Now you can add your personal links

The Member Communications Oversight Group recently completed a project that allows any member to add his or her own personal links to the AAOS home page (www.aaos.org). Now there is no reason not to make the AAOS Web site your browser’s default home page.

This new feature enables you to view, at a glance, everything that is new at the Academy and, at the same time, to provide visibility and access to all of your favorite external Web sites. You can also create shortcuts to interior pages of www.aaos.org and Your Orthopaedic Connection (www.orthoinfo.org).

How to personalize your site
Adding your own links is easy. To begin, simply go to www.aaos.org and click on “Add/Update Your Personal Links” (Fig. 1). If you have not logged in, you will be asked to enter your last name and password. A wizard will guide you through the process of creating your own links. Any number of links can be added and displayed.

First select the headings that will be used to categorize your personal links. Currently, 18 preselected categories—from medicine and health to sports and business—are available. If these do not suit your needs, you can also create your own headings.

After you have selected the headings, you can add your links to the AAOS home page. The wizard contains preselected links for the following five categories: Specialty societies, state orthopaedic societies, regional orthopaedic societies, airlines, and newspapers. Simply click the links you want and they will automatically be added.

Or, you can begin adding your own personal links to the categories that you have previously chosen. You can add your own favorite links to other sites as well as links to frequently accessed sections within the Academy’s Web site. Once activated, these links will be displayed in the left-hand section of the AAOS home page under “Personal Links.”

You can add, delete, and modify your links whenever you want. As you use the wizard to add links, they will automatically be displayed in the left-hand column.

The last step is to determine if you want your personal links to display on the AAOS home page even when you are not logged in. Set this option to “yes” for your personal home or work computer. Choose “no” if you use a public computer or kiosk. Your links will then only display when you log into the AAOS Web site.

See what you can do
An example of one member’s personal links is displayed in Fig. 2. Remember, you can add as many links and categories as you desire and you can change them at will. Once you have completed this process, you will probably want to make the AAOS home page your Web browser’s default page. To do so, simply click the “Make This Your Homepage” link and follow the instructions.

Jim Ogle is the AAOS director of information and member services. He can be reached at ogle@aaos.org