ShopKey Live

Accessing Tips | Creating New Tips | What is a Tip | Tips FAQ | Terms and Conditions of Use

Exclusive to ShopKey5.com, ShopKey Live allows users to view and share real world tips alongside existing ShopKey OEM information. The unique combination of both sources of information leads you to the specific information you need to fix the vehicle faster.

• Help others by giving information back to the community – We couldn’t help but notice how willing the aftermarket is to help one another. ShopKey has thousands of subscribers, and now ShopKey Live facilitates communication among all members.
• Avoid costly mistakes that lead to lost time and money – Most likely, someone else has worked on the vehicle you are currently working on. By reading the available tips, you learn from the experience of others.
• Save time with procedure shortcuts provided by other technicians – Every day, the tip database grows with more information on optimized repairs that save you time.

Accessing Tips

Tips are clearly designated in repair articles by the Tip icon and hyperlinked tip title.

Click on the hyperlinked title to view the tip.

You may reply to the tip by choosing the Reply button. This feature is provided to allow technicians to elaborate on the Tip by providing additional information that may be helpful to users. Within the Reply dialog box, you may also flag tips containing inappropriate content or inaccuracies for administrative review. An ShopKey5 administrator will review all flagged tips and modify or remove as necessary.

Creating New Tips

Creating a Tip is a simple process. Before you create your first tip, you should create a User Profile. This identifies you as the author of the tip to the ShopKey Live community. If you don't want to create a user profile, you can post as Tech 1, a generic profile included in every account.

User Profile

To Create an ShopKey Live Profile:

1. Choose ShopKey Live Profiles from the Setup window. Alternatively, you can click on a New Tip icon and select Create and Manage Profiles. This opens the Manage ShopKey Live Profiles window.

2. Choose Create New Profile. A series of fields appears in the window.

3. Fill in your profile information. The Post As field is the screen name you would like to be identified by when posting or replying. You will also need to create a Password. Passwords may consist of alphanumeric characters and must be at least 6-digits in length. Choose a password you can easily remember, you will be prompted for your password any time you post or reply. You must also supply an E-Mail address. The E-Mail address is used for communications from ShopKey Live, including the Password Recovery feature, if needed. Use the Qualifications/Description field to describe your unique qualifications (ASE Master Technician, for example) or to provide any descriptive information you want to share with the ShopKey Live community.

4. Click Save Profile. You are now ready to add ShopKey Live Tips.

Posting a Tip

Tip icons are displayed next to each heading within the article text. Click on an icon to open the ShopKey Live Tip Sheet.

Choose your user name from the Post As list and type in your Password. Enter a Subject for the Tip (required) and then type in the content of your post in the post entry area. You can also cut and paste text into your post. Rich Text editing tools are available to allow you to change the size and color of your text and add emphasis by bolding, underlining, and italicizing selected text.

Tip: You can click the Spell Check icon to launch a spell check of your Post.

Attachments You may also attach images in .gif, .jpg, or .png format or Adobe PDF files to your post. Click the Browse button in the Attachments section and browse to the file on your computer. Once you click on the file name, the attachment is added to your post. You can attach multiple images by clicking the Browse button again.

Once you have completed your post, click Post. You are returned to the article screen and your tip is now available to the ShopKey Live Community.

What is a Tip?

This section provides general information on ShopKey Live Tips along with guidelines on appropriate posting. It is recommended that you review this information before posting in ShopKey Live.

A tip in the repair product should provide additional information that enhances the data provided in the article. This could include the following.

• Shortcuts users have found in the field or data from other sources that when used with the existing data make the repair easier or better. A technician’s experience with certain vehicles is a valuable asset that some are willing to share with their fellow technicians in order to raise the bar for the repair industry.
• Special tools that may be helpful in performing the diagnostics or repairs.
• Images that help to illustrate the tip or clarify existing data.

ShopKey’s in-house staff will also use the annotation feature to add additional OEM data to articles that would not typically be included in the article body. This could be information from owners manuals, model-change manuals, service manual updates, bulletins, OEM tips, etc.

Example of a tip:
1998 Volkswagen Passat power window article.
TIP: If you run into a Volkswagen Passat with power windows that go down by themselves, look for chafed wires inside the door panel or inside the flex tube going from the door to the body. The wires may touch at any time and the window controller will activate, raising or lowering the windows.

Provide as much information as possible when posting a tip. Include any special tools used. You can also attach photos or images to help illustrate your tip. If you provide more than one photo or image, name them appropriately so that others know what they are about.

Note: Many articles apply to multiple vehicles and years. If your tip is specific to a particular model or year, or a certain configuration of a model, include that information in the tip.

Posting questions in ShopKey Live:
While the system is not intended to support asking automotive questions, they can lead to very useful information that can be used by other technicians. If can’t find the answer to your problem in the data system, use the following guidelines when posting questions in the tip system.

• Before posting a question, make sure you have fully taken advantage of the existing repair and diagnostic information in the system, especially data in the TSB and Recalls area.
• Create a subject that describes your problem in the form of a question.
• Describe your problem in the body of the post fully. Include any specific information about the vehicle that will be helpful.
• List all testing or other work you’ve tried already to resolve your problem.
• Check back for replies to your question often to see if any other techs have provided a solution.
• If you solved your problem, reply to your post to let others know what the solution was.
• If you did not solve your problem and returned the vehicle to the customer, reply to your post and let the other techs know.

What should not be posted in a ShopKey Live:
The following are not tips and should not be posted as one.

• Commercial advertisements
• Conversations between two or more users
• Comments about other users
• Job postings or wanted ads
• Any copyrighted material
• Offensive or derogatory images or material
• Rates or prices