Jump to ContentJump to Navigation/Login
` ` ` ` ` `

Login
[Register]

Subscribe to Updates

Occasional ATutor release updates


Services

Members Online

No Members Logged In

(14 guests in past 15 min.)

Web Accessibility Course

Access Understanding Web Accessibility to learn about accessibility, or Register to take the course for FREE.

IMS Certified

IMS Global Certified

Home > acollab > Documentation

User Manual

This is the User documentation for the ACollab collaborative work environment. See the Forum and Chat section for information about using the ACollab communication tools (they are the same forum and chat used in the full version).

Help Sources

  • ACollab Documentation (this page)
    This page contains detailed documentation for ACollab.
  • Context Sensitive Help
    Throughout ACollab are context sensitive help icons that link to help information for the features they appear next to. User can hover their mouse pointer over the icons to display a small dynamic window contain the help information, then move the mouse away to hide the window. Users may also click on the icon to open the help in a new browser window. Click on the "close help window" link to close the new window and return to the position in the originating page where the help icon was clicked.
  • Accessibility
    Learn about the accessibility features in ACollab that make it usable for people accessing the Web with assistive technologies.

The Courtyard

  • Your Houses
    All the Houses you belong to (if any) are listed alphabetically along with house icons above them. Houses that you are a House Administrator for will be marked with "(House Admin)" directly below the House name. If you are entering a House you are an administrator for then the Administration section tab will automatically be made available to you.
  • Options
    The Options link and icon appear after all the Houses have been listed and gives you access to your personal information and the ability to change your password.
    • Change Password
      To change your password you will have to supply your current password as well as correctly supply your new password twice.
    • Change Your Personal Information
      You may change any aspect of your personal information except for your username.
  • System Settings (Super Administrator)
    The System Settings link and section are only available to the Super Administrator.
    • Departments
    • Houses
    • Jurisdictions
    • Localization
      This section allows you to edit any of the language that appears on the site.
    • User Management
      This section allows you to create new user accounts. Only the Super Administrator can create new accounts.

Once inside a House

This section describes features that are available ones you enter a house from the Courtyard.

Note that while in a house, the Super Administrators has all the privilages the House Administrator has. Therefore, any information below regarding the House Administrator also applies to the Super Administrator.

  • Interface & Navigation
    • Header (Top most links)
      The top most of the site includes links to the Courtyard where you can enter to access your other Houses. It also includes links to the House's home page, accessibility page, a link to translate the House's contextual information between English and French, a help link to this page, and finally a sign-out link.
    • Navigation Tabs
      A House's sections are accessed using the main Navigation Tabs at the top of every page. See the Accessibility page for more information on how to quickly jump from section to section using the keyboard.
    • Breadcrumbs
      The so-called "Breadcrumbs" shows a series of links as a path from the Home page to your currently viewed page. It shows you in which section you are and how you got to the page you're at.
    • Footer (Status bar)
      The Status bar at the bottom of every page shows as which username you are currently signed-in. It also shows the current date, time, and time-zone.
    • Actions' Feedback
      Feedback messages are used to confirm the successfull completion of a function. Positive feedback disappears after reloading the page, while error messages do not.
  • Home
    The House home page shows a series of icons on the right which link to the other sections of the House and News & Announcements, New Files, and Upcoming Events listed on the left half, described below.
    • News & Announcements
      The House Administrator adds news and announcements. Only the four most recent announcements are posted. Use the "Archive" link to view older announcements. To add, edit, or delete News & Announcements the House Administrator must access the Administration section of their House.
    • New Files
      New Files automatically lists the three most recent Library and Drafting Room files uploaded to that House. The links let you download the files directly.
    • Upcoming Events
      Upcoming Events automatically lists the three most recent events posted to that House. The listing of the events links each event to their place in the Events Calendar.
  • Forums
    The main Forums page lists all the forums available in that House. It lists the forum description, how many topics and posts have been submitted and the date and time of the last post or topic.

    Use the forum title's link to view that forum.
    • Forum View
      Once in the forum view, the topics listed can be sorted by Topic alphabetically, number of Replies, Started By member, or by the default Last Post descending. Using the topic title link will show the contents of the topic posted or thread, while using the member username link will take you to their public profile. Forums are created, edited, and deleted via the Administration section of the site.
      • Sticky Thread
        The exclamation icon beside the thread denotes Sticky Threads. If a thread is Sticky then it will always appear at the top of the list no matter how old it is or how the list of threads is sorted. Only a House Administrator can make a thread sticky or unstick a thread. Using the exclamation icon on the right side of the thread row will toggle the stickiness either on or off.
      • Locked Thread
        A lock icon beside the thread denotes Locked Threads. Only a House Administrator can lock or unlock a thread. When locking a thread, then option is given to either lock it from posting and reading or just from posting.
      • Delete Thread
        Only a House Administrator can delete a thread. Deleting a thread is done using the delete icon on right side of the thread row.
    • Starting a New Thread
      When creating a new thread, fill in a subject and the thread message. You may use the codes and emoticons at the bottom of the message area to embed smiley faces and change the formatting of the message.
    • Topic View
      This view will show the initial post at the top then any replies to it directly below. Each post will show the member's name, the subject, when it was posted, and a link on the right hand side to quote that message in a reply.
      • Replying
        To reply to a thread use the input fields at the bottom of the page. It is similar to Starting a New Thread, but instead of it showing up as a new thread it will show as a reply to the currently viewed thread.

        When the quote icon link is used an extra text area field will be shown below the Message input field, showing you what you're replying to. The quoted reply will appear embedded within your reply with a link to the originating quoted post.
      • Subscribe & Unsubscribe
        Each thread gives you the ability to Subscribe to it. When subscribed to a thread you will receive an email notification letting you know whenever there is a reply to that thread. To Unsubscribe from a thread use the Unsubscribe link that replaces the Subscribe link. Subscribed threads are indicated on the Forum View page with the text "(subscribed)" following the thread topic title.
      • Edit & Delete
        When logged in as the House Administrator, Edit and Delete links will appear directly below the poster's username.
  • Chat Room
    The Chat Room is where members from a house can communicate together.
    • Enter the Chat
      Once inside the chat additional help is available via the "Help" link at the top right. Use the "Exit Chat" link at the top right to exit the chat and return to the House.
    • Transcripts
      Transcripts keep track of what was said in the chat. They are started, stopped, and deleted by the House Administrator.
  • Inbox
    The Inbox lets you communicate with other members who belong to the same Houses as you. All of the messages are stored internally on the web server so an email client is not needed.
    • Compose New Message
      Only members who belong to the same Houses as you are listed in the Recipient field. The Super Administrator can send a message to anyone regardless of which house he or she is in. Note that you do not have to go into a particular House to send a message to that member if that is the only House you have in common.

      To send a message to more than one person, hold down the Control key and select as many members as you like. The account status of members is noted beside their name.
  • Events Calendar
    On each side of the name of the month in the Events Calendar are links to the previous and next months. Events posted to the calendar appear as linked titles in the day they occur. Use the date or the title link to view all the events on that day. Both links take you to the same view, but the event title link is an anchor that scrolls the browser window to the start of the event listing.
    • Add an Event
      To add an event to a particular day either use the "Add an Event" link directly below the month name then adjust the Start Date to the event's correct date and time. Optionally you could view the date the event is to be added to and then use the "Add an Event" link, which will default the Start Date to that particular day.

      The Start Time, End Date and Time are optional. The End Date should be used whenever the event spans multiple days. You may also attach up to five related files to the event.
    • Edit & Delete
      To Edit or Delete an event go to the day the event occurs on, then use the Edit or Delete links at the bottom of the listing. Members can only Edit or Delete events they posted themselves. The House Administrator can Edit or Delete any event regardless of who posted it.
  • Library
    The Library contains files that are in their final form. Library files can also originate from the Drafting Room.
    • Add File
      To add a file to the Library, select the language of the file then supply the Source and Title. Use the "Browse?" button to open the file browser and select the file you want to upload then enter the Description of the file and select one or more Categories it should appear in. Using the Control key while selecting Categories will let you select multiple Categories.
    • View & Download a File
      To View & Download files you have to first select a category to browse. The numbers beside each category title denote how many files are listed within that category. Use the "Download" icon or the file?s title to download the file. The file information listed and the link to the file for download depend on the current language preference. If a file version of your currently selected language preference is not available then it will be noted. If the file available is a bilingual version then the information and file available will be the same regardless of the current language viewing preference.
    • Edit & Delete
      If there are language variants of the file then there will be two sets of Edit and Delete links marked with English and French, respectively. Bilingual files have only one set of Edit and Delete links.
  • Drafting Room
    The Drafting Room allows for the revision and feedback of files until they are considered finalized. Finalized Drafting Room files are moved to the Library (as an initial language version or as an existing file?s language variant).
    • Add File
      Adding a file to the Drafting Room works exactly the same as adding a file to the Library with the added option of a "Comments due by" field, which sets how long revisions and comments will be allowed on the given file.
    • Finalize
      Finalizing a document moves it to the Library and deletes all its comments and old revisions. A moved file can be an initial language version or it can be attached to an existing Library file as a complementary language variant.
    • Edit & Delete
      Editing and Deleting files works the same way it does in the Library.
    • Revisions & Comments
      Revisions and Comments can be posted on files if their "Comments due by" date has not passed yet.

      If a file revision is uploaded then it must be in the same language as the original file. If no file is uploaded then only the comments will be shown.
  • Contact List
    The Contact List is where each member can manage their own personal contacts. The same contacts are available through every house they belong to.
  • House Members
    All the members of the current house are listed. The Usernames are links to their Public Profiles.
  • Administration
    • Chat Settings
      The Chat Settings let the House Administrator to Start and Stop chat transcripts.
    • Categories
      The Categories manager lets the House Administrator to Create, Edit, or Delete Categories.
    • Departments
      Global system wide Departments can be added. Only the Super Administrator may edit or delete departments.
    • Forum Management
      The Forum Management lets the House Administrator Edit, or Delete Forums.
    • Jurisdictions
      Global system wide Jurisdictions can be added. Only the Super Administrator may edit or delete jurisdictions.
    • Mailing List
      The Mailing List can be used to email all the members of the specific House.
    • News & Announcements
      The News & Announcements manager lets the House Administrator Create, Edit, or Delete News or Announcements that appear on the House?s home page.
    • User Management
      The House Administrator can create or edit users, but only the Super Administrator can delete accounts. The House Administrator can also add or remove existing users to or from the current House.
  • Public Profiles
    Each member has a public profile which shows their contact information with some additional information about them. Each member can edit his or her own personal information using the Change Your Personal Information under the Options section.
    • Send a Private Message