Resource Center - Quick Start Guide for List Owners

Logging in and Setting Your Listserv Preferences
Viewing, Adding or Deleting Subscriptions (one at a time)
Managing Subscriptions in Bulk

Logging in and Setting Your Listserv Preferences

Open your web browser software (Internet Explorer, FireFox, Safari, etc.) and go to: http://listserv.hamilton.edu.
Click on Log In (in the upper right corner).
1. If you have a password already established, enter your entire e-mail address (e.g. dquayle@hamilton.edu) and your Listserv password in the fields provided. Then click on the Log In button as shown in the image below section b.
2. If you don’t have a password, or don’t remember your password, click on the link to “get a new LISTSERV password” and follow the on-screen prompts. When your password has been set, return to http://listserv.hamilton.edu.
After you've logged in, click on Preferences (located in the upper right corner of your screen below the green question mark shown in step 2).
In the Start Page row, click on the down arrow next to "Server Dashboard" and choose "List Dashboard" from the list. NOTE: If you are an advanced user and you want to see all the options, you may want to consider setting the Mode to “Expert Mode”. The Mode setting is at the top of the list of preferences.
Click on the Update button in the lower right or upper right corner. The screen will not change.

Viewing, Adding or Deleting Subscriptions (one at a time)

There are two sections in this document that describe how to manage subscriptions. This first section describes the easiest approach. The steps that follow will satisfy most of your subscription management needs. However, if you need to add or delete large numbers of subscribers proceed to the next section for instructions.

If you are not already in the List Dashboard view, click on the List Management menu and then select List Dashboard from the drop down list.
A list of the lists you own should appear in the bottom half of the screen. To add, delete or search for subscribers and to see a list of your subscribers, click on the [View] link under the Subscribers column heading.
In the Subscriber Reports page that opens, there are several functions you can perform. Please refer to the illustration after step 3b.
1. To search for a subscriber, enter as much of their name (or address) as you know in the field to the right of "Search Options", and then click on Search.
2. To add a new subscriber, fill in the person's full address (e.g. jdoe@hamilton.edu) followed by his/her full name (e.g. John Doe) so that the final entry looks like the example shown in green (in this example it would be "jdoe@hamilton.edu (John Doe)". When you click the Add Subscriber button he or she will be added to your list but he or she will NOT be automatically notified of the subscription.
To delete one or more subscribers, refer to the list of subscribers that appears below the" Search Options" and "Subscriber Management" fields. Select a subscriber (or subscribers) by clicking in the checkbox that appears to the left of the subscriber’s name. Then, click on the button labeled Delete Selected Subscribers. No notification will be sent to the subscriber. NOTE: If you have more than one page of subscribers, you will need to delete subscribers one page at a time. As an alternative, you may wish to review the "Bulk Operations" section below.
If you are finished, you should log out of Listserv from the "Log Out" link in the upper right corner of the screen (directly below the green questionmark icon).

Managing Subscriptions in Bulk

When you have large numbers of people to subscribe or unsubscribe from your list, you will benefit from using the bulk operations feature in Listserv.

Before you choose the Bulk Operations tab in Listserv, there are a few preparations you need to make first.

You must first create a plain text file that contains a list of the subscribers you wish to add or delete (the format is described in sections 2 & 3 below). This file can be created in Microsoft Word but you must take care to choose Save As in order to change the file format to Plain Text (*.txt).

Start by clicking on the File menu (or the Word menu in older versions) and from it choose Save As...
On a Windows computer, “Plain Text” is found by selecting the “Save as type” drop-down list.
On a Macintosh, “Plain Text” is found in the “Format” drop-down list. NOTE: Additions and Deletions CANNOT be added to the same file.

Additions should by typed as follows (full address followed by full name)

gwashing@hamilton.edu George Washington
alincoln@hamilton.edu Abraham Lincoln
ahamilto@hamilton.edu Alexander Hamilton

NOTE: Each subscriber appears on a separate line. A tab (not a space) is used to separate the e-mail address from the subscriber’s full name.

Deletions should be typed as follows (full address only)

gwashing@hamilton.edu
alincoln@hamilton.edu
ahamilto@hamilton.edu

NOTE: It is not necessary to include the subscriber’s full name if their subscription is being deleted from the list.

Once your plain text file is prepared, you should log in to Listserv (http://listserv.hamilton.edu) - if you have not already done so - and then proceed to the List Management menu.
Choose List Dashboard if you are not already on that screen.
As described at the top of this web document, select the list you wish to manage.
Now return to the List Management menu and choose Subscriber Management.
In the screen that opens, click on the Bulk Operations tab.
In the Bulk Operations screen, select the operation you wish to perform. Read each selection carefully before making your choice. Then, click on the Browse... button and navigate to the location of the plain text file you saved in step 1 in this section. Once you click to select the file, its location and file name will appear in the Input File space located to the left of the Browse button.
Review your settings to confirm you are about to perform the correct operation and then click on the Import button. When the operation is complete you will see a summary of the import at the top of the page. The example below is for a list called “Test-L”.
If you are finished, you should log out of Listserv from the "Log Out" link in the upper right corner of the screen (directly below the green questionmark icon).