This site is optimized for newest generation web browsers, like Firefox 3.x and Internet Explorer 7 (and higher). Unfortunately this site is not running well on Internet Explorer 6, so if you use this browser we highliy recommend to update. We are currently still working on browser compatibility and try to make yourdivebook.com accessable with all browsers from all platforms. But this is a timeeating process and we do not really see a good reason for optimizing this site for dying software versions.
We are testing this site on different browsers and platforms, but we can impossibly find all bugs. If you find some irregular functions or css bugs, please report them in our forum.

Above, you see the typical design of the yourdivebook.com website header.

1. The signup and login/logout buttons are located in the upper right corner.
2. Clicking on the logo in the header leeds to the home site (base).
3. yourdivebook.com is divided in six main areas, which can be reached via the main navigation:

The base is considered as the area of the website, where basic functions and features as well as news (personal and general), competitions, surveys, etc. are located.

Your account is the personal area of each member, containing his profile and other personal information. (This area of the website is only accessable as a registered member of yourdivebook.com)

Core of your dives is the personal rich media logbook. (This area of the website is only accessable as a registered member of yourdivebook.com)

The community area offers the users several tools to get in contact and communicate with their diving buddies. (Buddies and Guestbook are areas of the website, only accessable as a registered member of yourdivebook.com)

The Underwater Life Library collects all life forms, which are interesting for divers and might be spotted during a dive. This encyclopedia follows the wikipedia principle and is mainly created and maintained by the members of yourdivebook.com.

The Dive spots Library is a collection of all dive spots in the world. This encyclopedia follows the wikipedia principle and is mainly created and maintained by the members of yourdivebook.com.

4. Each main area might be seperated in further subcategories. These are reached via the tab navigation underneath the main navigation.
5. A button, which leeds to this help site, is located beneath the tab navigation on the right.

The Player is part of many areas of yourdivebook.com. It behaves slightly different according to the area, but the basic principles are always the same. Basically the player is divided into two sections: The upper row is the search section and the lower row the navigation section.

- Type your query into the textfield on the left (1) and afterwards press "find" (2) to show the results.
- Check you spelling! A (invisible) space character after the word, also influences the search results!
- The two text fields further left (3) are giving further information on the current filter and how the content is sorted etc.
- After starting a search, a reset button (4) appears on the right side of the search row. Clicking it, simply resets the database, displaying all items again.

The searches of the different players comb throught different elements of the content.

This area contains eight buttons: The world map view button, the list view button, the fullscreen button, first, previous, next, last and at the very right end, the "NEW" button.

In most areas, where a player is a navigation tool, the content can be displayed in an interactive world map, (1) as a list (2) or as a fullscreen detail view (3). The first three buttons simply switch between these states.
These buttons are inactive, if they are dimmed.

With the next four buttons the user navigates through the displayed content:
The "first" button(3) shows the first item of according database,
the "previous" button(4) takes one step back,
the "next" button(5) takes on step forward,
the "last" button(6) leeds to the last item of the content.

Of course, this is in accordance to the selected view mode: In the list view, the next button leeds to the next list (only ten items are displayed on one site.), while in the fullscreen view, "next" takes to the next single database item.
Sometimes these buttons are disabled, simply du to the fact, that they have no function is certain circumstances.

The last element of the player is the "NEW" button: According to its area, this gives the user the opportunity to add an item to the database.
If you are no member of yourdivebook.com or you forgot to login, in some areas this button is missing, as only members can for example add a dive spot to the dive spot library.

- This is a typical way of displaying divers (other members) at yourdivebook.com.
- Beside the thumbnail picture, names and country, there are a few icons:
- The Diver's Features Icons - Please read the help section of Diver's Features icons for them.

- A green plus indicates, that you are NO buddy of this member.
- If you want to add him/her to your buddies, simply click the green plus to send a buddy request.
- A green checkmark indicates, that you are a buddy of this member.
- A blue question mark indicates, that you have already sent this member a buddy request, but either this member didn't react so far, or he denied your request.

Becoming a member of yourdivebook.com is completely free.
- Simply push the big orange button in the main content area of the base or the button "sign up" in the upper right corner of the site.
- Fill out all required information (indicated by a * )
- Choose your username wisely, as you cannot alter it after registering! Check your spelling!
- The password needs to be between 6 and 40 characters.
- The email address has to be a valid email address.
- Feel free to add additional information about you.

- Finally push "Create account"
- You will now get an email to your provided address with a link to activate your account. Check your emails and click on the link.
- You are now fully registered and can start exploring yourdivebook.com.

In this case, feel free to upload your picture to the yourdivebook.com database (of course as long as this does not breach any of the other terms and conditions of yourdivebook.com) If you want, you can link this picture to your website (please write http://... in the field "copyright link") or write your name as author in the field "copyright information" of yourdivebook.com.

One really good source of getting a picture which can be used without breaching copyrights is


- Use the search field at the left to find pictures of according underwater life.
- If you have found one, copy it to your computer, and upload it to yourdivebook.com.
- Maybe you might want to crop it, before uploading (please read "Format and size" above on this page)

- You can also add some further information (E.g. name of the author) in the field "copyright information"


The pictures of wikimedia commons are licensed under
- Either the GNU Free Documentation License (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Free_Documentation_License)
- One or more creative commons licences (http://creativecommons.org)
- no copyrights and released into the public domain.


Please make sure, you are not breaching any copyrights, by uploading pictures to yourdivebook.com.
Yourdivebook.com is not responsible for any breachings of copyrights, by pictures, which were uploaded by its members.
Please read the terms & conditions of yourdivebook.com for further information.

- Click on "Edit your profile" at the bottom of the "Your Account" page.
- If want to change your picture, click the red "x" icon in the lower right corner of your picture to remove it.
- If you have not uploaded a picture and the default icon is displayed, click into the textfield underneath the icon.
- Select a picture from your computer. Please read "Information about uploading a picture to the database" before doing so.
- If you have selected a picture from your computer, click th button "upload".

All divers can define their exact location in an interactive world map:
- Click on "Edit your profile" at the bottom of the "Your Account" page.
- Use the zoom buttons (1) to zoom in or out.
- Click the zoom rectangle button (2) and draw a rectangle inside the map window, to zoom into a certain area.
- Move the detail of the map by dragging it with your mouse (3).
- Click inside the map window to place the marker (4) or drag it to your home location.

Autodetection (5)
- You can also click the Autodetection function. If you have entered your address, city, zip code etc. your home location might be found automatically.

Reset location definition (6)
- If you want to undo your location definition, click the Reset button (6). Latitude and longtitude are back to zero and marker is removed.

These icons are always in relation to a member of yourdivebook.com, indicating his different features in yourdivebook.com.

- Click on "Edit your profile" at the bottom of the "Your Account" page.
- To add a diving certificate, simply select the diving organisation, the level and the issue date.
- Now press the green "+" button (1) to add the certificate to your list.
- If want to change/edit an existing diving certificate, you first have to remove it from your list by clicking the red "x" button (2).
- Click on "Save changes to your profile" (3) to save the changes.

In your settings you can define personal adjustments, including distance, weight, temperature, pressure units and privacy settings
- Click on "Edit settings" at the bottom of the "Your Account" page.
- Choose prefered settings by simply checking or unchecking according options.
- Click on "Save settings" (3) to save the changes.

- Click on "Change password" at the bottom of the "Your Account" page.
- Enter your old password in the first text field.
- Enter the new password two times in the text fields below.
- Click on "Save new password" (3) to save the changes.

- For general information about the navigation tool "The Player", please read the help section "The Player: General Approach"
- With the "NEW" button of the player in Your dives / Logbook, you can log a new dive and save it to your logbook.

- In the list view, you can sort your dives in different ways, by simply clicking one of the labels in the sorting bar.
- The small white arrow (1) indicates which sorting order is selected.
- This sorting can be either ascending or descending. You can change this by clicking the same label once again.

- First select the date of the dive and the country, where the dive spot is located.
- The textfields of Area/Town/Island and Dive spot have an "autocomplete" function:
- Start typing the first characters in the textfield "Area/Town/Island".
- A dropdown menu (1) shows you all areas of this country, which are already existing in the dive spots library.


- The textfield "dive spot" is based on the same principles:
- If you have selected an existing area, the autocomplete function of the textfield "dive spot" will offer you dive spots of according country and area, which are already existing in the Divespots Library.


- If you unintentionally created a new dive spot, or mistyped its name(s) please report it in our forum or send a mail to webmaster(a)yourdivebook.com.
- If you have created a new dive spot in the dive spots library, you might want to add further information, comments etc. in its record.

- Rating your dive is an important element of the complete yourdivebook.com concept.
- Please rate your dives wisely and conscious, as this adds valuable information to the database.

Link all underwater life you have spotted to your dive:
- Enter the name - common name (1) or scientific name (2).
- Parts of the name are also possible: e.g. "Shark" would show all sharks.
- You can filter the search by type of water (3), distribution (4), and typological groups (5).
- Please press "Find" to start the search (just pressing "enter" on your keyboard, does not start the search!)
- Navigate through the search results with the pager element (6) underneath the thumbnails
- If you want deeper information about an animal, click the name (7) underneath according picture. (Detail view opens in a new browser window)
- To add underwater life to your dive, simply press the green "+" button (8) in according picture(s).
- To remove underwater life from your dive, simply press the red "x" button (9) in according picture(s).
- If you did not find the animal(s) you've searched for, you can add it (them) to the Underwater Library. Simply press the "Fish not found?" button (10).

If the units (distance, air pressure, weight, temperature) are not as you want and expect them, you can change them in Your Acount / Edit settings.

- Here you can upload personal pictures of the dive.
- Please read Information about uploading a picture to the database. before doing so.
- Click in the textfield (1) and select picture on your computer.
- You might want to add a caption in the textfield (2) on the right.
- Now press the button "Upload" (3).
- To remove pictures from your dive, simply press the red "x" button (4) in according picture(s).

- Start typing in the textfield (1).
- This textfield has "autocomplete" function: All of your matching buddies appear in a list (2).
- If you find the right one, select him/her.
- Now press the green "+" button (3) to add the diver to the list.
- To remove divers from your dive, simply press the red "x" button (4) beneath according divers.
- You can of course also add divers, who are no member of yourdivebook.com. Maybe you want to invite them? ;)

Add the dive center with which you went to this dive:
- Start typing in the textfield.
- This textfield has "autocomplete" function: All matching dive centers appear in a list.
The dive center you went with to this dive is not yet registered? Maybe you would like to inivite it to Your Divebook here.

- In the fullscreen detail view of a dive, you can show and hide parts of the information.
- Click on the orange arrow on the left of the dark dividing bars, to show or hide according content.

- The slideshow is a common feature for all sections with pictures: Pictures of Your Dives, Underwater Life, dive spots and dive centers.
- Simply click on the thumbnail of a picture to start it.
- Navigate through the slideshow by using the arrow keys of your keyboard or clicking next/previous inside the picture.
- Captions can be added and are displayed underneath the picture.
- Information about the author, contributor or copyright facts are also stated underneath the picture.

- If you want deeper information about an animal, click the name underneath according picture. (Detail view opens in a new browser window)

The Buddy map shows the location of all your buddies on an interactive world map (1).

Navigate the map:
- Use the zoom buttons (2) to zoom in or out.
- Click the zoom rectangle button (3) and draw a rectangle inside the map window, to zoom into a certain area.
- Move the detail of the map by dragging it with your mouse (4).


- All buddies with defined location, (read chapter "Define your exact location" for further information) will be displayed with a single diver marker (5), showing the exact location.
- All buddies without defined location are summarized in the country markers (6).
- Clicking a marker opens an Infowindow (7) with further information:
- A country marker Infowindow tells you how many of your buddies live in according country. Clicking on this info, shows you these buddies in a list view.
- A single marker Infowindow shows name and country of according buddy. Clicking on this info, shows the profile page of this buddy.

- If you defined your location, your home marker (8) is displayed and all other markers on the map are connected to you with white lines (9).

- Beside the Buddy Map View, your buddies can also be shown in a detail view (1) and a list view (2).
- Simply click desired view mode button in the player.

- Click on the button "Find new buddies" (1) in the player.
- Default view is the Diver Map, showing all members of Your Divebook on an interactive world map.
- Basic functions and principles are the same as in the Buddy Map (see above).

- Look for people in your neighbourhood on the diver map, (2)
- Or enter names of divers you know in the search field of the player (3).
- View mode can also be changed to list view or detail view.

- The last icon on the right indicates the buddy status of this diver.
- A green plus indicates, that you are no buddy of this member. By clicking the plus, you will send this member a buddy request.
- A green checkmark indicates, that you are a buddy of this member.
- A blue question mark indicates, that you have already sent this member a buddy request, but either this member didn't react so far, or he denied your request.

- Every member of yourdivebook.com has his own guestbook.
- The guestbooks are viewable for all other members of yourdivebook.com.
- Your guestbook is considered as:
a) A place where other members of yourdivebook.com can send a message to you.
b) A place where you can announce news and comments to the visitors of your guestbook.

Note: To get to a buddy's guestbook, click on the guestbook icon of the Diver's Features Icons.
This screenshot shows a guestbook of a buddy, recongnizable through the headline and the lack of reply and delete buttons.

- The Forum of yourdivebook.com is a place to exchange experiences, write comments and get in contact with other divers worldwide.
- It functions pretty the same as all other known forums.
- Note: You have to be a registered member of yourdivebook.com and logged in, to be able to write messages and post new threads.

- This online encyclopedia tries to collect all lifeforms, which are of interest for divers.
- Each lifeform is assigned either to saltwater or else to freshwater.
- Note: lifeforms, which appear in both types of water should be assigned to the one most typical.
- The lifeforms are divided in four major typological groups and inside of them, to further subgroups.
- They are assigned to one or more areas of distribution.

- Each lifeform is recorded with a common and a scientific name.
- Each lifeform can be displayed in a list view or in a fullscreen detail view.
- The Player is a main navigation element of Underwater Life.
- For general information about the navigation tool "The Player", please read the help section "The Player: General Approach"
- With the "NEW" button of the player in Underwater Life you can create a new entry in the Underwater Life Library (only as a registered and logged in member).

This rating should not implement, that there are more or less important lifeforms underwater. It simply tries to reflect the fact that there are more or less exciting creatures for a diver to spot underwater, due to the rareness, beautiness, etc. of the animal.
The rating is automatically generated by the ratings of all dives of all logbooks in yourdivebook.com, where this lifeform was spotted.
Accordingly, you are NOT able to rate underwater life in its own record, but only by rating dives in your logbook, in which you have spotted it.

- Theoretically, every underwater life can have an unlimited amount of pictures.
- Every underwater life has one main picture , which is its representative in the logbooks, in list views etc.
- To see the other pictures in a beautiful slideshow, simply click on them in the field "pictures".
- The sorting order in the field "pictures" shows the current ranking. The current main picture is first, followed by its persecutor etc.

- Click on "Edit unterwater life" at the bottom of the page.
- Click in the textfield "Add a picture" and choose the one you want to upload on your computer.
- Please read Information about uploading a picture to the database. before doing so.
- Click on "Save underwater life" to save your changes.
- Your picture now appears in the field "pictures".

- If you have uploaded one or more pictures to an underwater life, you can edit or remove them as follows:
- Click on "Edit your pictures" at the bottom of the page.
- All pictures you have uploaded appear with their copyright information and link.
- To remove pictures, simply press the red "x" button (1) in according picture(s).
- To upload a picture, select it from your computer, fill out copyright information, enter a caption and press the "Upload" button. (2)
- Click on "Apply changes" to save your changes.

- "Dive spots with highest chance to spot this underwater life" is not directly editable in the records.
- It is automatically generated by data of all logbooks of yourdivebook.com.
- The dive spots where this underwater life was most often spotted and accordingly logged in the logbooks, are displayed here.
- Clicking the name directly leeds to the record of this dive spot.

- Every underwater life is assigned to a type of water: Saltwater or freshwater.
- Every underwater life is assigned to one of four major typological groups.
- Furthermore, each underwater life is assigned to a typological subgroup inside the major typological group.
- These classifications of subgroups are not incontrovertible!

- Every underwater life is assigned to a type of water: Saltwater or freshwater.
- Every underwater life is assigned to one or more of four distribution areas (habitats) of each type of water.
- NOTE: This is just a very rough classification. Please still assign an underwater life to a distribution area, if it only lives in parts of the distribution area.
- For example: Please assign the Green Turtle to all four saltwater habitats, although it does not live in very northern parts of the Pacific Ocean.
- If smaller seas are not labeled specifically (e.g. the Black Sea), assign underwater life to closest distribution area (e.g. Mediterranean)

- This section shows you the creator (1), and the member who last edited this underwater life (2).
- Clicking on "History" (3) shows you a list of different former states of this entry.
- This history will prevent intentional or unintentional misuse of the "Edit Underwater Life" function, so that all former states can be readjusted.

- NOTE: You can only create a new entry in the Underwater Life Library, if you are a registered member and logged in.
- Otherwise the button "Create new entry" would be missing in the Underwater Life Player.
- Click on "Create new entry" and fill out form.
- If you don't have all information www.wikipedia.org might be a good and free source for facts and pictures.

- This online encyclopedia tries to collect all dive spots and dive centers worldwide.
- The Dive Atlas is divided into three tabs: One for dive spots and dive centers, and both combined in the tab "Dive Atlas"(1)
- Startpage is an interactive google worldmap.
- Zoom in, by clicking the plus in the upper left corner (2).
- Zoom out, by clicking the minus in the upper left corner (3).
- Click the Area Zoom Button, (4) and then "draw" a rectangle in the map window to zoom into a certain area.

- Dependent on the zoom level, the map shows various markers (5).
- Clicking on one of these markers, opens an Infowindow with further information of according item (6).
- The informations inside the Infowindow link to list and fullscreen views of according item (7).
- The Player (8) is a main navigation element of Dive Atlas.
- For general information about the navigation tool "The Player", please read the help section "The Player: General Approach"
- With the "NEW" button of the player in dive spots and dive centers (not active in Dive Atlas), you can create a new entry in the dive spot or dive centers Library (only as a registered and logged in member).

- The tab "dive spots" contains all wordwide dive spots, which are entered in the Your Divebook database.
- As these part is only filled with dive spots, you can now switch into the "List View" (1).
- If you are a registered member and logged in, you can enter a new dive spot by clicking the button "Create new entry" on the right (2).
- The World Map View functions the same as in Dive Atlas.
- In low zoom levels, markers are summarized in Continents and countries. After a certain zoom level, the map shows single dive spot markers.

- To add a new dive spot to the dive spots library, simply click the "Create new entry" button in the player of dive spots.
- This button is only active and visible, if you are a registered member and logged in.

- Before creating a new dive spot, please make sure, that the dive spot you intend to add, is not already in the yourdivebook.com database.
- Maybe it already exists with a slightly different spelling or the area/town/island is just called differently.
- Please help us, keeping the dive spot library clean without doublings.
- If you unintentionally created a new dive spot, or mistyped its name(s) please report it in our forum or send a mail to webmaster(a)yourdivebook.com.

- Instead of a main picture, every dive spot has a google maps window (1), with the location of the dive spot.
- Click on the link inside the placeholder or click on "Edit dive spot at the bottom of the detail view, to define the location of this dive spot.

The rating is automatically generated by the ratings of all dives of all logbooks in yourdivebook.com, done at this dive spot.
Accordingly, you are NOT able to rate dive spots in their own record, but only by rating dives in your logbook at according dive spot.

Common information of dive spots are averages from all logged dives at this dive spot (1).
Clicking on "Number of dives" shows you all dives, logged at this dive spot at Your Divebook so far (2).

- "Most frequently spotted underwater life" is not directly editable in the records.
- It is automatically generated by data of all logbooks of yourdivebook.com.
- Underwater life which was spotted most often at this dive spot and accordingly logged in the logbooks, is displayed here.
- Clicking the name directly leeds to the record of this underwater life.
- Clicking the picture starts a slideshow of the toplist.

- This section shows you the creator (1), and the member who last edited this dive spot (2).
- Clicking on "History" (3) shows you a list of different former states of the dive spot.
- This history will prevent intentional or unintentional misuse of the "Edit dive spot" function, so that all former states can be readjusted.

- "Dive centers" contains all worldwide dive centers, registerd at Your Divebook so far.
- Start page of dive centers is also the world map view.
- For instructions on using this map, please read instruction for similarly functioning map of dive spots.
- As this section is only filled by dive centers, you can switch view to list view (1) and then also to detail view (2) in the player.
- If you are a registered and logged in member of Your Divebook, you can enter your dive center by clicking on "Create new entry" in the player (3).

- All dive spots, your dive center offers, can be linked to your dive center.
- Offered dive spots are visible in the location window of the detail view, where they are linked to the dive center marker with a white line.
- This connection is also visible in the detail view map window of according dive spot.

- To link dive spots to your dive center, simply choose them from the drop down menu and click the green plus button.

- You can add staff members of your dive center to your detail view page.
- Choose them from the dropdown list and click the green plus button.

The rating is automatically generated by the ratings of all dives of all logbooks in yourdivebook.com, done with this dive center.
Accordingly, you are NOT able to rate dive centers in their own record, but only by rating dives in your logbook with according dive center.

Use the description text to tell all members and possible customers more about your dive center like:.
- Equipment: How many boats, equipment for how many divers, nitrox, etc.
- Courses: Nitrox, trimix, other special diving skills etc.
- Prices
- Accomodation possible at the dive center
etc.

- If you could not find the instructions you were looking for, please report that in our forum or send an email.