Directory Coordinator Tips

Tips and Tricks when updating the Western Directory

  • Remember that you cannot add people to or delete people from the directory. For this you must use the forms provided via the Directory Coordinator update web page. This includes adding people who are not yet on HR system that you want listed now. Just put “not on hr” in UWO ID field on the form.
  • The default e-mail address is the UWO personal computer account (...@uwo.ca). If the user has another preferred e-mail address, update the directory AND remind the user to forward his/her UWO e-mail to the preferred address. (see E-Mail Forwarding Service)
  • To suppress the e-mail address, change the field Email Visible to N. The email address field cannot be blank. (Note as of Aug 24 there are some blank e-mail addresses – this will be fixed by Aug 31).
  • Many units have an impressive web site that lists all their faculty. If this is the case for your unit, add a Frequently Used Service such as "Faculty - select URL for details" and include a link.
  • When entering a URI on any of the data screens, it must begin with the following: http://
  • If you have a group with no members AND no sub groups under it, the group will not display in the Western Directory or the printed directory. If you have a subgroup with no members, the subgroup will not display in the Western Directory or the printed directory. Instead it is recommended that these be entered as Frequently Used Services.
  • Take time to review the Frequently Used Services for your unit. Now that the organization feature is available, there may be some unwanted redundancy between the Frequently Used Services and the Group and subgroups defined.
  • Before the Organization feature was available, some units used the Job Title field to indicate where an individual fit within the unit. Now, you may wish to define a group or subgroup to make this distinction and remove the job title. For example, you may wish to define a group called faculty.
  • Use mix case when naming your groups and subgroups do not use CAPS. This will provide consistency throughout the directory.
  • The group Other Personnel is a default group. Please do not use this when naming any of your groups or subgroups.
  • To assist the person using the directory, where job titles exist put the keyword first. 
    e.g. "Manager of Client Support" instead of "Client Support Manager"
  • Only enter the area code for a number if it is long distance and put the area code in (). This includes numbers within the 519 area code. 
    e.g. (519)555-1234
  • For people without London phone numbers, record their full address in the Private Office field and select Priv Off as their Building, and enter the city as the Room.
  • The comment field in the people update panel is available to note additional information – for example “visiting faculty” or “Professor Emeritus”.
  • When inserting comments for a person, remember that the printed version will display exactly what you have typed. For example, if you type the comment within brackets, the brackets will display.

Tips for using the Update application

  • While in the Update program, do not use the Back and Forward funtions or buttons in your browser. For navigation, only use the buttons in the Update screens provided.
  • When finished updating, make sure you click on the Exit button in order to correctly terminate the Update program. If you clicked on Exit by mistake and would like to do more updates, you will have to login again.

Published on and maintained in Cascade.