows Group Admins to change the cover photo for the group. The cover photo defaults to the Default Cover Photo image set in the group Categories section of the Admin Panel.
• Leave
  This option allows group members to leave the group.

Details

The Details page within Group Administration allows you to edit the information that was entered when the group was created, including Group Name, Group Description, Group Category, and Group Location.

Selecting Save will save your changes and keep you on the Detail page. Selecting Save & Continue will take you to the Settings page.

Settings

The Settings page allows Group Admins to control which tabs appear at the top of the group. The following options are available to select:

• Members
  When this checkbox is checked, the Members tab is available to all group members. From the Members tab, group members can view other members of the group.
• Files
  When this checkbox is checked, the Files tab is available to all group members. From the Files tab, members can upload and share files.  
• Events
  When this checkbox is checked, the Events tab is available to all group members. From the Events tab, group members can create and RSVP to group events.
• Message
  When this checkbox is checked, the Message tab is available to all group members. From the Message tab, group members can send private messages to other group members.
• Invite
  When this checkbox is checked, the Invite button is available to all group members, allowing group members to invite others to join the group.

For more information on the available interactions on each of the above-mentioned tabs, please see the CommUnity | Join and Interact with Groups article. 

Permissions

The Permissions section allows admins to set privacy and assign Group Admins and the Group Owner.

• Public means no approval is required to join the group and the activities within the group will be shown on the newsfeed. Groups default to Public upon creation.
• Private means approval is required to join the group. Only group members will see the activities within the group on their newsfeed, but the group displays when looking at lists of groups.
• Hidden means community members must be invited to the group to join. Only group members will see the activities within the group on their newsfeed, and the group will not display when looking at lists of groups.

Community members can instantly join any groups that are marked as Public access. Community members can request to join groups that are marked as Private, and a group administrator must approve the request before they are added as a group member. Hidden groups will only display to group members, and new members must be invited to join the group.

From the Group Administrators section of the Permissions page, you can add Group Admins by selecting the Add button and searching for a group member. Additionally, you can select the following for each Group Admin:

• Approve/Ban Members
  When this checkbox is checked, it allows the corresponding Group Admin permission to approve and/or ban any group member.
• Edit/Delete Events
  When this checkbox is checked, it allows the corresponding Group Admin permission to edit and/or delete any group event
• Edit/Delete Files
  When this checkbox is checked, it allows the corresponding Group Admin permission to edit and/or delete any file uploaded to the group.
• Owner
  Select the radio button to indicate which Group Admin is the Group Owner. There can only be one Group Owner.
• Action
  The Remove button allows Group Admins to remove other group administrators as needed.

Notifications

The Notifications page allows Group Admins to control which notifications they would like to use for their group. These notifications are sent within the community site and are not sent as emails.

The following notifications are available:

• Notify Group Members of new Members
• Notify Group Members of new Group Files or comments
• Notify Group Members of new Group Events or comments
• Notify Group Members of new Group Private Messages

Messaging

The Messaging page allows Group Admins to set the defaults for Invite Message, Welcome Message, and the Group News section on the Group Home page.

Invite Message

The group invite message set here will appear pre-loaded in the text editor when a group member invites other community members to join the group. A link to join the group will be automatically added to the message. 

Welcome Message

The group welcome message is sent to new group members when they join the group. A link to join the group will be automatically added to the message.

The text entered on this page displays below the default notification message when the Welcome Message Enabled checkbox is checked. If you do not wish to display any custom text, uncheck the checkbox.

News

Any text entered in the Group News message section displays as a news/announcement text on the main group home page.

The Group News section only displays on the group home page if text is entered in the text editor.

Members

The Members page allows Group Admins to view, approve, remove, ban, and message specific members of the group.

Send Message to Group Members

From the Send Message to Group Members section, Group Admins can send a message to all group members, or they can select which group member they wish to send the message to. The recipients available to select from are limited to group members. The Message Body text will default in, but can be edited as needed.

Current Members

The Current Members section displays current members of the group. From this section, Group Admins can remove and/or ban members using the Remove from Group or Ban options. If a member is removed from the group, they can rejoin the group at a later date if they desire. If a member is banned, they will not be able to rejoin the group.

Banned Members

The Banned Members section displays members that have been banned from the group. If a member is banned, they will not be able to rejoin the group. You can remove a member's banned status by selecting the Unban option.

Members Awaiting Approval

If a group is Private, an additional Members Awaiting Approval section displays. From this section, Group Admins can Approve, Decline, or Ban members that have requested access to the group.

Delete

The Delete page allows Group Admins or Community Admins to delete the group and everything associated with the group, including group resources, files, photos, videos, discussions, and blog posts.

This action cannot be undone.

Admin Panel Settings: Groups Manager

Additional group settings are available to community administrators within the Admin Panel. To access these additional options, navigate to Groups Manager within the Site Building Tools section of the Admin Panel.

Group Settings

On the Group Settings tab, administrators can select who can create groups within the community by selecting one of the Create Privileges radio buttons. The options available include:

• All
  When this option is selected, any community member can create a group.
• Admin Only
  When this option is selected, only community administrators can create a group.
• Member Segments
  When this option is selected, only members of specific member segments can create a group. Once you have selected this radio button, an additional dialog will display to select which member segments should have access to create groups.

If the Approval Required checkbox is checked, community administrators must approve new groups before they are created. New groups will not display on the community site until they are approved by a community administrator when this option is selected.

Community administrators can view, approve, deny groups from Groups Awaiting Approval in the Manage Content section of the Admin Panel.

Categories

The Categories tab allows you to create and manage group categories. You can create a new group category by selecting the Create New Category link at the bottom of the grid.

Select Edit next to the corresponding category to edit the information for a category. Each category has the following fields and options available:

• Category Name
  The name or title of the category.
• Description
  The description of the category.
• Restrict Access by Member Segment
  When set to Yes, only members of specific member segments can join groups within this category. Once you have selected the Yes radio button, an additional dialog will display to select which member segments should have access to groups within this category.
• Disable Group Creation
  When this checkbox is checked, no groups can be created with this category, unless you are a community administrator. Community members will still be able to join and interact with groups within the category.
• Category Image
  The image selected here will display as the default group profile photo for groups created within this category. You can also choose to Delete Image or Upload Different Image from this section.
• Default Cover Photo
  The image selected here will display as the default group cover photo for groups created within this category. You can also choose to Delete Default Cover Photo or Upload Different Default Cover Photo from this section.