TUTORIALS
Group Management

Creating groups is a feature of the app that you will need a paid account to access.

There are two ways to create a group:

1. Open your app and press the ‘+ Create’ button at the top left of your screen and then select the ‘Group’ button.

2. Select the ‘Groups’ icon in your sidebar on the left, then press ‘+ Create’ at the top of the screen.

Both options will bring you to the screen where you’re able to set your Group settings (covered in our tutorial, ‘Group Settings Options’).

• Choose a name, you can create your group and come back anytime to complete or change the group settings.
• Once you are ready to complete your Group creation, select ‘Create’ in the top right corner.

Organisation Hub:

Organisation Admin Members can create groups and have more features and options.

Users must be an Organisation Admin to access the Organisation Hub (see our tutorials on the Organisation Hub for more information).

Once a group has been created, Admins will be able to tailor the group’s settings to suit.

1. Select ‘Groups’, choose which group you would like to edit.

2. Go to the group actions by click the ellipsis (3 dots) in the right hand corner.

3. Admins will see four tabs labelled, ‘Details’, ‘Members’, ‘Content’ and ‘Privacy’. All of the following settings can be changed at any time or set when creating your group.

• Details: this tab will allow you to edit the Group Name, Subtitle, colour theme and upload a group image.
• Members: this tab will allow you to choose how users can become members of your group.
  • ‘Group Join Code’ – you can choose to have the code on display or hidden and only visible to Group Admins. If you want to reset the join code for any reason, simply press the refresh arrow in the Join Code box. (see the Using Join Codes tutorial for more details)
  • ‘Member Approval Required’ – if this is turned to ‘on’, all new members will need to be approved by a Group Admin before interacting with the group. New members show up in the Group Members list as ‘Pending’ until authorised by an Admin. Pending members cannot see any content or participate in the group. If the Member Approval Required option is not turned ‘on’, new members will be allowed into the group without any approval needed by Admins.
  • ‘Members Join as Creators’ – if you want all new members to join as a ‘Creator’ (which gives them the ability to share content to the group – see our ‘Group Roles’ section for more details) turn this to ‘on’. Group Admins can change a ‘Creator’ to a ‘Member’ at any stage.
  • ‘Enable Group Chat’ – if you wish to have group members engage in the group chat function, turn this to ‘on’. Turning the Chat on will also add a button and tab for ‘Chat’ to the Group view. This can be turned on or off at any stage and all chat history will automatically save.
• Content: this tab will allow you to set your content permissions. If you would like to allow members to copy and paste text from content shared with the group, turn this to ‘on’. Turning off allows for a level of protection for any text IP shared eg. Course content.
• Privacy: this tab will allow you to limit the information group members share from their profiles. Please note, an individual’s ‘My Privacy’ settings will override any group settings.
  • If you would like to have all group members hidden (visible only to Group Admins), turn off the first option.
  • If you would like to have other members visible to one another, you will need to turn this ‘on’ and then you can select which member details you’d like to have visible.
  • If group members have not added certain details to their profile, this information won’t be visible even if turned to ‘on’.

To help bring your group's to life and give visual cues to your members, create profile pictures to upload for each group. Use your brand colours and fonts to bring in your organisations style.

TIPS

• Make sure images are square eg. 300x300px
• Save images as JPEG/JPGs (.png files may have a transparent background and therefore inherit the colour selected in the 'Group Settings')
• Use trial and error to get that logo and text sitting beautifully aligned inside the circle.

Group Admins can invite people into their groups.

1. Select the ‘Group’ icon and choose the group you would like to invite members to.

2. Select ‘Members’ to access the members list. This will display all current users in the group under the roles of Admins, Creators, and Members.

3. You can invite people in as any of the group roles. Simply press the ‘+’ button in the relevant section and enter the person’s email address in the text box.

4. Press ‘enter’ after each email address (you can invite multiple addresses at one time).

5. Press ‘Invite’ to send an email invitation. The email invitation includes instructions and links to download The Hub app, and the details of the group invitation.

Invitations:

• If a user already has an account on The Hub, they will be prompted to accept the invites when they next sign into The Hub app.
• Invites can also be found in the app anytime by going to ‘Settings’, then ‘Invitations’.
• There is a red dot which will appear on the ‘Groups’ icon when invites are waiting, and reminder buttons at the top of the ‘Groups’ view to make sure there’s little chance of someone missing an invite.

Invite Pending:

People you have invited who have not yet accepted the invitation will display as ‘Invite Pending’ and any users who have accepted the invitation will automatically appear in the Group Member list, meaning they are in and a member of the group.

Each group on The Hub is assigned a unique join code. Group or Org Admins have the option of enabling or hiding the Group Join Code in the Group Settings.

Hiding the join code:

Makes the group more private as it removes the visibility of the code for users and turns off the join by code function, making the group ‘by invite only’.

Enabling the join code:

Makes it easy for users to join and enables the use of joining groups via links in the App and QR codes joining for automated joining by scanning the code.

If the Join Codes are enabled, all group members can view the code at the top of the Group screen.

Select the ‘Groups’ icon and select a group. Members can copy and paste the join code or simply ask a new member to input the code in ‘Join Group’ section.

See our tutorial on using QR codes for more info on using his handy feature.

If a Group Admin has sent you an invitation to a group, you will receive:

• An email with details of the group you have been invited to
• A link to get the app (skip this step if you already have the app on your device)
• Instructions on how to find your invitation.

There are two ways to access any group invitations:

1. Select ‘Settings’ and then ‘Invitations’.

2. Alternatively you can access your invitations by going into 'Groups' then 'Invites' at the top of the list.

Once here, you will find any invitations you have not yet responded to, you can choose to accept (green tick) or decline (red cross) the invitation, or you may choose not respond – you can come back to this decision at any time!

Note – if you are downloading and opening the app for the first time on your device, any outstanding invitations will be displayed when you first sign-in. You will need to be signed into the app with the same email address used by the Group Admin to invite you initially.

+ Join Group

You can also join a group by selecting the ‘Groups’ icon and choosing ‘+ Join’ in the top left. You can then enter the relevant Group Join Code here and select ‘Join’ to join the group.

In-App Group selection can be used to allow participants to select and enter groups via links in shared content on The Hub app.

IMPORTANT: You must be an admin of a group to be able to create a link to a join code. Check that you have the 'Group Join Code' toggled on. If this is off people will be blocked from joining the group.

The 'Join Group' link is created by following these simple steps:

1. Create a piece of content in 'Content Builder' (see Content Management Tutorials for more details.)
2. Create text to be a link eg. ‘Join Group→’ (we used an emoji for the arrow)
3. Highlight Join Group→ text.
4. Click on the link icon at the bottom of the screen
5. Select 'App' and then 'Group' link type
6. Select the appropriate group
7. Check that all links are correct before sharing with participants

Creating a QR code is an efficient way to allow people to enter a group. 

To create a 'Join a group' QR code:

1. Find the Group Join Code: Unique 'Group Join' codes are located in the Group view at the top of The Hub app (and in 'Group Settings' for 'Admin' users).

IMPORTANT: The group join code must be visible and turned on in the group settings otherwise it won't allow people to join the group by this method.

2. Create the join link:

• Use https://email.the-hub.app/link/join?code=ACCESSCODE
• Replace the ACCESSCODE with the group join code
• https://email.the-hub.app/link/join?code=6PV36CA3

1. Use a free QR Code generator without an expiry
2. Save the QR Code as an .png or .jpg image
3. Create a flyer with the QR image to print and display for users to join the group.

See our tutorial on ‘Joining a Group with a QR Code’

To join a group on The Hub with a QR code, the participant will need:

• To have The Hub App installed on their smart device.
• Use the camera app on their smart device to scan the QR code and tap the link
• The link will open a page using the user's default web browser, which will prompt them to open 'The Hub app'
• Tapping the prompt will take them to 'The Hub app' and automatically enter the 'Group Join Code'
• Press 'Accept' and the user will automatically join the group

Within each group, there are three roles, each with different levels of permissions within the group. Group roles can be altered at any time by Group Admins.

Group Admin: Admins are responsible for all aspects of a group. They can:

• share content to members
• change group settings
• invite new members
• remove chat messages
• change other group member roles
• delete the group if they wish.
• Group admins have no restrictions on their permissions within the group, so it is recommended to choose these roles wisely!

Creators: Creators can share content that they have created to the group.

• They have no access to any group settings
• Cannot alter other members’ roles.
• They can engage with chat (if chat is enabled) and any content that has been shared to the group.

Members: Members cannot share content or alter any group/members settings.

• They can engage with chat (if chat is enabled) and any content that has been shared to the group.

You can only manage group members if you are an ‘Admin’ in that group.

Members of groups can be promoted and demoted by Admins to either a ‘Member’, ‘Creator’ or ‘Admin’. Group Admins can also invite or remove members from the group.

To manage group members:

1. Select the ‘Groups’ icon on the sidebar on the left of the screen and then open the group you wish to make changes to.

2. Once in the group, you will see four icons – select the ‘Members’ icon and scroll to find and select the group member you wish to manage.

3. Press the three dots in the top right-hand corner of the screen and you will see several options. Once you select the appropriate action, it will be complete.

Remember, you can change group member roles as often as you like but if you remove a member, this cannot be undone, and that person will have to re-join the group.

Any user in a group can block or report a user.

‘Blocking’ a user will mean that they can no longer contact you or see any of your profile information and is an individual action.

‘Reporting’ a user will contact The Hub team.

If you wish to block or report a user:

1. Select the ‘Groups’ icon in your sidebar on the left of the screen and then open the group you wish to make changes to.

2. Once in the group, you will see four icons – select the ‘Members’ icon and scroll to find and select the group member you wish to manage.

3. Press the three dots in the top right-hand corner of the screen and you will see several options.

• If you select ‘Block User’, you will see a confirmation message where you will need to select ‘Block User’ to confirm the action.
• If you select ‘Report User’, you will be asked to provide some more details to send to us at The Hub so we can deal with the report appropriately.

Unblocking a user:

You can unblock a user by selecting the relevant group member and pressing the three dots in the top right-hand corner of the screen and then choose ‘Unblock User’.

Managing blocked users:

1. Select ‘Settings’ in the sidebar on the left of the screen.

2. Choose ‘My Privacy’

3. Select ‘Blocked Users’

4. This will show you any user you have previously blocked, allowing you to ‘Unblock’ them if you wish.

All content shared with groups you’re a member of will appear in ‘My Feed’ but you can also access group specific content directly through each 'Group Feed'.

To access a Group Feed:

1. Select 'Groups' in the sidebar on the left of the screen and then choose the group you’d like to access.

2. You’ll see four icons, ‘Content’, ‘Events’, ‘Members’ and ‘Chat’ (if the group chat is enabled).

3. Selecting Content will take you to list of all content shared with that group.

4. You can then navigate between the four tabs.

• Any events shared with the group will appear in the ‘Events’ tab.
• You can access the group chat through the ‘Chat’ tab.

Pinning Content:

Group Admins are able to pin specific content so that it will always appear at the top of the Group Feed (this won’t pin content in the overall ‘My Feed’ section).

• To pin content:
• Find the content in that tab and press the three dots to the right of it.
• This will bring up the options to view content, pin content, hide content and report content. If the content belongs to you, the option to edit content will also appear in this list.