General Instructions for Entire Interface
Basic Layout of the FID Interface
Logging Out
Entry Order Information
Deleting Information
Notes on Individual Steps


Basic Layout of the FID Interface [top]
The FID contains thirteen steps, each with its own form page, in which each faculty member or their designee enters:

If your materials are in electronic form, you may copy and paste from your files directly into the FID. You need not complete the steps in sequential order, or in one session. However, it is important that you understand how the FID works so that you do not lose the information you have entered. You should read the General Instructions, and click through the steps before entering any information, to familiarize yourself with the system.

step indicator, row indicator, and buttons
The steps are ordered horizontally at the top of the page. The current step has a gold background so you may keep track of your progress. If you click on a step button, any information you have entered into the current step's form page is saved before the next step's form page appears. You may be prompted for required information or fields before you can proceed.

Some steps allow you to create additional rows to augment the ten that are displayed by default. If you create new rows beyond the initial ten, you will see a row set indicator (e.g. 1-10, 11-20, 21-30) below the step indicator. You may move between row sets within a single step by clicking on each row set link. Any information you have entered in the current row set will be saved before the next row set appears. The current row set is displayed in black; other sets are displayed in maroon.

Reset button
Clicking on the Reset button on any step form page causes the information on the page to revert to the previously saved version of that step form page.

Save & Go Back / Save & Proceed buttons
Clicking on the Save & Go Back button saves any information you have entered for the current step and takes you to the previous step. Clicking on the Save & Proceed button saves any information you have entered for the current step and takes you to the next step.

Print Form link
This link takes you to a page where you may choose which sections of your information to print. An onscreen preview of the printed information allows you to see what will print. To print, use your browser's File > Print option. After viewing/printing, use your browser's Back button to return to your previous location.

Designee link
This link takes you to a page where you may input the Global ID of one other person (for example, your department's administrative assistant or a grad student) who may access your record for the purpose of entering and revising your information. You do not have to enter a designee. You may also use this screen to "undesignate" anyone you have previously designated. Only one designee is allowed at at a time.

Log Out button
This button saves the information on the current step form page and takes you to an intermediate message that reminds you to close all browser windows and exit the browser application. Only after you have exited the browser will you be completely logged out.
 

Logging Out [top]
To ensure that others cannot modify your information, you must click on the Log Out button, close the browser window, and exit the browser application. Simply reaching the Congratulations page or the reminder-to-close-browser page does not mean you have completely logged out.

   Automatic logout after 60 minutes of no activity on a single page

If there has been no activity on a step form page for 60 minutes, the application will automatically log you out. It will not save any changes you may have made to that page since the last time you saved. For this reason and for security purposes, it is best for you to always log yourself out. If you are automatically logged out, the current step form page remains in the browser window, but when you attempt to make changes, you will be redirected to the login page, where you will need to log in again. As a handy reference, the time remaining before automatic logout is indicated in the status bar at the bottom left of the browser window.

Example:  
 

Entry Order Information [top]
It is not necessary to enter information in chronological order in each step. After you save a step form page, any rows you have entered will be reordered to display in reverse chronological order.
 

Deleting Information [top]
To delete an entry or an entry row, you must delete all information in each field associated with the entry or row. Remember to click on one of the Save buttons at the bottom of the step form page when you are finished. Do not worry about blank entry rows after deleting; rows below deleted ones will be shifted up after you save the page. This applies to multiple-row set steps as well as single-row set steps.

Deleting entries with dropdown fields
To delete an entry row that contains a dropdown menu, you must delete the information in each field associated with the row and choose the top line (Select) of the dropdown menu itself. Otherwise, the menu field will still contain valid data and the row will continue to be counted as an entry.
 

Notes on Individual Steps [top]
If an individual step requires additional explanatory material, such as additional examples or background information, you will find links to such material on the step form page itself.