The Pro4uM FAQ

In order to be able to use the Pro4uM forums, you must first register. All forum areas are accessible by being a paid member only. If you are not a paid member, you are not able to see any posts.

When registering, please note that you must use your full personal name (not that of your studio or a nickname) Once you have become a paid member, you may request that an additional member of your studio (or spouse) be added as a member under their personal name, at no extra charge.

A valid email address, in addition to your City, State, and Country is also required. As you register, you may elect to receive email messages from the administrator (highly suggested so that you are alerted to forum news). You may also elect separately to receive email messages from other forum members. Either of these options can also be changed later through your control panel.

To get started with your membership, after you have REGISTERED, or to extend your existing membership Click Here.

You’ll get more from the forums and use your time here more efficiently if you take a few moments to familiarize yourself with The Pro4um Website. Some of the ways in which you view the site are customizable. You’ll find all the options shown under User CP.

In Edit Options besides options for email, you may opt in or out of “private messaging”, including notifications. There you’ll also be able to change some of how you view the forum. You can change the color of the background (skin) from the black default to light blue (IBM) or even (Bubble Gum) pink! (among others)

The forum default is to view 40 posts per page, which you can change to less. You can also change the time period for the “age” of threads you wish to view. You can elect to see threads posted from the beginning of the forum (A LOT!), or for as little as just the last day. The forum default is 30 days, which most will find manageable. You may also change the age of threads you wish to view in a particular forum at the bottom each forums page, under “Display Options”.

While you’re in the control panel you may also change your email address and add other info about yourself under Edit Profile. Most is self explanatory, with perhaps the exception of: “Custom User Title”. You may choose your own title which will show under your name, or it will be generated by default, based upon the number of posts you have made, starting with “Newby” and going up to “Expert”. One default title is “Master”, which although may be used as a ranking by PPA or other photography organizations, is in no way related. Any of these options are changeable by you at any time. Should you need to have your USER name changed after you register, that must be done by an administrator, and is only done for good reason (remarriage etc).

You may also post an Avatar, which is a small picture. We prefer that you use a close up picture of your face. That way we know what you look like, and when we see you at other venues, we reccognized each other. Since most photographers are visual, this is a way to not only show your face, but it also seems to connect people to you. That connection will get your posts and threads more action.

The Pro4uM is a huge robot that sends out email all during the day. As such, many systems will block all email coming from a robot.

For that reason we would ask that you please add us to your email Address Book and check your bulk-mail folder if you don't see our email in your inbox. Adding our email address to your account will guarantee that you don't miss anything important that we may want you to know.

Adding The Pro4uM To Your Email Address Book Is Easy

1. Find your email provider below.
2. Follow the easy instructions.
3. Add us to your address book.
Our Address:
webmaster@pro4um.com

Yahoo
Open the email.
Click Add to Address Book next to the "From:" address above the message.
Click Add to Address Book again on the next screen.

AOL 9
Open the email.
Click the Add Address button on the right side of the screen.
Click Save.

AOL 8
Open the email.
Click the Add to Address button on the right side of the screen.
Click Save.

AOL Netmail
Note: Please make sure any popup blocker is disabled before beginning
Open the email.
Click the From: name above the message.
A popup displaying our address is displayed -- click Add To Address Book.
The "Address Card" popup replaces the first one -- click Save in the lower right corner.

Earthlink
Open the email.
Click Add Sender.
The "Add to Address Book" pop-up is displayed with our name and email address.
Click Yes.

Gmail
Open the email.
Click on More Options in the upper right corner.
Click Add Sender to Contact List in the options displayed below the email's subject line.

Hotmail
Open the email.
Click Save Address in the menu bar above the message.
Click OK on the next screen.

 

MSN
Open the email.
Click Save Addresses.
Click Save.

Netscape
Note: Please make sure any popup blocker is disabled before beginning
Open the email.
Click the From: name above the message.
Click Add to Address Book.
The "Address Book" popup is displayed -- click Add to Address Book.
The "New Contact" popup replaces the first one -- click Save in the lower left corner.

Outlook
Open or Preview the email.
Right-click the From: address.
Click Add to Outlook Contacts.
The "Contact" popup is displayed -- click Save and Close.

When you register, you will be given the option to 'Automatically login when you return to the site'. This will store your username and password in a cookie, stored on your computer.

A cookie is a file that a web site writes to your computer and stores all of your personal information, such as your Username, Password, last time logged in, etc.

A cookie on some web sites can be bad things, but on the Pro4uM, it is ONLY used to help improve your Pro4uM experience. So, if your browser is set up in such a way that it blocks cookies, you will either need to change it, or tell your browser to allow cookies from PRO4UM.COM.

Opting to use “cookies” will enhance your experience of the Pro4uM. Besides the functions listed above, Cookies are also used to enable functions such as showing whether or not a thread or forum you are viewing has new posts since your last visit, or to automatically log you back in when you return to the site after being away for a while.

If you are using a shared computer, such as in a library, school or internet cafe, or if you have reason to not trust any other users that might use this computer, we do not recommend that you enable this.

This forum also gives you the option to use a cookie to track your current session, ensuring that you remain logged-on while browsing the site. If you choose not to store this information in a cookie, the session data will be sent through each link you click. Choosing not to use a cookie may cause problems if your computer's connection to the Internet uses a proxy-server and you share links with other users behind the same proxy. If in doubt, we recommend that you select 'yes' to enable the cookie. After you have registered, you may alter your cookie options at any time by changing the settings on this page. You may also manually clear your cookies at any time.

If your system blocks cookies and if you do not set up your browser to allow them from the Pro4uM, then your Pro4uM experience will be greatly reduced and in some cases not even work. Thus we strongly reccomend that you do not block any cookies from the Pro4uM.

We have found that the AOL browser is alway behind the times. If you are using AOL, we would like to recommend that you use Internet Explorer to surf the Pro4uM.

As far as browsers are concerned, not just with AOL, we have found that the best for surfing the PRo4uM is Internet Explorer - all functions work well.

Firefox - most everything works as normal, but a few keyboard shortcuts don't work.

Chrome - many buttons and drop downs take you to a new page and very little of the text editing functions work.

Safari - seems to work well except that a few buttons do not show up in all places. But most buttons are redundant on the Pro4uM.

If you forget your password, you can click on the 'Forgotten Your Password' link on any page that requires you to fill in your password.

This will bring up a page where you should enter your registered email address, and an email will be sent to that address instantly, with instructions for resetting your password.

The Pro4uM is a robot, and as such, many systems will put all email into a SPAM folder. If you do not get the email instantly, this is probably the case with your system. You will need to let your ISP (Internet Service Provider), and your email client know that all email coming from PRO4UM.COM is OK. This is especially true if you are using an online email provider such as Yahoo, or Hotmail.

When the system sends you an email, the first thing it does is confirm YOU are YOU by asking you to click a confirmation link. After you click that link, the system will generate a random number and send it to you. We have found that if you try and type in that number, we as humans often transpose numbers and get them backwards. We will put a 5 instead of a 3 or reverse the numbers. For that reason, we strongly recommend that you just highlight that password, copy it, and then paste it into your browser.

After you are back in, you can then go into your User CP (click User CP at the top of any page) and then on the left click the link to Edit Email & Password.

There are several security measures in place on the Pro4uM to protect you. One of those is the security of your email address.

The procedure for changing your email address is first you need to click User CP at the top of any page. Then on the left click Edit Email & Password.

Enter your new email address in the "New Email Address" field and then again in the "Confirm New Email Address" field and then click the "Save Changes" button.

The very next screen that shows up only shows up for a few seconds, it says "Thank you for updating your profile, YOURNAME. Because you changed your email address, you will be sent an email to verify its existence."

At this point you will be LOCKED OUT of the Pro4uM until you click the confirmation link that is emailed to your new email address that you just put into the Pro4uM.

This email comes from "The Pro4uM" and the Subject of that email is, "Action Required to Verify Email Change for the Pro4uM". Because this email is sent out from a "Robot", many systems (esp. Yahoo and Hotmail) will put this email into a "SPAM" folder, or worse yet, some will not even deliver it to you. So, if this has happened, carefully search through your SPAM folder and also let your Internet Service Provider know that all email coming from PRO4UM.COM is OK.

When you click the link, you will see a THANK YOU message on the screen and then you will be able to view the Pro4uM again.

Security of your email address is one of our top priorities. For this reason, we do not recommend that you ever publicly display your email address. Whenever you show that email address, someone could snag it and start spaming you.

The forum as a whole is divided into several distinct areas, each with their own (sub) areas. You’ll find all of the forums by clicking the Forums link at the top of any page. Photography related forums are listed together, as are Business forums, etc. As a paid full member, you may view any forum, although you need a password to access the Glamour or Sandbox forums. If you are a trial member, you may view all the forums, but may not download any Photoshop actions. Some forums are read only and or “locked” from posting, such as the Inspirations section of a Featured Artist or Chat Room Transcripts. You may reply to threads in Commercial For Sale, but not start a thread unless you are a Paid Sponsor or have a Selling Membership.

How you browse the forums is a personal choice. The most recent posts from ALL forums combined are shown on the Home page. Assuming that you have cookies enabled, you may view all threads posted to from the time of your last visit by clicking on New Posts located at the top of any page. You’ll also find Today’s Posts under the “Quick Links” button also found at the top of any page.

Yes! You can see snippet (the first few lines) of each thread by “hovering” over the title. The snippet is only present for a very brief time, but will reappear by moving your mouse away and back to the title for which you wish to read the snippet again.

At the top of any page, there is a “Search” Button. If you click it a fly out window will appear and you can search from there. However, this is really not the most efficient way to search. Rather, we would like to recommend that you click Advanced Search from here for more options.

From this Advanced Search area, you can search all of the forums using key words and or user’s names. When searching you may select to search the entire posts, or just titles, along with selecting the date of posts or threads you wish to see (since yesterday up through a year ago). You may also show the results as threads or posts. Selecting “threads” will show the thread only once if your search word is in multiple posts within a thread (useful when looking for more general information usually) or selecting “posts” will show each individual post that contains your search words (and may be more useful when looking for a particular post, as you can view a short snippet of each post). You may also select ALL Forums, one forum, or multiple forums by holding “control” and clicking. You may also search within individual threads (found at the top of each thread). The forum limits you to perform one “search” every 30 seconds.

You may also search the Members List, which is a complete list of all the paid members of this forum. You can view the member list ordered alphabetically by username, or by the number of posts (Click on the word Posts) the members have made, by the date that the member joined the forum, etc, in addition to searching by State or City etc.

Great Question!! Just click "JOIN NOW/Renew" at the top of any page on the Pro4uM. Then when the fly down window opens, click "Pro4uM Access"; read everything and you will see your "Active Subscriptions". Depending on the browswer you are using and how you have it set up, you may not see a fly down window. If that happens, click "UserCP" at the top of any page, then on the left, under "Miscellaneous", click "Paid Subscriptions", and this will bring you to the same place.