Public Resource Directory (version 1.0)

Public Resource Directory (version 1.0)

What is Public Resource Directory (version 1.0)?

The Public Resource Directory 1.0 (PRD) feature publishes the resources in your iCarol database to be accessible from your public website. This feature makes it easy for the public to access your database when they are just browsing your website. iCarol is doing all of the work, yet it appears to the person that they are still on your website.

The following features and tools are included when the PRD feature is enabled:
  1. Control over the colors, fonts, settings, and messages that appear on your PRD without the need of a web developer
  2. Create Suggested Searches to assist your help seekers with their searches
  3. Utilize the Folksonomy tool to further aid your help seekers with their searches. Please read the Help Article “How to Customize the Folksonomy” to learn more
  4. Generate Statistics on the searches conducted on your PRD
  5. Ability to allow public users to provide feedback on resource records
Note, this feature may have an additional cost associated with it. If your organization is interested in enabling this feature, then a designated Support Contact from your organization can go to 'Help' in the left side menu and submit a case to request more information.
As of July 2017 PRD 2.0 was released, so if you're currently subscribed to PRD 1.0 and are interested in upgrading to PRD 2.0, the upgrade has an additional cost associated with it. If your organization is interested in upgrading to PRD 2.0, then have a designated Support Contact submit a case with this request. Read the related help article about PRD 2.0 to learn more. 

Public Resource Directory (version 1.0) Settings

iCarol’s Public Resource Directory lets you publish your live resource database to your public website. This document describes the settings available for this tool.  These settings are accessed by clicking Resources in the left hand menu, then selecting Manage Resources, then selecting Public Resource Directory.
  1. Upload logo: If you upload a logo, this will appear at the top of your public resource directory.
  2. Select a color and font theme for the page: Using the selections in this section, you can customize the colors and fonts used on your public resource directory.  There are some defaults that you can choose from (named Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring), or you can select custom and use the additional drop-down menu to make your own color and font selections.
  3. Page Title: This title will be shown at the top of your public resource directory.
  4. Welcome Message: This message will be shown in the left hand column, just under the search text box and location filters.
  5. Manage Titles of Special Areas: The default titles of special areas can be customized.  The welcome message and highlighted resources areas are found on the main page, under the search text box and locations filters.  The search results title appears after a search is conducted.  Please note, the special area "search tree title" is no longer being used on the public resource directory.
  6. Suggested Searches: You can enter up to 10 search terms as suggestions for users of your public resources directory.  These suggestions, when clicked, will auto-populate the search text box and perform the search.  Suggested searches appear in the left hand column on the main page, under the welcome message.
  7. Currently Highlighted Resources: You can highlight particular resources to appear on the main page of your public resource directory.  When the name of a highlighted resource is clicked, the suer will be taken to the details page of that resources.  Highlighted resources appear in the right hand column under the search text box and location filters.
  8. Designate which fields appear on your public website: Click the link "Please use the "Field Visibility" tool on the Manage Resources page for this capability now" to open a pop-up box to denote which fields in your resource records should be visible to public users when they look at the details of a resources, and which not.
  9. Geographic filter settings: Please note, the settings in this section extend beyond just geographic settings. 
    1. The first set of check boxes enables you to select which geographic filters will appear on your public resource directory, and if you want to select your agency's state/province, county, and/or city as default selections.
    2. "By default sort search results by" allows search results to be sorted alphabetically by name, or by proximity to the location selected using the location filters
    3. "By default, search" denotes what fields of the resource records will be searched to find results.  Resource names and categories will search the resource names and the custom categories and/or AIRS taxonomy your resources are assigned to (depending on if you use custom categories or AIRS taxonomy or both), and All fields will search all text fields in your resource records for a match to the search term.
    4. "(Selection) will be used for geographic filtering" “tells” iCarol to return either “resources serving” the location selected using the location filters, “resources within” that location, or all resources (ignoring geographic filtering altogether). This functions identically to the geographic filters inside iCarol.
    5. "Search results will return the following types of records" will enable you to determine which record types will be searchable and therefore, view-able, by users of your public resource directory.
    6. "Page to show for details view"  There are two different “details” pages. The “Simple” view only presents information from the selected record. But if you use the Agency/Program/Site structure (and especially use ProgramAtSites too), you would likely want iCarol to present the “Combined” view because it will present information not just on the selected record (e.g. a Program), but also any and all records linked to it (Sites, ProgramAtSites, etc).
    7. "Allow people in the public to provide comments on resource records" is a way for members of the public to comment on the details of resource records in your database, which may include updates to your resources.  These comments will appear as flagged resources in your iCarol system.
    8. "Enable PRD public Users to create accounts and save lists" is a way to enable enhances access to your public resource directory.
    9. "When a public user is created, also create a Caller Profiles" enables you to collect some statistics on who is accessing your public resource directory and what searches they are performing.
    10. "Enables users in the public to initiate Automated Verification on resource records".  This setting places a button at the bottom of your resource records that users can click to initiate an automated verification email.  Through settings in the Automated Verification tool, you can determine which email address in the resource record the verification email is sent to, and the template for the email that is used.  When the verification is responded to, it will appear in the automated verification responses section, just like verifications you initiate yourself.
    11. "Enable users to specify different verification email address, as long as it is in the same domain as the existing one" adds a field just above the "email a verification request" button for the user to enter which email address they would like the verification email sent to.
    12. "Enable users in the public to print search results to PDF".  When a search is performed, and a list of search results appears, this setting adds a link to download and print a PDF of the details of the search results shown on the page.  Please note, if there is more than 1 page of search results, the user must view each page and then print the search results.  Only the search results being displayed will be printed.
  10. Specify default map center and zoom: When the list of search results is shown, if you would like to default the center of the map that is also shown, as well as the zoom level, you can do so here.
  11. Contact Us - Allow people to click on a link and send you an email. Enables a link that users of the public can click to contact you.  This link will appear under the welcome message.  You can customize which email address to use, the subject line of that email, and what the link actually says.
  12. Publishing your iCarol resources on your public website: In this section you will find the direct link to your public resource directory, and the HTML code to embed the public resources directory into your website. Which option you use to place the public resource directory on your website is up to you; you will want to share the appropriate link or HTML code with your webmaster.
    1. Simple Link: a link you can put on any web page. When clicked, the person's browser will go to a completely new page, where they can begin searching your resources. Anyone who has ever built even a simple website should know how to use this approach. 
    2. Embedded Link: an iFrame that makes it appear that a person is still on your website, while they are searching your resources in iCarol. In other words, it is "embedded" within your website. If you have a webmaster or graphic designer who is familiar with "iFrames", they can use this method.
  13. Advanced Search Link: The Advanced Search link offers a slightly different search with PRD 1, which is more mobile friendly, and gives you access to use Custom Fields created by your organization as filters when searching for resources. If you wish to preview the Advanced Search Link, have a designated Support Contact from your organization go to 'Help' in the left side menu and request the URL
  14. Help your resources get found by search engines: The options in this section are explained in a separate article entitled "Public Resource Directory Advanced Settings".
If your organization wishes to use this feature, or if you have any additional questions on how to use it, please send a request to support@iCarol.com, or use the Online Case Submission Tool, found in your Help menu, for support.

Setting: Generate a Sitemap.xml file

Many search engines like Google will do a better job of finding your content if they know about all the web pages with the details of your resource records. To do that, you can generate a file called "Sitemap.xml" and then submit it to the search engines.
For more information on Sitemaps from Google: About Sitemaps

Setting: Verify your site ownership (Tokens)

Verification allows you to prove to search engines that you own your Public Resource Directory page.
For more information on Site Verification from Google: Site Verification and from Bing: Site Verification

Note: Enabling the Google Site Ownership/Token can enable Google Analytic.

Setting: Define canonical URL

Canonical URL is a search engine friendly URL that you want the search engines to treat as authoritative for your Public Resource Directory (PRD).
For more information on Canconical URL's from Google: Canonical URLs

Enable Settings:
  1. Log on to iCarol from an account with Administrator access
  2. Click on Resources from the left menu
  3. Click on Manage resources to the right of the geographic filters
  4. Click on Public Resource Directory from under the Optional Upgrades section.
  5. The Help your resources get found by search engines settings are located at the bottom of the page. 
Troubleshooting: Public Resource Directory does not display custom welcome information or page is cut off
iCarol provides a link to your Resource database to be displayed on your public website. If the web design does not first display the Welcome page version of the search initially, the custom text providing instruction to visitor is not visible.

Your webmaster designs your display using multiple displays:
  1. The initial link should be to the website 'landing page', which displays the search fields and any customized information you input into the template you found on our website.
  2. Once the search information is filled in and the search button / magnifying glass is clicked, the search results are displayed (which exclude the welcome information).
Please contact your webmaster to correct this issue.

Understanding Search Type Options in Public Resource Directory (version 1.0)

When completing a search using the Public Resource Directory 1.0 (PRD 1), the following fields will be searched to find the word/phrase entered, depending on the respective 'Search Type' selected, and depending on if your organization is subscribed to the iCarol AIRS Taxonomy Tools:

If your organization is subscribed to the iCarol 211 Taxonomy Tools:
  1. 'Resource Names and Categories' search type:
    1. Name
    2. Alternate Name
    3. Search Hints
    4. Taxonomy term names (full or partial) and Use References
  2. * 'All Fields' search type: every field in the resource record
If your organization is not subscribed to the iCarol 211 Taxonomy Tools:
  1. Resource Names and Categories' search type:
    1. Name
    2. Alternate Name
    3. Search Hints
    4. * Custom Categories
  2. * 'All Fields' search type: every field in the resource record
* If you wish to include Custom Categories in the searches above that appear with a *, a setting must be enabled by the iCarol Support Team. Have a designated Support Contact use the online case system to submit a case with this request.
Note, if resources are marked as 'Inactive' or 'Exclude from Public Resource Directory (website)' they won't appear in search results.
To configure this setting:
  1. As a user with permission to do so, from the main Resources page in iCarol click the 'Manage Resources' link
  2. Under the Optional Upgrades section, click the link for 'Public Resource Directory'
  3. The PRD 1 Settings page now appears; under the section Geographic/Filter Settings you can set the default search type to 'Resource names and categories' or 'All fields'
  4. Click Save, and whichever setting you selected will be the default selection chosen when a public user first lands on your PRD 1 page. It's important to note the public can change the filter from your default selection because the filter always remains visible on your PRD; this setting just designates the default selection

Understanding Resource Sorting Options in Public Resource Directory (version 1.0)

When completing a search using the Public Resource Directory 1.0 (PRD 1), the following sorting options are available:
  1. Alphabetical: uses the first letter in the resource name to sort the results alphabetically
  2. Proximity: uses the location entered by the public user to sort the results by proximity, making those closest to the user appear first, and those farthest appear last 
To configure this setting:
  1. As a user with permission to do so, from the main Resources page in iCarol click the 'Manage Resources' link
  2. Under the Optional Upgrades section, click the link for 'Public Resource Directory'
  3. The PRD 1 Settings page now appears; under the section Geographic/Filter Settings you can set the default search type to 'Resource names and categories' or 'All fields'
  4. Click Save, and whichever setting you selected will be the default selection chosen when a public user first lands on your PRD 1 page. It's important to note the public can change the filter from your default selection because the filter always remains visible on your PRD; this setting just designates the default selection
When 'Proximity' is selected, the sorting works directly with the location entered by the public on the search page. This means resources in the search results closest to the location entered by the public will appear first in the list of results.

This setting works directly with all other settings on the PRD 1 page, but especially the following setting, in the following way:
  1. Show/Hide Location Filters: if you choose to filter by Location or Coverage Area, the filtering is determined by the location entered in these fields by the public. So if you've hidden certain location fields from appearing to the public, that will affect their ability to search and what's returned in their results.
Important note, when just a state, county, or city is entered as the location (as opposed to a zip/postal code), the exact location of the state, county, or city can't be determined because it's such a large area of land. So, iCarol tries to calculate the approximate center of the state, county, or city and then returns the search results by proximity to the approximate location that was calculated. This means entering a zip code will get the most accurate proximity calculations when sorting search results.  

Ideal configurations of these settings are dependent on how your resources are setup, and the desired results you have for your public when searching. To give the public the greatest chance of seeing resources closest to them first, configure the settings so 'Proximity' is your default, 'All fields (no filtering)' is selected, and 'Hide all location filters except Postal (zip) code'. Configuring your settings this way will make it so all resources matching their search are returned in their results, and then once they enter their zip code in the location field and search again, their results will be sorted by those resources appearing closest to them first.

Ultimately the configurations are dependent on your organizations resources and desired results for the public and the iCarol Support Team can work with you to help understand the different settings available so you can make the best decision based on your organization's wishes.

Understanding Geographic Filtering Options in Public Resource Directory (version 1.0)

The Public Resource Directory 1.0 (PRD 1) filters your search results depending on the geographic filtering option selected on the PRD 1 Settings page. The following geographic filtering options are available:
  1. All fields (no filtering): no filtering is put in place and all resources matching your search appear in the results
  2. Physical Location: filtering is based on the physical location of a resource, using the location entered in the geographic filters field by the public
  3. Coverage areas: filtering is based on the coverage area assigned , using the location entered in the geographic filters field by the public
These geographic filters work the same as those used when searching your resource database from directly within iCarol. Read this help article to learn more about geographic filtering and how it working with the different fields in your resource records. 

To configure this setting:
  1. As a user with permission to do so, from the main Resources page in iCarol click the 'Manage Resources' link
  2. Under the Optional Upgrades section, click the link for 'Public Resource Directory'
  3. The PRD 1 Settings page now appears; under the section Geographic/Filter Settings from the drop-down list you can set the geographic filtering to: All fields (no filtering), Phy
  4. Click Save, and whichever setting you selected will be the selection chosen when the public lands on your PRD 1 page. It's important to note the public can't change this filter from your default selection because the filter is never visible on your PRD.
This setting works directly with all other settings on the PRD 1 page, but especially the following setting, in the following way:
  1. Show/Hide Location Filters: if you choose to filter by Location or Coverage Area, the filtering is determined by the location entered in these fields by the public. So if you've hidden certain location fields from appearing to the public, that will affect their ability to search and what's returned in their results.
Ideal configurations of these settings are dependent on how your resources are setup, and the desired results you have for your public when searching. To give the public the greatest number of results in their searches, configure the settings so 'All fields (no filtering)' is selected, and 'Show all location filters', but ultimately the configurations are dependent on your organizations resources and desired results for the public.  

Public Resource Directory (version 1.0) AutoSuggest/Drop Down List Suggestions

When you subscribe to the AIRS 211 Taxonomy of Human Services and have 211 Taxonomy enabled in your iCarol system -  you may choose to populate the AutoSuggest/Drop Down List with Taxonomy Terms/Use References or your Custom Category Names on your Public Resource Directory.

To configure whether Taxonomy terms or Custom Categories will populate the Public Resource Directory AutoSuggest list, go to:
  1. Log into iCarol as an Administrator or user with special access priveledges
  2. Click on Resources from the left menu
  3. Click on Manage resource to the left of the geographic filters
  4. Click on Public Resource Directory under the Optional Upgrades section
  5. Click to enable the setting "Auto-suggest the AIRS Taxonomy and Use References (if enabled)"
Once this setting is enabled, the AutoSuggest on the Public Resource Directory (PRD) will populate with Taxonomy Term Names and Use References. If disabled, Custom Categories will be suggested by default.

Public Resource Directory Public User Settings

When you have the Public Resource Directory (PRD) feature enabled in your system, you can also choose to enable some additional PRD User settings.

PRD Public User Settings
  1. Allow public users to create PRD Public User accounts and to save resource lists. PRD Public Users can log in and out of the PRD, and create (and print if allowed) customized resource lists, or "shopping carts" of commonly used resources.
  2. When a public user is created, also create a Caller Profile (Only available if PRD Public User accounts are enabled). This feature will automatically create a Caller Profile in your iCarol system when a Public PRD user account is created, that can then be used in Call Reports, and for Statistics.
  3. Allow public users to initiate an Automatic Verification Requests (AVR) from the Public Resource Directory (PRD). When enabled, Public Users of the PRD can identify themselves as a record verifiers, and can request an email to be sent to the email on the record the the verifier to review, edit and submit changes on. Using the AVR system, resource editors can then review Responses and accept changes. (Requires the Automatic Verification Requests (AVR) feature, contact iCarol Support for details.)
  4. Allow public users to print resource search results to PDF. When enabled, you can give PRD Public Users the ability to print resources to PDF, in a format/layout that is more easily read, than printing the web page. In addition, when search results are printed, all the results displayed on the current page will be printed at once, saving the user time.
There are two types of public users:
  1. General Users, that have not created or signed into a user profile (general visitors to your PRD)
  2. Registered Users, who have created an account
Registered Users have access to additional features:
  1. Create Groups of saved Resources, similar to a shopping list
  2. Verify their email address, once their email address is verified they will receive a list of Resources where their email is listed on the Resource record.  In addition, each resource will include a total n

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