Several Membership settings decide what members and committee members can do in the Portal without staff help. Members can update their directory listing, committee members can manage committee documents, visitors can see your custom message when no application is available, and members can manage automatic renewal. This article explains those settings. For the shared Membership settings record and how saving works across your Rhythm account, see Membership Settings: How Saving and Setup Work. For choosing which directory fields members can use and adding a directory-options step to an application form, see Configure Directory Listing Options for Members.
What This Controls
- Whether members can update their own directory listing when they edit their membership in the Portal, and how much control they have. The directory uses the member's contact, organization, and membership data, so these settings let members update the information behind the listing rather than edit separate directory values.
- Whether members can hide individual details, such as a phone number, while still appearing in the directory.
- Whether committee members can upload and delete their own committee documents in the Portal, and whether you limit that access to certain committee positions.
- The message someone sees in the Portal when no application process is currently available to them.
- Whether members can update their own automatic renewal settings in the Portal.
- Whether members can add or remove chapters when they update their membership in the Portal.
Tip
A Portal page name can suggest more editing access than you have set up. For example, an "Organization Membership Information" page only shows what its directory-options and page-layout settings allow. If directory options are off, or no page-layout fields are selected, the page can look almost empty and still show a save action. That is expected and does not mean something is broken.
Where to Find It
Go to Setup › Other Settings. These settings appear on several cards on that page.
The Settings
| Setting | Card | Options | Default | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Should members be able to update their directory options when editing their membership in the portal? | Page Layouts & 360° Screens | No, Fields Only, Yes | None selected | No removes directory options from the Portal update form. Fields Only lets members choose which fields appear in the directory, but they cannot opt out of the directory completely. Yes lets members opt in or out of the directory and choose fields. You see this setting only when a Portal membership page layout is selected. The organization membership update page works the same way by using the Membership Portal Page Layout set in Membership setup. You can override that layout by membership type. If the selected layout is empty, the page can load without useful fields to show |
| Directory Field Level Opt Out (switch), then a field list | Directory Field Level Opt Out | On, off; then a multiple-choice list of fields | Off; field list empty | Turn this on when you want members to hide specific fields from the directory instead of hiding only their entire listing. The field list includes contact, organization, and membership fields, including your custom fields, plus a fixed Invoice Download Link entry. It shows each field's actual name rather than an internal field ID. It does not currently include organization accreditation fields, such as accreditation date, expiration date, status, or status reason. If you leave the switch on without choosing fields, the setting saves, but members have nothing to hide |
| Allow committee members to manage documents in the portal | Committees | On, off | Off | Lets committee members create folders and upload, download, and manage their own committee documents in the Portal. This requires the Documents application. The page shows a note when your Rhythm account does not have it, but you can still save the setting. With no position restriction, any committee member gets this access. When the position restriction below is on, only the chosen positions get it. When this setting is off, the committee's document folder in the Portal can appear empty, and members do not see an upload option |
| Restrict access to specific committee positions, then Positions | Committees | On, off; then a multiple-choice list of positions | Off; position list empty | Limits document management to the committee positions you choose. If you turn this on, you must choose at least one position, or the save is refused. This is separate from limiting which committee types a position applies to. That applicability setting does not remove a position from the Position dropdown when staff add committee members in the console, which still lists every position |
| Show Custom "No Processes Available" Message (switch), then the message | Custom No-Processes Message | On, off; then rich text | Off | When this is on, your wording replaces the generic Portal message someone sees when no join, renewal, or reinstatement process currently applies to them. If you turn the switch on, you must enter a message, or the save is refused. A related but separate setting for each membership application process, Show in Portal (Members & Committees › Setup › Applications › Processes), controls whether that specific process is available in the Portal at all. Some other Portal account-menu options work the same way. They appear based on the signed-in person's eligibility and process setup, not from a switch on this page |
| Allow members to update auto-renewal settings in the portal | Other Options | On, off | On for a new Rhythm account | Lets members set up and change their own automatic renewal in the Portal. When this is off, only staff can change auto-renewal for a member. This setting applies across your Rhythm account. You cannot limit it to only the membership types that support auto-renewal, so turning it on can expose the option to members whose type will never renew automatically. Organization memberships do not use this same self-service path. The Membership Overview component in the Portal also has its own built-in Change Auto Renewal Settings link and other action links. Those links are not controlled by this setting and cannot currently be hidden individually |
Membership page layouts used in the Portal can include their own directory-options component, just like a membership application form. Add the component to the page layout, and confirm that the same layout is selected here, so members can update their directory choices whenever they update their membership, not only when they join or renew. Portal users can change directory visibility values on that update form only when it includes the built-in Directory Opt out component. Without that component, the directory-options question above gives members nothing to act on.
A membership directory does not automatically exclude inactive members or non-members. It shows everyone unless you add status-based constraints to the directory itself, which is separate from the opt-out controls on this page.
Directory visibility and search results for a member with a flowdown membership have, in at least one reviewed case, followed the directory's own settings rather than anything specific to flowdown. This has not been fully confirmed as the general rule. If a flowdown member's directory listing looks unexpected, check the directory's own field and visibility settings first, the same way you would for any other member, before assuming flowdown changes directory behavior.
Warning
A custom search-results or Directory Entry template that shows an HTML-type custom field can display raw HTML as visible text instead of rendering it. Adding a safe filter to the expression in the template is the reported fix. If that does not resolve the issue in your template, contact Support with the template you are using.
An accreditation status field can appear in the directory today, but other accreditation details, such as an expiration date, generally do not come through automatically. Associations that need those details usually keep a duplicate custom field on the contact or organization and copy the value over. Where your directory template supports merge fields, you can instead pull the accreditation value directly into a custom search-results or entry template instead of duplicating it.
If you need to keep an entire directory page away from anyone who is not signed in as a member, use the Portal page's own security permissions to restrict it. That is separate from the membership directory's "This is a public directory" setting.
Restricting who can view a directory page is different from restricting who can view a committee's page. Each committee record has its own Portal visibility setting, separate from anything on this page, including a members-only option and an option to hide the committee from the Portal entirely. That per-committee setting decides whether a signed-in non-member can open the committee's page, and whether the roster and filing cabinet appear once they are on it. A committee description can still appear even when the roster and filing cabinet do not. An active committee membership alone does not grant access when the committee's own visibility setting is not enabled for that person. Inactive committees, and active committees whose visibility is set to hide them, are intended to stay out of the Portal's committee listings and out of a member's own committee list. If one still appears, treat that as unexpected rather than normal, and confirm the committee's visibility setting again instead of assuming the change took effect immediately. Each committee also has its own direct URL to its page and filing cabinet, so an external website can link straight to a specific committee. Anyone who follows that link into a private Portal is prompted to sign in first. You cannot configure a different committee directory or overview experience from this standard page; that would need a product enhancement request.
Organization membership updates, including the directory opt-out choice, can be made in the Portal through Review/Update Membership Info. If an organization's directory listing does not reflect a recent change, confirm that the change was saved on both the individual membership record and the linked organization membership record, since the two have not always updated together.
If you want members to change only their directory visibility outside a join, renewal, or change-affiliation process, set up a change-affiliation process that uses a membership application form containing only the "Do Not Show in Directory" field. Completing that short process lets a member update just that field without going through a full renewal.
Tip
If a committee member needs to see a document without signing in to Rhythm, use the Link option in the email component with a copy of the file hosted outside Rhythm. Insert that public link into the email you send. This works when a Portal document link that requires sign-in is not appropriate for the recipient.
| Should members be able to update their directory options when editing their membership in the portal? | Page Layouts & 360° Screens | No, Fields Only, Yes | None selected | No removes directory options from the Portal update form. Fields Only lets members choose which fields appear in the directory, but they cannot opt out completely. Yes lets members opt in or out of the directory and choose fields. You see this setting only when a Portal membership page layout is selected | | Directory Field Level Opt Out (switch), then a field list | Directory Field Level Opt Out | On, off; then a multiple-choice list of fields | Off; field list empty | Turn this on when you want members to hide specific fields from the directory instead of hiding only their entire listing. The field list includes contact, organization, and membership fields, including your custom fields, plus a fixed Invoice Download Link entry. If you leave the switch on with no fields chosen, the setting saves, but members have nothing to hide | | Allow committee members to manage documents in the portal | Committees | On, off | Off | Lets committee members upload and delete their own committee documents in the Portal. This requires the Documents application; the page shows a note when your Rhythm account does not have it, but you can still save the setting | | Restrict access to specific committee positions, then Positions | Committees | On, off; then a multiple-choice list of positions | Off; position list empty | Limits document management to the committee positions you choose. If you turn this on, you must choose at least one position, or the save is refused | | Show Custom "No Processes Available" Message (switch), then the message | Custom No-Processes Message | On, off; then rich text | Off | When this is on, your wording replaces the generic Portal message someone sees when no join, renewal, or reinstatement process currently applies to them. If you turn the switch on, you must enter a message, or the save is refused | | Allow members to update auto-renewal settings in the portal | Other Options | On, off | On for a new Rhythm account | Lets members set up and change their own automatic renewal in the Portal. When this is off, only staff can change auto-renewal for a member | | Can members change their chapter in the portal? | Chapters | No; Yes, add only; Yes, add or remove | No | Controls whether members can add or remove chapters when they update their membership in the Portal |
Dependencies and Precedence
The Portal directory-options question and the field-level opt-out list work together. Fields Only or Yes on the Portal question decides whether members can update directory options at all. The field-level opt-out list decides which specific fields they can hide after they have access. Neither setting checks the other.
The Portal setting and an application form's own directory-options step are independent. An application form built with the directory opt-outs step can offer different directory choices than this Portal setting. These settings do not connect the two.
Committee document self-service needs the Documents application. If your Rhythm account does not have the Documents application, turning the switch on has no effect even though the setting saves.
Emailing committee members is not blind-copied. Every recipient's address is visible to the other recipients on that email, and there is currently no option to BCC the whole list.
Committee document self-service needs the Documents application. If your Rhythm account does not have the Documents application, turning the switch on has no effect even though the setting saves.
Portal chapter access is a single setting. The Chapters card's "Can members change their chapter in the portal?" setting is the only control for this. There is no separate setting for a change-of-affiliation process. The same setting decides whether members can add or remove chapters in every Portal update, including that one.
Change Impact and How to Revert
- These are ordinary settings changes. When you turn a switch off, everyone gets the previous behavior the next time they visit the Portal. Saving this page does not change any membership, contact, or document records.
- The Directory Field Level Opt Out list is a global setting, not a value on any individual record. Choosing which fields members may hide here changes what your whole Rhythm account offers. It never appears as a value on a person's own membership or contact record. A "Hidden Directory Fields" control is sometimes seen on a page layout instead. It is not meant to display information there and should be removed from the layout, since this account-wide field list is what actually controls which fields can be hidden.
- Every save on this page follows the account-wide save rules described in Membership Settings: How Saving and Setup Work. Those rules include the business unit and merchant account requirement and what happens if someone else saves settings at the same time.
- To restore an earlier choice, select it again and save. These individual settings do not have a separate history beyond your Rhythm account's audit history.
Permissions
To change these settings, you need access to Setup › Other Settings, which a Membership Administrator has.
Validation and Errors
| Message or symptom | Cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Unable to save settings, naming the restricted-position field | Restrict access to specific committee positions is on with no positions chosen | Choose at least one committee position, or turn the restriction off |
| Unable to save settings, naming the no-processes message field | Show Custom "No Processes Available" Message is on with no message entered | Enter a message, or turn the switch off |
| Members report they cannot hide anything from the directory | Directory Field Level Opt Out is on with no fields chosen, or the Portal question is set to No | Choose fields to offer, and confirm the Portal question is Fields Only or Yes |
| Committee members cannot manage documents even though the switch is on | Your Rhythm account does not have the Documents application | Enable the Documents application, or leave the feature off |
| A committee document will not download, or downloads unreadable | The file name uses a long dash (–) instead of a standard hyphen (-), or contains a percentage sign (%); this has been seen with .xlsx and .docx files | Rename the file with standard punctuation, remove the long dash or the %, and upload it again |
| A directory listing shows the wrong website link | The value is coming from a stored membership-level field rather than the organization's own website | Go to Membership › Query › New Query › Membership All, include the field in your output, and use mass update to correct or clear it |
| Directory messages keep going to a former primary contact | The organization's current primary contact has not been re-saved since it changed | Open Edit Membership or Membership Info for the organization and save the current primary contact again |
| A committee still shows in the Portal after you mark it inactive, or after setting its visibility to hide it | This is unexpected; treat it as a symptom to report rather than a setting you are missing | Confirm the committee's status and visibility setting are what you intend, then contact Support with the committee's name if it still appears |
Related
- Membership Settings: How Saving and Setup Work
- Configure Directory Listing Options for Members
- Choose Your Directory Listing Options
- View and Manage Your Membership in the Portal
- Custom Fields