Revision of the BSCW
search
The BSCW search
function has been completely revised and simplified. There is now only one
single, much more comfortable search form, where you easily can enter
complex queries. Queries to the Google search engine are no longer
supported (see 3.7 Search).
Content view of folders and document
preview
.
The standard details
view on folders has been extended by a new content view which may be activated
alternatively. The content view offers more information on the content of
an object entry, e.g., for documents a preview and abstract if available, for
contacts and user objects a photograph if available and for folders the
names of the objects contained. Also, BSCW can display a preview of documents,
which you may have enlarged at will – just position your cursor over the
object type icon of a document (see 3.8.4 Views on folders).
User-defined metadata
Metadata attributes of an object are summarized in a metadata
profile. Metadata attributes have a name and a data type (such as text or
date) and can be structured into groups within a profile. For most of the
existing object types in BSCW (such as Folder or Document) there are predefined
system profiles. You may create your own metadata profiles on the basis of
the given system profiles and store these profiles for further use in
template folders (see 3.9.1 Metadata profiles).
Simplified User Interface
The new simplified
user interface allows easy access to the most basic features of BSCW and is
offered to users who only sporadically log into BSCW. The simplified user
interface is restricted to essential functions like navigation,
creation and deletion of documents and folders as well as searching (see 7.3 Simplified User
Interface).
Microblogging
The new microblogging component in BSCW supports the exchange of short text
messages, which are displayed in chronological order. In BSCW, also events
are included into microblogging. Microblogs may be focused on single users,
members of a workspace or the whole social network, i.e. the users with
whom one is in contact via shared workspaces (see 9.2 Microblogging).
Document review
Document review is to
be used in the production of documents that have to meet a certain quality
stan¬dard. After editing a document is reviewed by one or more persons
responsible and is eventually released or rejected. In BSCW, document
review can be defined for single documents or entire folders by specifying
the different review steps and the persons responsible. (see 12.3 Document review).
Further changes and
enhancements
The navigational action
shortcut that lets you browse your
workspaces is now always accessible since it remains on the same spot of the
browser window, even if the window is scrolled (see 3.1 The Web-based user
interface).
The online
status has been extended in such a way that users may indicate in their
online status that they do not want to be disturbed (see 9.1 Online status
display).
Some BSCW functions have been dropped: The
Document Generator (because it is superseded by the improved website
folders), the event monitor (because similar functionality is offered by
the event widgets in portals and on the desktop) and the BSCW desktop
client (because many other convenient options exist for uploading documents)
(see 13.5 BSCW upload helpers). The user interface
without JavaScript doesn’t meet modern user interface requirements and
is therefore no longer offered, i.e. usage of BSCW requires the activation of
JavaScript in your browser (also see 3.8.1 Style sheets). In addition,
the optional extensions for the visualization of document events and of the
relations between workspaces and users (workspace maps) have been omitted
for technical reasons.