Using Documents to Collaborate on the Network

[#1]

One of the more powerful features of the ACS Network is that around collaboration on documents.  I am going to use this post to explain how you can create and edit documents together now and how the experience will improve later this summer.

Let’s start first with definitions:

1. Type: A document can be one of two types --one that you write online or one that you upload.

The online document is essentially a wiki document. You write the document in a browser window. There is an online editor which allows you to format the text (bold, italics, bullets, etc.) as well as insert an image, or a table, or even a video.

A document file that you upload  is really any file that you want to share via the Network. I can obviously be a MS Word document or an Excel spreadsheet, but it can also be an image, a PDF, or almost any other downloadable document.

2. Tags: Remember to tag your document. This will help you organize your documents and for people to find them more easily.

2. Place: Currently your document has to reside somewhere, and that can be in a forum or a group. Later this summer, after we upgrade the system, you will be able to add to have “private” documents that are only associated with your profile and that only you (and whoever you designate) can see.  (Click on the image below to see a larger version showing how locations might show up for you).

Once you create (or download) your document you can collaborate with others. You can manage collaborations or versions through the links in the Action Box.

Manage collaboration allows you to set who else you want to be able to work on your document and if you want people to be able to comment on it.

Manage versions, allows you can capture a new version anytime a change is made to the document. You  then can compare versions or revert to an earlier version.  The comparison of versions of an online document is very powerful as you can see two versions side-by-side with green highlights indicating information added, and red highlights indicating deleted items. 

Here are some examples of how you might collaborate on a document.

1. You create a document and tell a group about it. They come in and make comments below and make changes to the document. At the end of a certain period of time, you close off the document so only you can edit and comments can no longer be made.
   
2. You might have an event that you capture some minutes or other information. You embed an image and some comments. Another person at the event has another image and comments. They can either enter a comment at the bottom and insert their picture, or they can insert their picture in the original document, add some text, then put a comment at the bottom to let folks know of the changes.

Finally, collaborating on documents will only improve after our upcoming upgrade.  Many downloaded documents (word, excel, etc) will be able to be viewed in the browser without actually having to download it. Users reviewing your document can insert inline comments as well. 

Look for this functionality coming up later this summer.

[chenjudy]

Hi Christine,

I have a few questions with regards to the aforementioned functionality.

So right now, if I am preparing a manuscript that involves people from different institutions, I send around word documents via email for others to look over and mark-up. Then they send it back and appended a number or initial in the filename indicating that it's been modified. You can imagine how messy it can become when you have 3-4 authors and a number of different drafts floating around. At the end of the day, I have to spend a lot of time trying to figure out what is been changed and when across different people and different drafts!

So I am thinking that this document collaboration tool could function as a manuscript editing forum for all the authors on a manuscript and only one copy is being modified. So my questions are:

1) What is the privacy regarding the uploaded document?

2) Do all the parties involved in the manuscript have to have a ACS login and password?

3) What if a collaborator is retired but still actively publishing papers, can he get an ACS login and password?

4) How many people can work on the document at the same time?

5) Can we assign different colors for each author?

6) If I upload a word document, can I later download that word document after everyone is happy with the modifications to the manuscript?

7) What about ACS templates, does it support the different templates for different journals? I think that would be really great to have!

Thank you for your time Christine!

Judy

[markobri]

Judy,  Please let me know if this answers your questions. Please clarify #5 so I can understand how you want to use different colors for each author. 

1) What is the privacy regarding the uploaded document?

You can manage the privacy on your documents.  Documents can be created in open forums, private or secret groups or as personal documents that you create in “My Documents.”   As part of the document creation process, you can select "Manage Collaborations" and set the collaboration options for who can edit, comment and approve the document for publishing.

2) Do all the parties involved in the manuscript have to have a ACS login and password?

Yes, you need an acs.org userid and password to access the ACS Network.  However, you do not need to be an ACS member to establish an acs.org id or participate in the ACS Network.

3) What if a collaborator is retired but still actively publishing papers, can he get an ACS login and password?

Yes.

4) How many people can work on the document at the same time?

Right now, one person can work on document at a time. (We have been looking at an add-on application that would let two user collaborate on the document at the same time.) User can make edits and upload the document back to the network. The Network will display the most recent changes to the document. However, the Network also maintains each previous versions of the document.

5) Can we assign different colors for each author?

Can you explain how you want to use different colors for each author?

6) If I upload a word document, can I later download that word document after everyone is happy with the modifications to the manuscript?

Yes, you can download the final document. In addition if it’s a document that you wish to publish on the network, you can use the manage collaboration to publish the document after it has been approved. 

7) What about ACS templates, does it support the different templates for different journals? I think that would be really great to have!

This is something will need to test when the Network upgrade is complete. Are the templates set up in Word?

[Joshkurutz]

and ,

This document is a helpful introduction to collaboration tools, but I still have some questions about document privacy. Is it possible in ACS Network to restrict who can VIEW a document or group, not just who can edit that document?

My aim is to create documents pertaining to award selection that only certain authorized people can see. It would be great to take advantage of the collaboration tools, but in this case privacy must come first.

Can you please help me understand how to manage document visibility?

Thanks. - Josh

[ChrisbbSchmidt]

There are two ways to approach this.

1. You can create what the system calls a "personal" document. No one can see this document and you have to give access to other users to see this document.  This document is called personal because it exists attached to your profile and doesn't really live in any other place (like a group or forum).

2. The other way would be to create a secret or private group. Only people who have joined this group can see these documents. You should be able to control who is a member of the group.

I hope this helps... I am more than willing to clarify.