Adding a document
A
document can just be an empty
shell, a place holder, ready to receive a
file, in which case you just need to name it
in the 'empty' tab. In this way you can lay out the structure of your
publication in advance even though you don't have all the content for
it yet.
I want a file with my document
However, it's more likely you'll want to add a file as the first
version at the same time. Using the 'file' tab,
choose a file to become the first version of the document
using the box/button at the top (different browsers offer this button
in somewhat different ways: in Chrome and Firefox you can drop files
from the file manager onto the button instead of clicking it).
You can add more than one to become separate documents, either by
using the button repeatedly or choosing more than one file at once.
For pictures, you are also offered the opportunity to provide a
caption. Captions are presented as if they were a "second page" of the
picture.
If you identify a Zip file, you can choose whether or not to unzip
it on receipt. If you choose not to, you
can
(on the menu) later manually. Either
way, any folder structure in the zip file will be reflected in
Ensembling.
You can also fetch one or more files from the internet by giving
URLs in the 'url' tab (especially useful for image files. You can get
the URL of an image by right clicking on the image and using "copy
image location" in Firefox or Properties and then copying it in
Internet Explorer). If you give the URL of a whole page, we will try
to analyze the page and fetch all the significant pictures and
documents referenced by that page). We cannot fetch items from
internet sites that need you to log in.
Or for plain or formatted text, you can paste it or type it right
there in the respective tab (you'll need to provide a name for it too).
Soliciting ideas
Before a document reaches the draft stage you may want to ask for
ideas about what should be in it. While
colleagues could just make comments in the
usual way on a minimal document,
brainstorming backgrounds facilitate
this by showing comments on the page(s) of the document itself and
combining them with the text of the document for later incorporation
into more finished pieces.
Tick/check the box on the plain or formatted text tab to do this.
Files can have comment deadlines
If you want, you can set a deadline set for when
comments need to be made by. This applies to
the first version of the document. You can set this in
or
add or change the deadline separarately
later.
Tell your colleagues a bit more more about the document
Introductory information can be added to help readers understand
what the document is for and how it came about and things like
that. It is not intended as a place to make comments about the
content, not least because it applies to the document not the specific
version. Information is shown under the document name and can also
be
changed or added later.
Why you might not want to tick the 'inform colleagues' box
You may be keen to tell all your
colleagues that you've uploaded your new
document and you can do so by ticking the box. But bear in mind that
the recipients may not be as keen as you are, especially if you're
adding quite a few documents. Because people can choose to
watch a folder for new and changed items it
is not always necessary to send lots of specific emails to them.
However, if you are going to send an email it is better to do it through
Ensembling than copy the URL and send an email separately.
Here's why.
Getting a file from another document
Occasionally you may want to add a new document where the file was earlier
added as a new version of another document, probably unintentionally. To do
this
- the document which
you want to steal the most recent version from
- choose
- choose the 'empty' tab and provide a name; click OK to make the empty document
- choose
- choose the 'select' tab; then OK
You can only do this for source documents which have more than one
version (you can just rename and/or move a document with only one
version, rather than making a new one).
You can only steal the most recent version in this way. On the very rare occasion when you want to
steal an older version here's how:
- go to the source document
- choose
- click the version you want to steal
- delete it, using (on the menu, and not using the permanent deletion option!)
- go to the Deleted Items folder – –
- the document which was created to hold the deleted
version (it will usually be the first one)
- go back to the folder where you want the new document
- Use (on the menu)
to move the document containing the version you wanted
into that folder
- you'll probably also want to
the document ( menu)
Sending files from Google Docs
The simplest way to use Google Docs as a souce for a new document is to send
it directly from Google Docs:
- select the document in Google Docs (tick/check the box next to its name)
- choose Share
- choose Email as attachment
- select any of the available formats other than HTML
- send to the email address of the folder the document is to go in
(e.g. 1234@ensembling.com where the numnber is that of the folder the
new document should be put in. The number is shown in the address bar
and also the whole address is on the Google Docs tab of the New
Document form.
Any text in the Message box will be included as introductory text.
The Subject line will be used as the document name.
You can also put 'NOTIFY!' in the subject line, which is equivalent to ticking the
'inform colleagues' box when adding manually.
You can only do this when you can a login here with the same Google account.
So if you don't already use your gmail address or account to log in,
before doing this for the first time:
- sign out
- sign in again using your Google
account. This will temporarily create a new, empty account
for you in Ensembling
- choose on the menu
- change the Gmail email address to your usual one
- confirm you are the same person as indicated
That will associate your Ensembling account with your GMail
address so we can recognize the incoming email and attribute it to
you.