Introduction : .

Well, as it says in the introduction on the main page, this site exists for one specific reason; to make it easier for artists operating in Egypt to find each other. This site starts with a simple premise; artists need other artists to work. If you're a guitarist who wants to perform, chances are you'll need a drummer, maybe a singer, maybe a violinist. Art is seldom a one-person event. If a filmmaker wants to make a movie, his movie is better served if he can locate competent, enthusiastic make-up artists, actors, lighting designers, set designers, and other such people who can invariably raise the quality level of his production. The same pretty much applies to all arts. Artists need to be able to locate other artists, and need to be able to get in touch with them. That, quite simply, is why this site exists.

Main Page : .

The main page is what you should've come across when you first located this site. The main page is composed of several areas - let's take a look at the most important of these:

If you're using MS Internet Explorer, then you'll notice an orange menu at the top of the site. This menu is omnipresent throughout the website and serves a few vital functions. First of all, the 'Home' option allows you to always return to the home page from any other page on the site - in one click. Second, the category options allow you to instantly go to any of the site's main category pages, such as Animation (seen selected in the image above...), Design Arts, Filmmaking, etc...

Last, and not quite least, the menu can be used to immediately go to what are, arguably, the most useful pages of the entire site - the sub-category pages - such as that you can see selected above - for Cartoon Artists - clicking this will take you to a page showing you all Cartoon Artists in Egypt Art Link's database. The sub-category pages will be explained in more detail further on.

Apart from the menu - the main page also introduces the egyptartlink logo - clicking this logo from anywhere in the site performs the same function as clicking the 'home' menu item - that is - it will return you to the site's main page.

For users who do not use MS Internet Explorer - navigation is still quite easy, although to get to a sub-category page will take two clicks. We hope this is not too much of an inconvenience ;)

If you're using other browsers (Netscape Navigator, Opera, etc...) you can use the menu at the side of the site's pages to go to the category pages. You will then be able to get to subcategories by clicking relevant links on the category pages. For example - if you want to locate Graphic Designers - you would first click on Design Arts in the side menu, and then - when the Design Arts page loads, you would find a link for Graphic Designers. On the main page of Egypt Art Link - you will also notice a Galleries link and a Contact Us link. The Galleries link will allow you to access our database of local galleries, and the contact us is self-explanatory ;)

Okay, apart from providing means of navigation - you'll notice other things about the main page. For example - next to the side-menu - on the right - you'll notice a 'news' area - this news area will always show you the latest art-related news on the site.

Let's look at that first screen shot one more time:

To the right of the logo, you'll notice a list of users with the title 'Latest Additions' - this list shows clickable links to the artists who have most recently added themselves to the egyptartlink database. This area provides a excellent quick look at what's been added to the database - and is one of the first things you should look at when you return to the site. These are invariably artists who've had no previous representation of egyptartlink - so unless you already know them personally - you would do well to see what they do. To the right of their names, you'll see a date showing when they added themselves to the database.

Also - on the first page - you'll notice the log-on area - this is only really useful if you've created a user account. However - it also includes the link for creating a new account, this area looks like this:

You'll be given more information about accounts further on in this tutorial. However, for now - what you need to know is that you can create an account by clicking on the 'here' in the sentence 'Click here and get your free listing now.'

Category Pages : .

When you've clicked on a category, such as Literature, Design Arts, Filmmaking, etc...you're shown a page that has areas somewhat like this:

In place of 'Latest Additions' - you'll find latest additions within this category. Since some artists perform several related activities, you might find an artists name repeated for the various activities they've listed themselves as capable of performing.

The category page invariably includes a 'browse' section - this is shown above (in this example 'Browse Performance Arts'...) and shows all the sub-cateogries available in this category. This is mainly useful for surfers who are not using MS Internet Explorer. Under that, there is another news section like that on the main page of the site - but this news is exclusive to this category - what this means is that if you're looking at the Design Arts page - then all the news will be Design Arts-related.

All the category pages also include a random profile section - shown here on the right of the image - this area randomly highlights an artist from the egyptartlink database. The purpose of this random showcase is that it means that every single registered user on the site has as much chance as any other of being spotlighted.

Sub Category Pages : .

These pages show you all the artists who've listed this activity in their profile.

It looks something like this:

Next to the egyptartlink logo - you'll see an introduction to the sub category, and to the right of that - a section that shows where you are in the database (in this case, you're looking at 'Actors', under the category 'Performance Arts'..). Below, you'll see a listing of all the registered users who've listed acting as one of their activities. By clicking on their names, you'll go to their individual pages, where you'll be able to see more about them. The listing shows you how many users are listed under this activity (in this example, 7) - and allows you to see them 10 at a time. If there are more than ten - then the page will display navigation arrows allowing you to go back and forth in order to browse all artists in that sub-category.

To the right of this list - you'll find a link that will take you to a listing of books about that activity - a list from which you can easily purchase books about that activity. This list is shown courtesy of Amazon.com - and all sales and shipping are handled by amazon.com. So - if you're interested in acting, you don't need to just look at names of actors, you can also get books about acting, self-teaching materials. Etc...

User Pages : .

The average user page looks like this:

On this page - you'll find; the artists name, a description of the artist by himself, a link to the artists own web site (if he has one...), a listing of the activities in which the artist is involved, and finally - his 'Artist Info' - this includes his contact information and is shown only to other registered users. So that casual browsers are not given access to contact information.

Artists may also choose to include some media in their section - such as images, text, videos, etc...when these are present they will also be shown, for an example - see the screenshot below. The artist shown below has seen fit to place a video from an installation piece he created.

Registering Yourself : .

The site presents you with the opportunity to register yourself on two pages; the main page and on any of the artists page (since the site will not show you the artist's contact info unless you're a registered user...). On the front page - the registration option is right under the log-in form for registered users.

You can start the registration process by clicking on the 'here' under the logon form.

Once you've clicked this - you'll be taken to the user-registeration page where you're allowed to enter all the information about yourself that egyptartlink.com needs to make you a user. Remember - when you're describing yourself - make sure you describe what kind of work you like - not the activities themselves, since you'll have a chance to enter these later.

While entering your user information, please read the help at the left side of the form carefully. Paying attention to this this form guidance will help you give us your information in the best form possible. This will result in a better looking user page and will certainly effect the impression you leave on people who view your profile.

When entering your contact info - please be aware of two things:

• Your contact information will only be seen by other users who have registered. This is done in order to discourage casual browsers from spamming you.
• You can select which parts of your contact information to make viewable to users. Any information you choose to hide will not be seen by anybody, whether registered or not. Use these options carefully, since if you choose to hide all the information, then even registered users will have no means of communication with you whatsoever. A messaging system is planned, so that even casual surfers will be able to leave you a message that you'll get when you log-in. However - this has not yet been implemented.

Logging On : .

We've mentioned the logon box before, it's located on the main/first page of the site. Here, you enter the username you selected and your password.

Once you've done that, you'll be returned to the main page, but the logon box will have changed to reflect the fact that you are now logged on, and will give you the option of editing your profile or logging off.

By clicking the edit your profile link you can edit your personal information and more importantly - add activities to your account. This is vital - since if you do not add any activities - the database will not list you anywhere except on the latest additions sections.

Adding Activities To Your Profile : .

When you first click on the 'edit your profile' link - you're presented with your user information page - here you can make changes to your information. At the top of the page and to the right - you'll find a link to edit your activities.

At the top right of your 'edit my profile' page - you'll find listed all the activities you've chosen to add to your profile, as well as a link to edit these activities. If you haven't added any activities yet - then the section will be blank except for the 'edit my activities' link - and in that case, what're you waiting for!? Add some activities by clicking the link!

Once you've clicked the 'edit my activities' link you'll be taken to the main activities editing page. Here you can select a category in which to add an activity - for example if you're going to add acting as an ability - you should select Performance Arts, etc...

You'll also find listed underneath - all the activities you've already added to your profile - from here you can also choose to remove activities by checking the ones you want to remove and clicking the delete button.

Contacting Other Users : .

When you look at an artists page - you'll find some contact information relevant to the communication methods he or she has approved.

Please do not spam other users, as this will invariably lead to a deactivation of your account.

This operators of this site will simply not tolerate offensive usage of user information.

Adding Media To Your Profile : .

We hope to introduce an automated media-uploading method. However, until this is implemented - the only way to add your media for now is to contact us directly.