Below is a list of FAQs. If you’d like an interactive training of CGIN and its services, please register for a CGIN Website Orientation training. Click here for more information.
General CGIN Account Housekeeping
A. Membership Questions
B. General Questions / Errors
C. Listserve Questions
D. Search the site
1) How do I log in?
If you are a CGIN member, you can log in using the Member Login button found at the top right side of the home page.
2) How do I change my password?
After logging in, click on the My account button found on the top right, then click on the Edit button. Scroll down the page and then type in your new password in the two password fields and click Submit
3) I forgot my password.
On the member login page click on the Request new password button. A temporary access link with further instructions will be sent to the e-mail address associated with the username that was entered.
4) Why don’t my username and password work?
First, make sure that Caps Lock is turned off. Also, ensure that you are using your CGIN username, not NCGA or other website’s username. These are what causes majority of the failed login attempts. Also make sure you are using the correct password. If you can not recall your password, on the member login page click on the Request new password button. A temporary access link with further instructions will be sent to the e-mail address associated with the username that was entered. If you do not receive an e-mail or you are still encounter login problems, please contact CGIN about the situation.
5) How do I update my store’s profile information?
CGIN contact persons and Content Editors can update the profile information. After logging in, go to My account, and scroll down to the bottom of the page until you see Member is associated with the following contributors. Click on your co-ops name to be taken to the profile page. Click on the Edit button to be taken to the page to update your store’s profile information.
6) How do I renew our membership online?
After logging in, click on My Account and then click on the Renew Membership tab. The 2011 membership renewal fee will be shown, as well as any additional fees for the specialized listserves. If that’s the amount you’d like to pay, click on the Renew Now button. You’ll be taken to PayPal, where you can either pay with your credit/debit card, create a PayPal account or log in to your PayPal account. If the amount shown is incorrect, please contact the CGIN office
7) How do I add new user accounts?
As of May 2010, all CGIN users are to have their own access account. The CGIN contact person for your organization is responsible for adding and blocking users. They can do this by logging into the site > My Account > User Accounts > Create user account. Fill out the required information. Or watch our CGIN Short video on Create and edit user accounts.
8) How do I block/delete user accounts?
When a staff member leaves the co-op, it’s important for the CGIN contact person to block the staff member’s CGIN access. They can do this by logging into the site > My Account > User Accounts. Click on the ‘edit’ link associated with that user and select ‘block’. Then click ‘save’.Or watch our CGIN Short video on Create and edit user accounts
9) Who’s the contact person for my organization?
You can normally find the contact person by logging into the site > My Account > then click your organization’s name. If the name listed there is not the current contact person, or if you’re still unsure of who the current contact person is for your organization, contact the CGIN office.
1) Why can’t I print this page?
The majority of printing problems are not problems with the page itself but with the computer viewing it.
Try following these methods in the order they appear.
2) What is a PDF file?
PDF stands for Adobe Portable Document Format. PDF files are meant to be a standard for distributing information that can be viewed by any computer with a reader program. For viewing these files there is a program called Adobe Acrobat Reader (also referred to as Adobe Reader), which is freely distributed over the Internet.
Adobe Acrobat Reader also has the option to install as a plugin to popular web browsers such as Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator. This means you can click on a link to a PDF file and it will load right in your web browser.
To download the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader, go to http://www.adobe.com/ and look for a link to download “Adobe Reader” or “Adobe Acrobat Reader”. If you can not find a link, you can also search their site for “Adobe Reader”.
3) How do I increase the font size on pages?
For Mac or PCs, hold down the Control button and hit + to increase. To decrease the font size, hold down the Control button and hit -.
4) What happened to the item I submitted?
All items submitted must be approved by the CGIN administrator, which can take up to 24 hours.
5) Where can I find job listings?
You can find job listings and people for hire at the job and classifieds page.
6) How do I post a job announcement?
You can find forms for submitting job openings and people for hire at the job and classifieds page.
7) I have equipment to sell. How can CGIN support me with this?
CGIN has a classified section available to advertise equipment and supplies of interest to food co-ops. Listings are open to any CGIN member for a $25 fee and to non-members for a $75 fee. All listings will be posted as long as requested by the submitting party as long as a renewal notice is sent to the CGIN office at least every three months. Once your listing is on the CGIN site, you may send out a message over the basic listserve and include a link to the posting.
8) How do I open the photo gallery archive I downloaded?
The file that is created is a .TAR archive. Windows users will need to have an archive utility that can decompress a .TAR file. Here is a freeware utility, ALZip, that can do it. Macintosh and Linux users should be able to open this file with their default archiving tools.
8) How do I listen to the radio ads?
There are various programs that can play .mp3 files. One common program that’s available for free is Windows Media Player. Stay upgraded when you can, it helps: Download Windows Media Player Here (for most operating systems)Then when you click on the radio ad clip, select to open the file with Windows Media Player.
If you run into problems with Windows Media Player please visit the Support Area on the Windows Media Web Site.
They also have a page that lists error codes and what they mean and how to get around them.
If you have a non-Intel-based Mac, download Windows Media Player for Mac. If you have a (newer) Intel-based Mac, grab the Flip4Mac player.
9) How do I post a CoopTube video?
You can find instructions on how to post a video to CoopTube here. If your video is already posted online at YouTube, Google Videos, your website, etc., you’re ready to submit the video to CGIN by using the submission form
1) What are the listserves?
CGIN’s listserves are designed to facilitate communication among food co-ops and those involved with food co-ops. CGIN offers three listserves. The basic listserve, which is available to anyone, the membership and marketing specialized listserve, and human resource specialized listserve, both of which require a small subscription fee.
2) How do I subscribe to the listserve?
You can find instructions for subscribing to the basic CGIN listserve on the basic listserve page. CGIN members can subscribe to a specialized listserve by requesting that your CGIN contact person approve your CGIN user account for the specialized listserve. Once you have been approved, go to My Account > Edit > Mailing list subscription, and select Yes for the appropriate listserve. Or watch our help video on subscribing to specialized listserves.
If you are the CGIN contact person, go to My Account > Edit > Mailing List Subscriptions and select the listserve(s) you’d like to subscribe to. Or watch our help video on contact person listserve maintenance system steps
3) How do I unsubscribe from the listserve?
You can find instructions for unsubscribing from the basic CGIN listserve on the basic listserve page. CGIN members can unsubscribe by going to My Account > Edit > Mailing list subscription, and select No for the appropriate listserve. Or watch our help video on managing specialized listserve subscriptions
If you are the CGIN contact person, go to My Account > Edit > Mailing List Subscriptions and select the listserve(s) you’d like to unsubscribe from. Or watch our help video on contact person listserve maintenance system steps
4) How can I review past listserve postings?
CGIN maintains an archive of all listserve postings. The basic CGIN listserve is open to anyone interested in reviewing it. Note that the login and password for the listserve archive are: list (login) and archive (password). CGIN members can also access the archives for the specialized listserves for membership and marketing staff and human resource staff. If you wish to view either of these now please use the following links.
Basic Listserve Archive (Login: list | Password: archive)
Membership and Marketing Listserve Archive
Human Resource Listserve Archive
5) How can I search the archive listings?
In order to search the archive listing, you’ll need to visit the specific listserve’s archive page and click on the search button:
Basic Listserve Archive (Login: list | Password: archive)
Membership and Marketing Listserve Archive
Human Resource Listserve Archive
6) Where can I look for more information about CGIN Listserves?
The majority of questions you might have about the listserves can be answered on the Listserve page. If you have any questions beyond the scope of that page, please feel free to ask the CGIN office.
7)What happened to the attachment I sent out over the listserve?
CGIN’s listserve does not allow attachments to be sent out. We do this for a number of reasons:
You are encouraged to post all materials or items for sharing to the CGIN site.
8)How do I add or delete board members on the Board listserve?
If your co-op is subscribed to the Board Listserve, log into the CGIN site and click on ‘My account’. Then on that page, towards the bottom, you’ll see a link to ‘Update my board listserv subscriber list’. Click on that and you’ll be taken to the page to make changes. To add members: in an empty field under the Board Members heading, enter in the new board member’s name and e-mail address, then click ‘Submit’.
To delete members: remove their name and e-mail address from the field and click ‘Submit’.
A message will be sent to the CGIN office and you’ll receive a confirmation message when the changes have been made.
9)How do I maintain and review the specialized listserve subscriptions for our co-op (Enhanced member)?
Log into CGIN > My Account > Edit > Mailing List Admins. Select each listserve to view who is authorized to be subscribed to that list. To remove someone from a listserve, click on the box next to their username to remove the check mark, then select Save. To add someone to a list, click the box next to their username and select Save.
View simplified steps, with screen shots, by downloading instructions for granting listserve subscriptions to staff or watch a short CoopTube video
10)How do I maintain and review the specialized listserve subscriptions for our co-op (Basic member)?
Basic members: your membership includes two specialized listserve subscriptions. Review available listserves and contact the CGIN office with who you’d like subscribed for which listserve, and their e-mail address. You can subscribe two paid staff to two listserves, or one paid staff to two listserves. Contact the CGIN office for your co-op’s listserve subscriptions.
1) How can I search the site?
Near the middle top of every page is a search box. Enter the word or phrase you are looking for and click the Search button. You’ll then be shown the search results. For more advanced search options, click the Advanced search link, found under the box containing your keywords. Here you’ll be able to specify categories, types of documents, and specific phrasing.
2) Why did my search yield no results?