Emailing
Photos
Simply attach the image to an email to us. 
Create an email address to the recipient, then look for a button that says "Attach
File" or similar. Click on that button and select your image from the resulting
dialog box. Preferred format is JPEG; however, we can read most formats. Please
see Adding a Photo to your Listing (below) and our dedicated
webpage Photo images -- specifications.
Townhouse
Designation
The term "townhouse" is unknown in Europe. Our system is hard-coded
with general descriptions that are universally understood. A home is either a
single family home standing on its own piece of property or it is contained within
a building shared by similar homes standing on shared property. If a single family
home stands on its own land and has 1 floor, it is "A". If it has more than one
floor it is "B". We also do not make a distinction between types of ownership
-- freehold, leasehold, condominium, rental etc. Otherwise it is C.
Editing
Your Listing / Modifier votre offre
To edit your on-line listing, first LOGIN with your assigned access codes,
then click on "Edit
my Listing." You will see this Edit
Listing: Select Listing To Edit. which shows four separate links/buttons.
Click each one separately to edit your listing details, or dates and destinations
or photo album, and to temporarily hide your listing online when you want
to prevent additional offers from members. Ou en français Modifier
offre: sélectionner l'offre à modifier
HomeLink
members email addresses
Early in 2004 we removed email addresses from display in online listings.
Now emails are concealed and represented by hotlinks-buttons 'Contact this
member' that protect the privacy of members. All member correspondence is
processed through our internal webmail Messaging system and stored for members
convenience.
Email
etiquette and hints
a) Enter the email address exactly as it appears in
the member's listing, online or in the directory.
b) We recommend that you
send messages individually and personalized : using the members' names.
c)
We urge you to reply to all emails, particularly those addressed specifically
to you. Even a brief comment will be appreciated. For example: "Thank you
for your offer, but exchanging to your (country/city/region) is not in our plans
for this year."
d) Members who receive numerous offers have confessed
that they reply only to the personalized emails, ignoring those with salutations
like "Dear HomeLinker" or "Dear member".
e) If you wish
to email the same message to several people, it is relatively easy to paste your
offer *text* into any number of personalized individually addressed emails.
f) To encourage confirmation responses, use the "Request Read Receipts"
option in your email application.
Finding
a Member by name or ID Number
To find a HomeLink member, click on "Special
Searches..." in the yellow banner. Next click on "Find a Member." Enter the member's
name or ID Number as appropriate. Note that the system will accept last and/or
first names and parts of a name if you are unsure.
To find a listing under
"William Smith," the system will accept:
Smith
smith
SMITH
William
Smith
W Smith
Wil Smi
Etc.
We recommend entering ONLY the last
name when searching for a member. Example: enter ONLY "smith" and look through
the results. If a name has two parts, try with, and without, a space: "Mc Duff"
on the first search and "McDuff" on a second. The system is not case-sensitive.
Automobile
Insurance
Insurance practices vary from company to company & province
to province. My personal policies have always covered incidental guest drivers.
Members are invited to utilize our Auto Exchange Agreement
Forms. If your company flatly states that you are not covered, or if you do not
wish to assume a risk, all I can suggest is renting a car for the other exchange
party. Car rentals in Canada may be far less expensive than in Europe which makes
this a more attractive option than forgoing the car exchange and renting a car
in Europe for yourself. HomeLink Canada also offers Exchange
Cancellation Insurance. Some European offices offer home exchange insurance
to members.
Key
Word Search
Select "Find a Member" to search for a member by name or HomeLink ID Number.
"Key Word" search offers expanded ways to find members or listings. You may
enter data in as many or few fields as you wish. Entering the first few letters
of a name, etc. can help if spelling is unclear. You may also search by Postal
Code if you know the codes (find a listing in the location in the conventional
search to learn this). The same page allows you to find your listing under
"EDIT MY LISTING" and "SHOW MY LISTING" You may now store information on listings
you have visited by clicking on "Note Listing" link to create a "Personal
File". These listings may be reviewed later and you may attach notes
to them.
Password
Does Not Work
Three likely possibilities:
1. Operator error. Be sure
you are entering the ID Number & Password *SET* exactly as shown. Pasting in a
password or ID Number will often add a space which will make the password unacceptable.
The first two characters are letters, the last five are digits.
2. You are
using MS Internet Explorer and have checked the "Remember Password" box. It is
possible that you entered an incorrect ID Number or Password when you originally
did this. MSIE also has a bug with the "Remember Password" feature which corrupts
the form when sent to the server. Un-check the box, enter the ID Number & Password
with care for each session.
3.Browser problem. Some relatively early versions of MS Explorer 6.0 (includes
the AOL version) have a known bug with password encryption. If you are certain
that you are entering the password set exactly as shown, download a new version
of Explorer or AOL or use Netscape. Links
for MSIE & Netscape may be found on our site at the bottom of the page.
Password
not Received
In an effort to combat spam, many ISP's, particularly the
free ones such as "hotmail" falsely identify emails as spam. In reality, they
may as well not bother as the spammers are generally two steps ahead of them.
Hotmail & others: Check your email reader settings. It may be automatically deleting
messages it identifies as spam which erroneously includes email from the homelink.org
server. Look for a directory where deleted or trash mail is kept. The cure is
to specifically enable the homelink.org domain. AOL users: be sure that you are
not blocking email from the Internet. The absolute cure is to enable mail from
the domain "homelink.org."
Adding
Photos to your Listing
Use your EDIT MY LISTING function to access the EDIT PHOTO ALBUM button for
self-uploading. Most members either email image files.jpg to us, or upload
them to their own online listing. If you prefer, you can mail conventional
color photos - maximum size is 8.5 by 11 inches and 1MB. We can process images
in most formats; however, the preferred format is JPEG. Simply attach the
images to email containing your name & means to identify you and send to this
<members@homelink.ca>. For photo charges please see our FEES
schedule
Renewing
your Membership
If you wish, you may renew your membership on
line. You will find information and instructions on the page. Also you will
see a RENEW
On-line Form link which will take you to our secure server. All data,
including credit card numbers, are encrypted before being sent across the
Internet. If you prefer, you may submit your credit card number by phone or
fax.