Much of the collaboration services that this portal provides are based on groups. Groups are compiled of associated members.

Each Portal user can browse the list of the public groups or see a list of the groups that they belong to in "My Groups". My Groups is listed as a tab on the "groups list" page and also as a dropdown menu at the top of the website.

The following steps show how to join groups.

Step 1: Go to the publicly listed groups by selecting "Groups" from the "Browse" tab in the global menu at the top of the CPS-VO home page.

Listed groups are either open, closed, invite only or by approval. If the group is open or by approval then you will be provided with actions to attain memberships. A "Join" link is displayed to the right of groups that are open for membership. Other groups require you to "Request Membership". Still other groups are "Invitation Only" or "Closed" indicating that membership is controlled by the group manager (either by inviting you to their group or adding you). Step 2: To join an available group, click on the link listed in the "Join Link" column to the right hand side of their description.