A link to several tree care cards has just been added under Resources for Volunteers/Hot Line Help. The cards are wonderfuly illustrated and cover selection; pests; planting; utilities; pruning; staking; and training.

Ways to use Collaborative Tools (for group members/subscribers)
Collaborative Tools on the ANR Portal is a great way to gather valuable information from your group members for use now, and later. However, it is yet another new thing to learn.  Below are a couple of "easy" ways to use it in hopes of getting more of us to collaborate.

If you want to pose a question to the group:

• Go to the UC ANR Portal https://my.ucanr.org and log in (if you haven't been there before, it takes a few minutes to get a password, but it is worth it.  I use this site as my homepage and really like it)
• Click on one of the groups listed under Collaborative Tools in the lower left section of the page
• Click on Start New Subject next to Options in the upper left corner of the page
• You're off and running

If you want to respond to an e-mail that is sent to you though the Collaborative Tools system:

• Don't click "Reply" in your e-mail program
• Click on the View message in the Collaborative Tools System text in the e-mail itself, and you will be connected to the site in Collaborative Tools where the message originated
• Click on Add to Discussion next to Options in the upper left hand corner of the page
• You're off and running

 To view or search subjects and messages:

• Click Messages or Return to Messages in the top header.
• Click on the subject title. A page displaying all the responses to that subject is displayed
• Scroll down the page to view all responses
• Just above the shaded subject title, above the date, is an link option to toggle between viewing the messages in "Newest First" or "Oldest First" order
• You can use the search input box in the top right shaded header. When you view one of the resulting messages, the search term is shown in red
• There is also an option to "subscribe/unsubscribe" at the message level
• From the messages page, you can view all messages submitted by an individual by clicking on the person's name under "started by"

Note: There is one major difference between Collaborative Tools and e-mail (via Outlook, Eudora, etc.). Collaborative Tools (and Geckomail) use an internet browser. If you leave the Collaborative Tools window to check on another website for a reference or fact checking, you will lose what you have entered in the Collaborative Tools page. There are two ways around this:

• Open another browser window (CTRL N or click on your browser icon and open another window) and use the new window for referencing/fact checking.
• Write your response/question in WordPad or Notepad to limit text formatting and then paste it into Collaborative Tools.

Dave Krause, ANR Communication Services, can help with questions about Collaborative Tools (and the ANR Portal).  Dave helped write the software for these sites, so he is very knowledgeable and helpful.  Contact Dave at djkrause@ucdavis.edu or 530-757-8393.