File Exchange Overview

The File Exchange System provides a way to transfer files, in either direction, between anyone and a member of The Geo Group's staff.

A file transfer is done in two steps. First, the sender uploads the file to the File Exchange System. Notification is emailed to the recipients, and confirmation is emailed to the sender. Then the recipients must download (fetch) the file. Files are kept on the system for 30 days.

You can access the File Exchange System by going to fx.thegeogroup.com, or by going to The Geo Group's main website at www.thegeogroup.com and clicking on File Exchange.

How to Use the File Exchange System

Uploading (sending) a file to The Geo Group

If you have multiple files (except Mac)

You can send multiple files at once. It is often more convenient, but not necessary, to zip them together first. WinZip is one tool for zipping files.

If you are sending from a Mac

Your files on the Mac have hidden information associated with them (technical term: resource fork). This information includes the icon and the application needed to open the files. The easiest way to send the hidden information along with your files is to compress/archive them into one file with Stuffit or a compatible program.

To send files to someone at The Geo Group:

Click Upload (Send) Files .
Enter the number of files you will be uploading.
Enter your name, company (if any), and email address.
Enter the email address of the primary recipient at The Geo Group. You don't need to type "@thegeogroup.com". It will be added automatically.
If needed, enter additional Geo Group recipients, separated by commas or spaces.
Click Continue, with Progress Bar or, alternatively, Continue, with Progress Bar . The progress bar shows the progress of your upload, but may not work on every browser.
If there is a checkbox on a line labeled Increased Security, you can select the security level. If the box is checked, the recipient must log in to download the file. Otherwise, the recipient can download the file by clicking a link in the email message, and no password is needed.
On each line in the Select your files section, use the button to select the files you want to send.
If you have any remarks for the recipients, type them into the Comments box. They will be included in the notification messages to the recipients.
Click Upload, with Progress Bar , or Upload, without Progress Bar (whichever is provided). Wait for the upload to complete.
You should now see a message that your upload has completed successfully.

Submitting a new project

Submitting a new project is the same as sending files, except that additional information is requested.

Click Submit a New Project .
If you are not already logged in, you will see a login page.
If your company has made special arrangements with The Geo Group, for example, to expedite a lot of small rush jobs, you need to log in. Also, in this case, the procedure may differ from the steps below.
Otherwise, logging in is optional.
To log in, fill in your email address and your FX password, if you have one. Then click Continue .
If you need a password, but don't have one yet, you will be able to request a password on the next page. It will be sent to you by email. You can then log in and proceed.
You should now be at a page titled, "Submit a New Project to The Geo Group".
Enter a name for the project.
Select the source language, i.e., the original language of the files you are submitting to be translated.
Enter the number of target languages, and select the target languages from the list. Target languages are the languages into which the file(s) should be translated.
Select the file type from the list, and enter the version of the program used to create the files. Type "None" if not applicable.
Select the platform (OS) under which the files were created.
Select the steps you would like The Geo Group to perform.
Enter the number of words there are in the files you will be uploading.
Enter the number of pages there are in the files you will be uploading.
Specify whether you have experience with our client review process, by checking Yes or No.
If there are terms that should not be translated, please provide a list of those terms.
If you are including a file containing the terms, enter the name of the file in the text box provided.
Otherwise, you can enter the terms directly into the box.
In any case, check the appropriate line to indicate where the terms are.
Specify whether there is text in graphics files that must be translated.
Specify the project deadline, i.e., when you need the project to be completed.
Enter any additional comments or instructions for this project in the Comments box.
We strongly recommend that you send a PDF showing the layout in the source language. This is required if the project involves formatting.
Please specify whether you will be sending a PDF, by checking Yes or No.
Enter the number of files you will be uploading.
Enter your name, company (if any), and email address.
Enter your address, primary phone number, and (optionally) secondary phone number.
Enter the email address of the primary recipient at The Geo Group. You don't need to type "@thegeogroup.com". It will be added automatically.
If you don't know whom to contact at The Geo Group, you can check the box provided instead. We will direct your request to an appropriate member of our staff.
If needed, enter additional Geo Group recipients, separated by commas or spaces.
Click Continue .
If there is a checkbox on a line labeled Increased Security, you can select the security level. If the box is checked, the recipient must log in to download the file. Otherwise, the recipient can download the file by clicking a link in the email message, and no password is needed.
On each line in the Select your files section, use the button to select the files you want to send.
Click Upload, with Progress Bar , or Upload, without Progress Bar (whichever is provided). Wait for the upload to complete.
You should now see a message that your upload has completed successfully.

If your upload is slow

Your upload may be slow either because other programs (or other computers) are using your Internet connection at the same time, or because your (or our) Internet connection is not as fast as you would like. Many Internet connections allow fast downloads, but have an upload speed only one-quarter to one-tenth as fast, or worse.

Here is a website that will test your upload and download speed: Broadband Speed Tests. You might want to test your speed during the upload, and test it again when your computer (and any other computer on your local network) is not doing anything else. If it is much slower during the upload, then the upload is probably using most of the available bandwidth, i.e., the upload is sending about as fast as your Internet connection allows.

Our Internet connection is 3Mbps in each direction. If your upload speed is at least that high, expect about 15 megabytes per minute when our server is not very busy. So a 100MB file might take 6-20 minutes, depending upon how busy our server is. (In abbreviations such as Kbps, b is bits, and B is bytes. If you do the math, don't confuse kilobits with kilobytes.)

Your File Exchange password

You don't need a password to send files to The Geo Group. Just click Upload (Send) Files .

The first time a Geo Group staff member sends you a file, the File Exchange System assigns you a random password and emails it to you. The password allows you to log in and view any files that have been sent to you. You can also download them if desired. This can be especially useful if your email is unreliable. You can change the password, or request that the password be emailed again if you forget it.

If you are having email problems and you don't know your password, call your Geo Group contact. He or she can retrieve it for you.

Important security notice: Geo Group staff are able to retrieve your password. Also, a copy of your new password will be emailed to you, and it may be possible that another person using the same computer could see your email. Therefore, we ask you not to use the same password that you use for other critical services, such as financial transactions.

Changing your password

Click My FX Password .
Click Change My Password .
Enter your email address and current password.
Enter your new password twice, to confirm that there were no typographical errors.
Click Change Password .
You should see a message that your password has been changed, and a confirmation message has been emailed to you.

Retrieving a forgotten password

Click My FX Password .
Click I Forgot My Password .
Enter your email address.
Click Send Password .
You should see a message that your password has been emailed to you.

Logging in

Click Log In .
Enter your email address and password.
Click Log in to File Exchange .

When you are logged in, the Log In button is replaced with Log Out . Click it if you wish to log out. This is only necessary if you want to prevent other users of your machine from viewing your files.

Viewing your files

Click Show My Files .
If you are not logged in, you will be at a page titled File Exchange - Please Log In. Log in, as in the Logging in section, above.

You should now be at a page titled Geo File Exchange - Files Sent To or From [your name]. All files sent to you or from you in the last 30 days are listed, with their date, time, file name, and size.

To see more information about a file, click More Info. This displays information about the file, including file name, size, sender, recipients, comments, and when it was uploaded and downloaded.

To download (fetch) a file, click on the file name. Then follow the instructions in the Downloading a file section below.

Downloading a file

When a file is sent to you, you will receive a notification by email. If the security level of the upload was low, it provides a link, and tells you to click on the file name to download the file.
You can also download a file by following the steps in the Viewing your files section, then clicking on the file name.

In either case, you should now be at a page titled Download file: [file name]

Enter your name, company, and email address.
Click Download File . The sender will be notified by email (even, unfortunately, if you do not complete the download).
You should now be at a page titled The Geo Group File Exchange System - File Download. Right-click on the file name, and select

(in Netscape): "Save Link Target As...", or

(in Internet Explorer): "Save Target As...".

If you have a Macintosh with a one-button mouse, or if the above doesn't work for any other reason, use the link labeled, "If that doesn't work, click here " .
A Save As window should pop up. Notice that there are 20 extra characters added to the beginning of the file name--three groups of digits, each followed by an underscore. You may wish to delete everything up to and including the third underscore. For example, the file myfile.pdf would be changed to something like 040113_110919_41158_myfile.pdf. If you delete the first 20 characters, the file name will be restored.
Select the folder (directory) in which to save the file.
Click Save .