Using the  REFS  option

• The main REFS window
• Adding, deleting, updating, and submitting your reference letters

The main REFS page

The Refs page is the default initial page for you when you first log on to MathPrograms.Org. Let's take a look at the features offered on this page: The *Links* listed in the Mathprograms.Org header are all the actions/options available to you as a MathPrograms reference letter writer. The first link is "Refs", which would just reload the Refs page you are on right now. The other links would take you out of Refs and into the option associated with the link selected. If you do not have any applicants to write letters for, the body of the page below the introductory text will be blank. Once you have applicants that have listed you as a reference, they will appear listed below the intro text. If an applicant whom you are supposed to write a letter for is not listed here, please contact the applicant directly to see why; a different email address might be used in the applicant's cover sheet. If your staff will need to access Mathprograms and enter letters for you, please look below the applicant list. Here you will click on the "proxy" link in the sentence: "If preferred, you can choose a proxy to handle all your reference letter requests. " To set a proxy, just enter the person's email address below and submit. Once set, all reference letter requests from applicants will be copied to this email address. This person can then use his/her own email address to login and click on the 'Proxies' link to upload letters. Clicking on the name of an applicant will allow you to create a reference letter for this applicant. After clicking on the applicant's name, you will get the reference letter form. Completing this form is documented in detail below. If you have already submitted any reference letters for an applicant, they will be listed here, under the applicant's name. If you want to update a reference letter, click on the reference letter name, listed under the applicant's name. Updating and completing this form is documented in detail below. Just to the right of the reference letter name, you'll see any reference documents that you have uploaded. The file is available for viewing by clicking any of the formats listed in parentheses. The file size is also noted.

Adding, deleting, updating, and submitting your reference letters

If you click on either the name of the applicant in your applicant list OR if you click on a reference letter listed for an applicant, you will get the Reference Letter form page. Let's take a closer look at the reference letter form to see what actions are available to you: The header for this page will be Reference Letter for Name, where Name is the name of this applicant. If you click on the Name, the cover sheet for the applicant will come up. Clicking on PDF on the cover sheet will bring it up in PDF format, which is very suitable for printing. Here you will be able to print it out by selecting File | Print... The second item, Entry Name, is the name (or id) for this reference. By default, a name will be assigned and will appear here. The first reference letter would be Reference #1. If this was the second reference letter, it would by default be Reference #2, etc. You may change the name of this reference letter, if you wish. At the next item, Your Letter, you can either upload the file with your reference letter or type it in at the text box available after clicking the bright green down arrows. Use Select a file to upload if your reference letter for this applicant is a file on your computer. Click on the Browse.. button to select a local file from your computer. Your file can be in any of the following formats: PDF, Word, Office, OpenOffice, PostScript, DVI, GIF, JPEG, PNG, LaTeX, TeX, RTF, HTML, or TEXT. (If you want to upload a TeX file and this file includes any other files, upload the .dvi file instead.) Use the option at OR type in text/url/html directly by clicking on if you do not have your reference letter for this applicant as a file on your computer. You can enter your reference letter here in one of three ways: You can simply type in your letter as plain text right here. Just click on the text box and start typing! If you have created a web page that contains your reference letter for this applicant, enter the URL for that web page here in the text box. If you would like to submit your reference letter for this applicant as HTML, enter the HTML here in the text box. Use the next item, Who can read this letter?, only if you wish to restrict this reference letter to be readable only by certain institutions. Click on the limit access link to set this up. The last item, Expire, specifies the last day this letter can be used to apply for programs. By default, MathPrograms will enter the date for 18 months from the current date. You can change this date if you wish. If you change this date, click on the little calendar icon next to the date. If you are creating this reference letter, you will have the buttons Submit and Reset. If you wish to "reset" (or clear out) this form, the Reset button will set this form back to its original state. Click on Submit to submit this reference letter for this applicant. The letter and this screen will not be saved unless you click on the submit button. If you are updating or deleting this reference letter, you will have the buttons Submit, Delete and Reset. If you wish to "reset" (or clear out) this form, the Reset button will set this form back to its original state. Click on Submit to submit the updates for this reference letter for this applicant. Click on Delete to delete this reference letter for this applicant. If you have uploaded a file and submitted this form, it is a good practice to then look at the PDF file that is automatically generated (see #4.3 above for details) from your submission, to verify that your reference letter looks okay.