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Using This Website

...What Browser Should I Use to View This Site?
...Why Do I Have to Scroll Horizontally?
...How Does This Site Work?
......Page Layout
......Site Layout
......Main Topics, Subtopics and the Navigation (Menu) Bars
......Menu Items Remain Constant from Page to Page
......Getting Off the "Path"
......Opening Documents in ".pdf" Format
......Installing Acrobat Reader to Open PDF Documents
...But How Do I Find What I Want On This Site?
...What If I'm Having Problems Viewing or Navigating This Site?
...What If I Have a Request or Suggestion for the Site?
...How Do I Know If Information on This Site Is Current?
...What If I Think Specific Information Is Incorrect or Outdated?

What Browser Should I Use to View This Site?
Hopefully you can use your default browser, whatever it may be. However, due to the amount of time required to design and test for separate browsers, we support only Mozilla Firefox (version 2 and above) and Internet Explorer (version 6 and above). This does not mean you cannot view the site with other browsers, but that you may get unintended results when using browsers which we do not support.

If you are using Netscape 4, we strongly recommend that you upgrade to Netscape 9 or Firefox 2. As always, you should read the system requirements before installing any software, and you may want to keep the older version on your computer in case you have problems with the upgrade.

Though this site should work well with either Netscape, Firefox or Internet Explorer at screen resolutions of 800x600 and above, we think it is best viewed at a screen resolution of 1024x768.

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Why Do I Have to Scroll Horizontally?
What you see on your particular monitor is largely dependent on the monitor's size and your own video settings. If you haven't experimented with a higher resolution, you may want to give it a try..

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How Does This Site Work?
We want to make it work as simply as possible, so you can find what you need quickly and easily.

We provide several points on how to navigate around the site in our answer to the next question, But How Do I Find What I Want On This Site? However, understanding a few basics of the site's design should be helpful.

Page Layout

The blue areas of the site's screen identify the site and provide the navigation menus needed both to explore and to find specific information.

The pale yellow area of the site is where most of the content appears. You will also find links and buttons in this area to help facilitate your search for information related to the page you're on.

The "red panels" against the gray background to the right are very important. If you can't see them, be sure to scroll over. In this area we post particularly important or time-sensitive information, including anouncements, links to "Alerts!," and other advice to which all Unit 4 employees should have access as quickly as possible.

Site Layout

Each main "topic area" of this site can be accessed from the Home page. If you start at Home, all information on the site can be found along a "path" from the home page through a topic area's "main page" and on to other pages covering "subtopics." Think of this as a map of a country where "all roads lead from home," and where Home is the center of a circle encompassing the entire site.

Main Topics, Subtopics and the Navigation (Menu) Bars

The site is made up of several main "topic areas," which correspond to the main menu items visible in both the top left and bottom "navigation bars." For instance, one main topic area is "FAQs," and you are currently reading one page (or "subtopic") in our "FAQs" area.

You can generally go directly to a specific page in any topic area by pointing at a main menu item in the top left navigation bar (below the APC logo), and then selecting the "pop-up" menu which corresponds to the subtopic you're looking for.

Menu Items Remain Constant from Page to Page

It's important to know that the two navigation bars do not change from page to page. No matter what page you're on, the menu items remain constant so you can navigate the site as easily and quickly as possible.

The only exceptions to this rule occur when you follow a link outside our site, and when you open a document in ".pdf" format, which requires that you leave the site's main format. After reviewing information on the other site or reading the PDF document, you may use the browser's "go back" button to return to the main site. (If your PDF documents open in their own windows, simply close the PDF window. See below for information on reading PDF documents.)

Getting Off the "Path"

We try to keep our paths simple and linear, but bear in mind that some links and buttons take you directly to other main topic areas, "subtopic areas," or even other websites. If you get lost, you have several choices:

1. Use your browser's "Go Back" button to retrace the path you've taken to get where you are;
2. Return to APC's home page using a bookmark or "favorite";
3. If you're still on APC's website, use either of the navigation bars to go back to another topic area of the site; or
4. From most of APC's web pages, use the "path links" at the top of the yellow content area to follow a path backwards to its main topic or to APC's home page.

For more information on navigating the site, see But How Do I Find What I Want On This Site?, below.

Opening Documents in ".pdf" Format

Some of the documents available on this site are in ".pdf" format. That simply means that you need Acrobat Reader to open them. If you can read PDF documents already, there's nothing else you need to do to view them on this site. If you can't read PDF documents and don't have Acrobat Reader installed, you should install it now (see below).

Installing Acrobat Reader If You Can't Open PDF Documents

Installing Acrobat Reader is easy, and free. We suggest you install it now if it isn't already on this computer. Every issue of The APC Advocate is made available on this site as a PDF document, as is APC's Seniority Point Calculator. Other documents in this format—and links to PDF documents on other websites—will be added as our site develops.

Installing the Reader now means that when you need one of these documents in a hurry, you won't need to stop to install the Reader first.

Click on the icon below to download the Reader and install it for free.

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But How Do I Find What I Want On This Site?
Our main goal is to make important information available to you as easily and quickly as possible, wherever you have access to the internet. So we've tried to make this site as easy to navigate as possible.

There are five main "navigation areas" you can use, some of which are redundant or provide a slightly different path to the information you're looking for:

1. The button bar of the browser you're using to view this site should include a "go back" button that allows you to move backward to the page you just left, and a "go forward" button that allows you to move to pages you've already viewed but then came back from.
   
   
2. The main "navigation bar" for this site is at the top of the blue column in the left margin. Use these "pop-up" menus when you want to find something specific. For instance, to find this page you may have pointed at the "FAQs" menu, and then selected "Using This Website" from the pop-up submenu.
   
   
3. You'll find another kind of navigation bar in the blue horizontal strip at the bottom of the page. The links included there will take you to the main page for each "topic area" of the site. For instance, by clicking "Alerts!" on the bottom navigation bar, you'll be taken directly to the main "Alerts!" area where you'll find links to every "Alert!" included in the site.
   
   Why another navigation bar? First, to make it unnecessary to scrobb back to the main navigation bar at the top of the page. Second, to provide a way to go directly to the main page for each area of the site, rather than to a specific page (or subtopic) in that area.
   
   
4. At the top of the main content area on each topic and subtopic page, just below the blue title bar, you'll find "path links" to the page you're currently on. The words in red indicate where you are currently, and you can use the links to go backward in the current path, from a subtopic to its main topic area, etc. For instance, at the top of this page you should see:
   Home > FAQs > Using This Website
   If you click on "FAQs," the site will take you to the main "Frequently Asked Questions" (FAQs) area, which includes links to each of the FAQ subtopics. If you click on "Home," you'll be taken back to APC's home page.
   
   
5. Finally, most pages will include links or buttons in the main content (yellow) area. These links are there to make it easier for you to move directly to where you want to be. For instance, notice the red links below labeled "Back to Top" and "Home."
   
   Back to Top Home
   
   In addition to links within the text and links and buttons of other kinds in the content area, sometimes you will see these two buttons:
   
   This button will take you either to the main "FAQs" page or directly to a related FAQs subtopic, depending on its context. (When you point at a button, text will pop up to tell you where the button will take you.)
   
   The "Alert!" button will usually take you directly to a specific "Alert!" relating to the information on the page currently being viewed. Clicking on this one will take you to the main "Alert!" page.
   

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What If I'm Having Problems Viewing or Navigating This Site?
APC does not employ technical support staff to help you with problems you may be having with your computer or your browser. However, if you think you're having problems due to the site itself, if you're having problems finding what you need, or if you find "dead" links on the site, you should email APC's webmaster. We do not have a full-time webmaster, so please be patient as you wait for a reply.

Note: There are problems with Netscape 4 which can cause minor, but possibly annoying, problems when viewing this site. If you have no specific reason for using version 4 of Netscape, we suggest you consider upgrading to Netscape 9 or Firefox 2. As always, you should read the system requirements before installing any software, and you may want to keep the older version on your computer in case you have problems with the upgrade.

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What If I Have a Request or Suggestion for the Site?
If you would like to request changes or additions to the site, please email APC's webmaster. Again, please be patient as you wait for a reply, as we do not have a full-time webmaster.

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How Do I Know If Information On This Site Is Current?
It is our intent to keep information on this site as current as possible. There are two ways you can tell how current it is:

1. The date found on the home page at the top of the main navigation bar, just below APC's logo, indicates when the site was last updated.
   
   
2. The date found at the bottom right of each page's content indicates when the information on that page was last updated.

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What If I Think Specific Information Is Incorrect or Outdated?
If you are concerned about the accuracy or validity of something on a particular page, please email APC's webmaster with your concern. Our webmaster will do everything possible to respond quickly to any concerns about the accuracy of specific information found on the site.

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11/6/07

For information on chapter elections, contact a campus steward. For information on the election of statewide officers, click here.

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On March 2, 2006, APC and the California Faculty Association announced their new alliance.