|
Cookies
|
|
A cookie is a tiny text file that is transmitted to your computer's 'Cookie' directory. Cookies allow for interactivity between you and the websites you visit. They have been an integral part of the Internet for years and are in widespread use on millions of websites around the world.
This site uses cookies to keep track of which language you select, your login/logout status and other basic functions such as placing or editing an ad. Beyond simple functionality like this our cookies do nothing else. To use this site you must have cookies enabled on your browser. If you do not have cookies enabled you will not be able to login. Please be sure that your browser is set up to accept cookies. Setting up cookies in: Internet Explorer In Internet Explorer (early versions) select View | Internet Options | Advanced, and make sure that "Always accept cookies" is checked or ... In Internet Explorer (later versions), select Tools | Internet Options | Privacy tab, and make sure the Privacy slider is at High or below. Netscape In Netscape, select Edit | Preferences | Advanced, and make sure that "Accept all cookies" is checked. Other browsers are automatically set to accept cookies unless you manually tell the browser to reject them. Some problems may be caused if you have installed a program such as Guard Dog, Cookie Cutter or WebFree that rejects all cookies. (Some of these programs, such as Guard Dog, allow you to specify the sites from which you will accept cookies.) If you have any concerns at all about Cookies please read our Privacy Policy |
|
Registration
|
|
Registration is designed to be quick and easy.
Registration is free, simple and takes less than 2 minutes. We use registration to ensure the security of our users and to prevent spammers drowning them with rubbish. To register simply click the Register Here link on the left-hand side of the 'HOME' page screen. If you have any questions about the security of your personal information please read our Privacy Policy here. It is not necessary to register to use the site. You can read ads and forum postings just as an anonymous visitor. But, if you want to do more, then Registration brings a range of benefits: Registered Users can:
|
|
Email Security
|
|
If you have any concerns about the security of your email address, or indeed any personal information you may submit, please read our Privacy Policy
We will not reveal your email address to spam lists. It is held on system solely to allow the system to notify you about ad responses, ad expiries, etc. If you choose to reveal your email address to other users then that is your decision. |
|
Login
|
|
To Login to the Classifieds or the Forum you will need a Username and Password.
It is not necessary to login if all you want to do is read Ads in the Classified section or postings in the Forum. However, if you want to answer or create an ad, or make a Forum posting of your own, you will need to Login. We use this system to protect the privacy of other users and to increase their security. You can see details of our Privacy Policy here. REMEMBER: the Classifieds and the Forum are separate sections! You need to login to both separately. To login to the Classifieds simply enter your login information in the left-hand boxes on the Classifieds section and click 'Login'. To login to the Forum simply click the Login link at the top of the Forum page and enter your login information in the boxes and click 'Login'. If you want to remain permanently logged in to the Forum then you should tick the box 'Log me on automatically each visit'. NB You cannot do the same thing on the Classified section. For Security purposes you must login again to the classifieds after a certain period of time. To obtain a Username and Password you will need to make a very quick registration See Details Here Having Login Problems? It may be a problem with cookies. Please See Here. |
|
Privacy Policy
|
|
Total France is very concerned about privacy issues. Please read the following:
Cookies We do not use cookies to obtain or transmit personal information about you. Our cookies simply record data such as your language preference, your login status, and other site-specific information to enhance your experience of using Total France. This cookie information is stored on your computer, not on ours. Cookies do not gather personal information. See more cookie information here. IP address We collect, keep, and publish your IP address on your posted adverts. We do this to help protect all users from fraudulent postings and spam. Personal Details Any personal details you submit, either when registering or when placing an ad, will not be disclosed by us to third party mailing lists or sellers. Total France has a rigid anti-spam policy, principally because we are sick of receiving so much of it ourselves. This means we will not tolerate a user attempting to spam other users, nor will we be spamming you. If you receive spam from any other user please notify us immediately. Email addresses Your email address will be used by us to communicate messages to you such as ad responses, your user details, ad expiry notices, etc. Occasionally the webmaster may mail you directly, or as part of a newsletter mailing, if there is anything important to tell you. Login Details We will never disclose your Login information. We will never email you to ask for your Login information. If you ever receive such an email it could be a malicious hoax; please report it to us. Our system is set up to email your login information to you automatically if you have forgotten it (just click on the Lost Password link). Other sites Certain ads and forum postings may contain links to other websites ... our Links page certainly will. Total France cannot be held responsible either for the content or for the privacy practices of any other web sites. |
|
Lost Password
|
|
If you have lost your password, or cannot remember your username, then we can email them to you.
Simply enter your registered email address in the space provided and click 'Get my password'. Your details will be emailed immediately to the registered email address. |
|
Forum
|
|
You can use the Forum without registering and logging in but you will not be able to post your own messages, answer those of other users, or customise your Forum language profile.
REMEMBER: the Main Site and the Forum are separate sections! Although your Username and Password will be the same for both, you need to login to each separately. To login to the Forum simply enter the Forum section by clicking the Forum link in the main menubar. Then click the Login link at the top of the Forum page and enter your login information in the boxes, and click 'Login'. If you do not have a Username and Password click the Register link at the bottom of the Login box. To see the Forum in the language of your choice you must first Login and then go to Profile and Language Change. If you want to remain permanently logged in to the Forum then you should tick the box 'Log me on automatically each visit'. (NB You cannot use the same 'permanent login' on the Main Site. For Security purposes you must login again to the Main Site after a certain period of time.) Basic Functions
For more comprehensive Help on the Forum click the FAQ icon at the top of the forum page. |
|
Links
|
|
These links are intended to give you access to useful information 'off site'.
Links are arranged in a category/sub-category pattern, similar to the classified ads. Any link you visit will open in a new window so that you can return easily to Total France. The companies and sites represented are not necessaily endorsed by Total France and we accept no responsibility for their content. If you have ANY suggestions for links that users would find useful, or if you find any existing link to be broken please notify us at: webmaster at totalfrance.com |
|
Editing Your Classified Ads
|
||
|
In the Classifieds section your ads can be edited. First, find your ad (Tip: Click My Ads in the Quick Links) and look below it.
You may change as many or as few of the fields as you wish. New photos can be added or old ones deleted. New attachments can be added or old ones deleted. Click 'Submit' only once to store your edited ad. |
|
Classifieds
|
|
From within the Classifieds section ads can be viewed, answered, created, searched, hotlisted or edited.
ALL visitors can View Ads and Search Ads. To see ads first click on the Category titles, and then Sub-category titles. You can then view Ad headlines within them. Search: At any time you can click on Search Ads to go to the search page. ONLY Registered* visitors can use the following functions: Create Ad: Go here to create your own ad. Further help available on that page. My Ads: Go here to edit, delete, and manage your own ads. Further help available on that page. My Hotlist: Go here to manage all the ads you have bookmarked as being of interest. Further help available on that page. Auto Notify: Go here to manage the list of Sub-categories you have asked to be notified about whenever new ads are posted. Further help available on that page.  Any Category flashing the New icon contains ads posted recently.
***
*Registration: Registration is free, simple and takes less than 2 minutes. We use registration to ensure the security of our users and to prevent spammers drowning them with rubbish. To register simply click the Register Here link on the left-hand side of the screen.
Registration Questions? GO HERE Email Security Questions? GO HERE |
|
Creating Your Classified Ad
|
|
Click on the Create Ad link from anywhere inside the Classifieds section.
If you are already inside a sub-category - either in Ad Headline view or Detailed Ad view - then your ad will be placed in that same sub-category ... Please ensure it is where you want your ad to be! If you are anywhere else in the Classifieds you will be offered a category and sub-category to select. Please be careful about ad placement because moving it later can be a nuisance. You will be offered a range of fields to complete. Only 3 are mandatory (indicated by *Required). The rest are for you to complete in as much detail as you wish. Title The "Title" will appear as a headline on your ad. It can contain a maximum of 50 characters. Location In the "Location" field you should indicate the location of the property, item, or service you are advertising. If your service covers the whole of France then you should select "All France". If it is local then you should select the region or area, and then the Departement from the list below. If you need any help finding an Area or Departement click on the Map links by the Location field. If you are including a price in your ad then please calculate it in Euros. If you need help with the calculation you can find a link to an exchange converter by the price field. Ad Text The "Ad Text" field gives you an opportunity to describe your property, product or service. You should make your advert as appealing as possible. Type your ad in plain text, typing the HTML break tag twice wherever you want a new paragraph to appear. Please do not use any other HTML in your Ad text. If you use other HTML in your text it will not be accepted.NB If you plan on submitting text attachments with your ad it will be a good idea to put a brief note of their contents in you main ad text. Photo Add a photo if you want (see advice below). Attachment Add a text attachment if you want (see advice below). Click submit once and wait for your ad to be uploaded and then acknowledged. Important Information Ads with photos are viewed many more times than those without. You may submit up to 3 photos with each ad. Photos must be uploaded in JPG or PNG formats. Their file size must be less than 200 Kb. If your picture is larger than that, or is not in the correct format, you can use almost any popular graphics program to open the picture, resize it, and re-save it as a JPG. If you want some advice on scanning or re-sizing pictures then see the FAQs link, where you will also find links to graphics programs that will help you with this. Attachments must be in PDF, DOC or TXT formats and smaller than 100 Kb. You may wish to use the attachments facility to show users a brochure or prospectus. |
|
Managing Your Classified Ads
|
|
|
In My Ads you can keep track of your own ads.
The message:
simply means that you have not yet added created any ads. For help on Creating Ads Go Here Using the icons beneath each ad you can:  Edit an ad
 Delete the ad
|
|
Home Page
|
|
Our Home Page contains information about using the site.
If we have any late-breaking information it will also be posted here. If a TOP ADS link appears on this page it will lead you to the ads that are currently most popular. |
|
Viewing Ads in "Detailed View"
|
||||||||||||||
To see ads in detail: - select a category - select a sub-category - click an ad headlineIn Detailed View you can do the following with an ad:.
NB You must be Registered to Reply to an Ad or to Hotlist it. To obtain a Username and Password you will need to make a very quick registration. See Details Here Further information:
|
|
Viewing sub-categories
|
|
From within a Sub-category ads can be viewed, answered, created, searched, hot-listed or edited.
ALL visitors can View Ads and Search Ads.
ONLY Registered* visitors can use the following functions: Create Ad: Go here to create your own ad. Further help available on that page. My Ads: Go here to edit, delete, and manage your own ads. Further help available on that page. My Hotlist: Go here manage all the ads you have bookmarked as being of interest. Further help available on that page. Auto Notify: Go here to manage the list of Sub-categories you have asked to be notified about whenever new ads are posted. Further help available on that page. Any Category or sub-category flashing the New icon contains ads posted recently.
 If users are logged in then this icon will appear in each sub-category heading. Clicking it will cause that sub-category to be added to their Auto-Notify list. They will then be notified by email whenever new ads have been posted in the sub-categories they are watching. More about Auto-Notify can be found here.***
* Registration: Registration is free, simple and takes less than 2 minutes. We use registration to ensure the security of our users and to prevent spammers drowning them with rubbish. To register simply click the Register Here link on the left-hand side of the screen.
Registration Questions? GO HERE Email Security Questions? GO HERE |
|
Viewing Ads in "Overview"
|
|
From within a sub-category, groups of ad headlines are displayed. Individual ads can be viewed by clicking on their headlines.
Ad order can be resorted by clicking on the ad Sort Order boxes beneath the ads. Ads can be sorted in ascending or descending order, and by title, location, etc Ads will display in small groups, with several ads to a page. To move between pages click the page numbers at the top right-hand side. |
|
Managing Your Hotlist
|
|||||||||||||
|
This is where you can keep track of the interesting ads you see.
The message:
simply means that you have not yet added any ads to your Hotlist.
Further Information:
 Statistics for the ad: Views/Answers
The Ad Number can be found at the bottom right-hand side More information about the person who posted the ad may be obtained by clicking on their Username |
|||||||||||||
|
Auto-Notify
|
|
|
This is where you can keep track of the sub-categories you have asked to be notified about whenever new ads are posted to them.
If you see the message:
it simply means that you have not yet added any sub-categories to your Auto-Notify list. Sub-categories can be removed from your list by clicking the X icon.
Sub Categories can be added by clicking the 'Auto Notify' icon. To find it go into any main category. Once inside, each sub-category will carry the icon.
|
|
Search
|
|
Simple Search: Simply enter the ad number and click 'Submit'. You will be taken straight to the ad if it is still on the system.
Advanced Search: You may make your search as broad or as specific as you wish. All categories can be searched, or just one category. All sub-categories within a category can be searched, or just one sub-category. If you choose to search within a category or sub-category then fields from that category will appear, allowing you to narrow your search. Location: In addition you may search by Location, using the following guidelines for France-related searches: Imagine you are in Limousin and searching for an Electrician
PLEASE use the Region Map link beside 'Location' to see how Regions and Areas are defined You may choose to search only for ads with photos or with attachments. Text Search: The search will match your text string to any part of any text string in any ad field. It is not case sensitive ... thus yo will find 'your', you're', 'young, 'Young', etc. The asterisk * already entered in the text search box is a wildcard that will match any character. Leaving it there will pull up every ad that matches your other search criteria. Click 'Submit'. |
|
Webmail
|
|
|
Webmail allows you to send and receive email yet still retain your privacy.
If another user emails you on the Webmail system we will send you a notification and you can log in and pick it from your Inbox - very much like Hotmail and similar services. Your Sent box keeps all mails you have sent through our system - whether as answers to ads, replies to emails, etc. Deleted Received mail will be placed in your Trash from where it should be emptied regularly to avoid overload. The message:
simply means that particular box is presently empty. Deleting: Simply click the red-X next to any message to delete it.
Replying: Simply click the email icon  next to any email to respond to it.
Undeleting: Messages sent to the trash by mistake can be undeleted by clicking the undelete icon 
Saving Emails: Whether or not you 'houseclean' your Inbox, Webmail is deleted automatically after 30 days in order to avoid the system becoming overloaded. Therefore, important email content and attachments that you want to keep should be archived to your own computer by the following methods (on Windows PCs): - text - Highlight text on screen and then use 'copy and paste' to save it in a text file on your own PC. - attachments - Right-click the attachment link, then select 'Save Target as ...' from the fly-out menu. Select a location on your PC and click 'Save'. An alternative is to view the attachment and then save it from within whichever program (e.g. Microsoft Word) you are using to view it. |
|
Guestbook
|
|
This is a standard Guestbook feature which allows you to post a message to record your response to our site.
Simply click the Add Entry link and complete as many of the fields as you wish. If you enjoy smilies and feel that no post is complete without one (or some) then click the SmilieHelp link and use the codes there to pick the smiley of your choice ... like this one  perhaps.
You do NOT have to be a registered member to post in the Guestbook. We welcome comments and suggestions for improving our site. You can either make them here or mail us directly from our Contact page. We will not tolerate spam, or more boring ads for yet more boring porn sites. Such posts will be deleted immediately so don't even waste your time. |
|
Members section
|
|
The Members page allows you access to some information about other users.
At a glance you can check the number of ads a member has placed or whether they have a homepage listed. Member lists can be sorted in various ways by clicking on the column headers. A member can be emailed from here by clicking on the Email icon in the Mail column.
 A member's homepage (if one is listed) can be accessed from here by clicking on the Homepage icon in the URL column.
Further details about a member can be obtained by clicking the Details link. Search A member can be searched for by entering all or part of their name in the box and clicking 'Search'. Searches are not case-sensitive. |
|
My Profile
|
|
Your profile page allows you to change system information, such as your email address or password, or whether you decide to receive a newsletter from us.
It can be accessed via the My Profile link on the Members page. If you wish, you can allow other advertisers to know a little more about you by stating your country of residence and any homepage information you have already published on the Internet. This can be very useful in encouraging potential buyers to respond to your advert(s). Other information here, such as your email address and name, will be kept private for your security. To all other users you will be known only by your Username. To change your email address simply click the Change E-Mail link, fill in your new email address twice, and then click the button to Update your profile. To change your password simply click the Change password link, fill in your new password twice, and then click the button to Update your profile. |
|
My Networking Profile
|
|
Your Network profile page allows you to change and add information, such as your name and departement number, that other Networking members will be able to see.
It can be accessed via the My Networking Profile link on the Member Network page. Other information on the system, such as your email address, will be kept private for your security. To all other users you will be known only by your Username and/or the Private name you place here in your Network profile. To change your details simply fill in the fields as you wish and then click the button to Update your profile. There is a limit of 255 characters on each of the text fields to stop the profiles becoming too bulky. |
|
Contact Page
|
|
You can use any of the addresses on this page to contact us. We will do our best to respond quickly.
Please write to us in English. Although we can reply in French and German it will take longer. We want YOUR help to make Total France as useful as possible. You can help us by reporting:
|
|
Expo
|
|
The Expo contains various galleries, both commercial and private, in which members can display what they wish - works of art for sale, progress with house renovations, new-build house projects, etc
Getting a gallery: Displaying photos uses a lot of disk space and bandwidth so we prefer to open galleries by arrangement. If you have something you would like to display please contact the webmaster with details. Viewing Pictures: From the main 'Exhibition Hall' you can navigate into any main category, or directly into any of the 'sub-albums' or galleries listed on the right side of the page. Click on the gallery you want to view. You will be shown 'thumbnail' pictures of the contents. Click any thumbnail for a closer view of the picture. Some pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them again. If a bigger version of the image exists you will be shown it. Contacting Exhibitors: All exhibitors should have left contact details below their pictures. Failing that, there is a thread with contact details in the Forum. Administering you own Gallery Adding photos:
Configuring your Gallery
The admin options in your gallery are as follows:
Add Photo Explained above Add Photos Add several photos at one time. Custom Fields Add other text fields, besides Title & Description, to an image Edit Captions Edit the Title & Description of your pictures in bulk Properties Adjust the viewing properties of the gallery. Be careful with this as you may make your gallery unviewable, or ugly, or both :) Rebuild Thumbs Have all the thumbnails remade if you've been changing pictures. Resize All Resize (downward!) all your main pictures. This should only be necessary if you have uploaded BIG pictures which are taking a long time for users to download Sort Iitems Change the order of the pictures in your gallery Personalising Photos: Below each photo is a list with the following options. Most are self-explanatory: Edit Text Edit the Title & Description Edit Thumbnail This may not work on your system Rotate/Flip Photo Change orientation of picture Highlight Photo Use this thumbnail as the cover picture for your gallery Move Photo Move pictures between albums Reorder Photo Change the picture order Copy Photo As it says Hide Photo As it says Delete Photo As it says 'Preferences' - Exhibition Hall page (IMPORTANT Please remember, although there is a facility for changing your username and password inside the Expo page, we would prefer that you don't use it. That's because it isn't linked to the other databases on the site, so any changes you make there will not be reflected across the site and could end up with your passwords going out of synchronisation.) Picture Formats Although the gallery software is fairly liberal about different picture formats it will accept, please don't use any GIFS for the pictures you put up. Please stick with jpgs or pngs. The reason (apart from GIFS working poorly on multi-tonal images like photos) is because GIFS bloat enormously during manipulation. All GIFS are generally small in file size because they are in a very 'compressed state'. That compression technology is owned (by Unisys) and licensed out for a huge fee. Proprietary software like PhotoShop makes compressed gifs because it contains the compression software. But most image manipulation software based on web servers doesn't. So gifs that are uploaded to our gallery are first 'inflated' by the server software, then thumbnails and intermediate pictures are created, but then the gifs cannot be re-compressed. As a consequence, a small gif thumbnail can be up to three times larger in file size than the original picture was! JPGs, by contrast, can be compressed for free :o) |