Spark!™ makes it simple for reviewers to quickly comment, annotate, and approve their documents and proofs without having to leave their web browser, install additional applications, or switch contexts. This new add-on to the Approval Manager module of Workgroups 2010 becomes part of the approval workflow for all reviewers and requires no installation and no training for users.
*PDFs rendered using technology licensed from Foxit.
Collaborative Proof Management
- Collaborative User Invitations
- User-Friendly Configuration
- Proofs Find Improvements
- Email Notifications
- My Home Page Customization
- iPhone 3GS
- Private Comments and Review Discussions
- Notification Filtering
- Visual Workflow Designer
- Document Versions and Histories
- Audit History on Proof Activity
- Trafficking and Scheduling
- Proofing Workflows
- Other Improvements
- Expandable Manage Tab
- Customizable Branding
- Approval Manager Dashboard
- Proof Auto-Routing
- Dalim DiALOGUE Proofer Support
- Proof Management Dashboard
- Proof Review Dashboard
- Online and Offline Approval Processes
- Multi-Stage/Multi-Round Proof Approval Cycles
- Branded Web Portal
- Collaborative Users
Features in Approval Manager 2010 Standalone Edition
Collaborative User Invitations
Inviting new users to Approval Manager is easy. Just enter the email address for the new user and they will receive an invitation. All they need to do next is set their password and start participating in their reviews.
User-Friendly Configuration
Configuration of Approval Manager is made as easy as it can be. Not only can it automatically detect most of the required settings, a number of in-place tests ensure that the settings you choose will work correctly.
Proofs Find Improvements
Proof search allows you to find any open or closed proofs. Search results show files, thumbnails, and proofs with found search strings emphasized.
This release also contains full proof search support for collaborative users. With reasonable permissions restrictions, collaborative users can search proofs of their customers or proofs they were added to as managers, production, or reviewers.
Email Notifications
All participants of a proofing workflow can receive notifications and reminders via email. Useful links in each email allow participants to jump directly to their work from within their mail clients. Since Approval Manager has a built-in mail server that works out of the box, it's easy to get up and running with email notifications. Alternatively, you can use any third-party SMTP mail server.
My Home Page
Customization
Build an interface that fits like a glove by substituting the standard content of home pages with the results of custom queries or saved finds.
iPhone 3GS
Need to get things done while on the go? With the release of Apple's third generation iPhone, Workgroups 2010 continues its tradition of iPhone support. Review and approve proofs, use powerful time recorders, start and close jobs and more to stay productive even when you're away from your desk.
Private Comments and Review Discussions
Keep document proof reviews private between reviewers. Imagine you're laying out a catalogue page with several ads from different vendors on it. Each vendor needs to review the page and their ad simultaneously, but you don’t want to send and manage separate proofs for each vendor. At the same time, you can't let the vendors see each other's comments and annotations. No problem. This is exactly what the new private review feature accomplishes. It’s simple and seamless to the reviewers, and review management is dramatically simplified for you.
Notification Filtering
The Approval Manager module for Workgroups 2010 generates notifications automatically. In fact, it even consolidates emails wherever possible. For example, when multiple proofs are assigned to the same reviewer, the system sends only one email listing them all. An additional filtering option is also available to tailor exactly what notifications are sent. Not every organization is the same, and some are more interested in certain types of notifications than others. With Workgroups 2010, this is a matter of simple configuration.
Proof Auto-Routing
A new auto-routing feature reduces review turnaround time by moving proofs through the review process based on the outcome of previous rounds. Use simple rules to define the auto-routing for workflows and have a dramatic impact on overall management time, speed, and proof turnaround time.
Visual Workflow Designer
Proofing and review workflows are designed visually, providing review managers with an easy and intuitive way to create workflows complete with stages, due dates, times, and assigned reviewers. Once a workflow is designed, it can be used for the current review, or saved for future use as a workflow template.
Document Versions and Histories
Since all versions of a document (and the corresponding reviews, comments, and annotations) are centrally stored and easily accessible, one-click comparisons between versions are possible. Additionally, this centralized repository puts an end to the otherwise hopeless attempts to piece together the "whole story" about an approval process from multiple file versions, emails, and notes.
Audit History on Proof Activity
Every comment, annotation, action, and email generated by the system is stored in the database, providing a complete and accurate audit trail of the entire proofing process. This audit trail offers crucial details for quality assurance, billing, or historical purposes. Now when a customer wants to know about the schedule or has questions about an alteration, you'll instantly have the information and supporting details you need at your disposal.
Proofing Workflows
Easily control your proofing and review workflows. Upload files, arrange stages, set due dates and add reviewers from an intuitive visual interface.
Other Improvements
- On Review and Production tabs, files that need attention are auto-expanded on tab open.
- File thumbnails currently in progress will be loaded and shown asynchronously.
- The default auto-routing rule for Production is "Move Next on Completion" and for Approval is "Next on Success".
- User is automatically added to production list of new files s/he uploads (unless user is a manager).
Expandable Manage Tab
Items on the Manage Tab are now expandable. The expanded view allows you to see all of your proof files as thumbnails with statuses displayed below them in the scrolling ribbon.
Customizable Branding
Approval Manager now supports full custom branding: customized colors, logos and styles on each page as well as in e-mail notifications. Customization requires no programming or scripting abilities, and is simple enough to allow users to customize their system in minutes.
Approval Manager
Dashboard
Dashboards have been designed to support users in all their proof-related activities. Worklists provide an easy-to-understand, drill-down view of the current status and schedule of all proofs in progress. Empty tab auto-hiding helps you focus on current tasks and filter alerts ensure that nothing is left unnoticed.
Annotation Filtering
The latest release allows you to filter annotations in a variety of ways: You can view annotations from the currently selected stage, view only annotations created by you, view all annotations, or even hide all annotations to get a clean view of the proof.
Trafficking and Scheduling
Document review and approval processes are trafficked and scheduled using visual, easy to use, and efficient dashboards that provide managers with the ability to see at a glance the current status of all documents under review and conveniently drill down into the details of the processes they are interested in. Delays are immediately identified, and quickly addressed by schedule changes, reassigning reviewers, or other means.
Branded Web Portal
The Approval Manager module of Workgroups 2010 includes a separate web portal designed to be accessed by collaborators outside your workgroup. The portal may be fully branded with your unique look and feel without requiring any programming. With the web portal, your external reviewers are safely and securely included into your document and proof reviews.
Collaborative Users
Collaborative Reviewers are external users who access the system through a branded web portal and have access only to information directly related to the proofs they are assigned to. This allows managers to freely assign collaborative reviewers to approval processes without worry that they will expose information about other work, customers, or other business information contained in the system.
Account management for collaborative reviewers is simplified by providing easy tools to create new accounts, activate or deactivate existing accounts, and assign rules for automatically deactivating accounts based on dates or active reviews.
Proof Management Dashboard
Dashboard worklists for managers and producers provide an easy-to-understand view of the current status and schedule of all proofs and documents under review. Since proofs are centrally trafficked and scheduled, you have the ability to see when proofs are in jeopardy of missing a deadline or predicting when a proof will be completed. This allows you to accurately predict when work will be ready for production and ready to deliver to your customers.
Proof Review Dashboard
Each reviewer in the system has an individual dashboard worklist from which to work. This worklist presents a prioritized list of all documents s/he is responsible for reviewing and provides a one-click means for conducting their reviews.
Introducing Spark!
The new Spark! proofing tool allows you to quickly comment, annotate and approve documents of various formats. Spark! launches from Approval Manager, inside your browser, and does not require any additional applications to run. The easy and intuitive interface will allow you to integrate it into your proofing process right away.
Measurement Tool
Verify lengths and angles with the new Measurement tool. This new tool provides free-rotation, snap-to angles, and selectable units of measure.
Balsamiq Mockups
Spark! now supports Balsamiq Mockups rendering and approval - an essential new feature for UI-designers.
Document Rotation
Rotate your documents clockwise and counter-clockwise in ninety degree increments.
Zoom Increased to 6000%
Review even the finest details in your documents with high-resolution zoom. Even at 6000%, details are clearly rendered and reviewers can see minor details and small text they may otherwise have trouble viewing clearly or could miss entirely.
New Window from Spark!
Among the many Spark! features is the ability to open a new browser window or tab with the selected round, page, zoom setting, and position of the current review displayed. You can even bookmark the page or send a link to others with the assurance that the current view will be preserved.
Adobe Acrobat Support
Adobe Acrobat excels in its ease of use and commercial acceptance for document and proof viewing, review, and annotation. Adobe Acrobat Pro and Standard editions are seamlessly supported in the Approval Manager module, providing transparent uploading and distribution of document annotations amongst reviewers. Adobe Reader may alternately be used for viewing and annotating proof files. The Approval Manager module supports file upload of annotations created from Adobe Reader.
Dalim DiALOGUE Proofer
Support
Dalim Dialogue is now supported as an optional proofer in the Approval Manager module of Workgroups 2010. Dialogue is a color accurate proofing system that is seamlessly integrated into the module's review process. For customers looking for color accurate hi-resolution proofing where PDFs just aren’t good enough, Dialogue integrated with the Approval Manager module’s advanced workflow system is an excellent option.
Native Proofing Applications Support
Specify any native application as a proofing application and use it for your document reviews. At a minimum, native proofing applications must be able to open a proof file type for viewing. In many cases these native applications also support application-specific annotations and commenting. In either case, users can comment on the document using the Approval Manager module's built in commenting feature, or they can use the native application’s commenting and annotation features and then simply upload those changes back to the system for other users to see as part of their reviews.
Centralized Commenting and Annotation
Reviewers see comments and annotations applied by others at each stage of an approval process, greatly increasing collaboration and facilitating communication among participants. This centralized repository puts an end to the headache of trying to piece together the "whole story" about how a document was reviewed by various users in multiple stages and rounds
Document Review and Approval Workflow Templates
Once you define a workflow in the Approval Manager module, you can easily save it for future reuse. This allows you to quickly implement your proofing and review workflows for new projects.
Online and Offline Approval Processes
Support for both hard and soft (digital) proofing and document review processes is built right in. As with soft proofs, hard copy proofs can be trafficked and scheduled in the system. Once a reviewer receives the hard copy proof, they can make comments and annotations online and apply a review status within the system. The system provides the same level of efficiency, collaboration, workflow management, and visibility for both hard and soft copy proofs and document reviews. Regardless of the type of proof you use, the Approval Manager module for Workgroups 2010 will reduce the complexity and decrease the time it takes to get a proof back into production.
Multi-Stage/Multi-Round Proof Approval Cycles
Because not all documents make it through a review and approval workflow without rejections or rework, the Approval Manager module for Workgroups 2010 provides the means to easily accommodate multiple rounds of reviews for the same approval process. Control is granular, allowing managers to easily determine whether a revised document should be reviewed by all users, only reviewers in certain stages, or only by those reviewers who previously rejected it.