Project and Document Collaboration Made Easy 3

We have now covered what TeamDrive is, and how you can use it for Document Management and Collaboration, and we have covered how you create SharedSpaces for new projects as well as for existing projects.

We have also talked about how, once your SharedSpace exists, to invite other collaborators to join you on your project. But without being able to control what users can do what, no document management is useful; you may as well return to that system of emailing files back and forth. And if you do that, you are right back were we started aren't you?

Using TeamDrive we can easily handle this with a few mouse clicks. First let us discuss the different types of user privileges you have in TeamDrive, then how to use them.

There are four default settings for User Rights in the TeamDrive interface. These include users with Read, Read / Write, SuperUser, and Administrator privileges. If you find these privileges are not fully adequate for your Collaboration needs TeamDrive gives you the ability to create customized privileges. Before covering that, let us discuss the native users and their privileges which are fairly standard in most Document Management and Collaboration tools.

All privileges are inherited which means each user has the privileges of all user types, or groups, below the one to which he or she belongs. This mean every user who is able to Read / Write (see below) can also do everything that a user who con only Read and so on.

Users with read only permissions can do just that. They can only view existing documents, they cannot create, or even edit files. If you are a design consultant this is an ideal privilege group to make your clients. You save your work for their review, they check the files, and can only look at them - not make any changes.

What they can do though which is quite useful, is to comment directly on a file via the TeamDrive interface. Say you have four versions of the same graphic in different colors and you need the client to pick one for your design process. They simply review your files and comment on the preferred version - very useful.

Next are the Read / Write users. These are the users who have permission to create new files within the project, or modify existing ones. Typically these users will be your workforce, the people who will do the brunt of the work on your project - even if it is just one of you.

After Read / Write comes your SuperUser. This user can do everything the first two can do, with these additions. The SuperUser can invite new team members to join your project, rename the project or SharedSpace, and can restore a file to an earlier version.

Your final default user is the Administrator. This is the user who starts it all, and can do everything. This is the only user who can eliminate other users or change the access rights of existing users, this user is also the only one who can delete a file within you project's SharedSpace - or the SharedSpace itself.

This user is omnipotent and by default any given project should only have one such user. The user who creates the project is the Project Administrator by default.

These four default user types are standard, and often sufficient for any project. In certain cases however you will find that you need to have slightly different access rights for your team of collaborators. Open the TeamDrive application and find the menu labeled Extras. Click Extras then Preferences which will open this window.

You can adjust a number of different settings here, but the one we are interested in is the option for Permissions. In the menu across the top of the new window click the icon labeled Permissions, it should be the fourth icon from the left, and you will see a screen which looks like this.

Your four default user types are listed down the left side of the window. Clicking on a user type, or role as TeamDrive refers to them, will show you the privileges the each have in the large right hand portion of the screen. You cannot edit the four defaults, but under the list is a button labeled "Create New Role".

Clicking this button adds a new entry to your list labeled "Neuer Eintrag"; German for new entry and the only real bug I have found so far. Double click on this and rename it to something logical. When you are giving a name to the new entry, remember that anyone in your project will be able to see it once you assign a member to the new role so do not be silly or smart!

You must give your new role a name other than the default of "Neuer Eintrag" otherwise you cannot edit the privileges. Once you have entered your designation for the role, you will be able to put check marks in the list to the right. This list is how you assign the privileges your new user type will have.

Think about this very carefully. Once a role is created it cannot be edited at this time. When you have assigned a name to the privilege which is logical to the role that it will play in your project, then chosen the various capabilities you want these users to have, click the button in the lower right hand of the window labeled "Save Role".

Remember, once you save the new user type you cannot change it. If you grant an incorrect privilege you will have to delete the role and start from scratch - this is a minor flaw in the software which is workable. With any luck it will be altered in a future release of the software.

The only other thing you need to keep in mind is that if you delete an existing role which still has user assigned to it they keep their designations. So be certain a user type / group / role is empty before deleting it.

Now that your role is created open an existing project, right click on a user in your window and highlight "Change Rights". you will see your new role listed. Simply select the role to reassign permissions four your users.

And there in a nutshell my friends you now have a complete Document Management and Collaboration tool with the ability to track multiple versions and assigned privileges to different users. If you find a feature or function I have mentioned which you think should be, please let me know.