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Contribution Assignment Instructions

The following sections provide an overview of the steps you should follow for contribution assignments. The steps will vary depending on your user account:

To send content to a contributor, follow the process below. You will need access to the main Editor, so log in to Paligo as an Administrator or Author.

You can use the Planner to Track the Assignment Progress.

The Planner showing assignments scheduled for different dates. Some assignments have already been completed.

Tip

This is an overview of the steps you need to follow, with references to the sections that explain the steps in more detail. If you need to refer to the more detailed sections, it is a good idea to open them in another tab so that you can easily switch between this process and the detailed explanations.

  1. If the content uses Variables or Filtering / Profiling, you need to create the Favorite Profiles for the contribution assignment.

  2. Create a contribution assignment and apply the settings you want to use for the assignment.

    Create assignment dialog has settings for defining the assignment type, document, language, suggestions, profiling, and the assignee and deadline.

    Use the Suggestions settings to control what the contributor can do:

    • Edit and Suggest allows the contributor to edit the live content and make suggestions. The assignment is by default opened in Suggest View, but the contributor can Switch Between the Views.

    • Suggest Only restricts the assignment to making suggestions in Suggest View. The contributor cannot edit the live content.

    Note

    We recommend that you also check that the Assignment Settings are suitable for your assignment.

  3. Contributors can add and change content, we recommend that you open the content and check it, see Open an Assignment that "Needs Work".

    You may find that:

    • Added or changed content has invalid structure. You will need to fix this, see Validation.

    • The Contributor has left comments that are important and need your attention.

    • You want to rewrite the new or changed content to make it more appropriate for the target audience. For example, a contributor may use jargon terms or complex language that may confuse readers.

    • You need to Accept or Discard Suggestions that a contributor has made.

  4. Use comments to respond to the contributor, as you edit the content. You might need to ask the contributor a question or explain why you disagree with their feedback.

    A comment added after a contributor has added some content to a publication.

    The way to add and respond to comments varies, depending on where the content is opened, see Comments in the Main Editor and Feedback in Edit View.

  5. When you have dealt with all of the feedback, either Reassign an Assignment, Refresh an Assignment, or Create Assignments to get the changes checked. You can only reassign if you created the original assignment.

  6. Repeat steps 3-6 inclusive until the assignment comes back with all content approved. You can then (optionally) send the content for translation or set the document state to Released, and publish it.

    You can see the state of your content in the overall production workflow by looking at the Resource View, see Workflow Status.

    Resource view shows a list of topics in a folder. There is a column showing the production status.

    Tip

    To find out how to change the content state, see Change the Status

As a contributor, you can be invited to take part in a contribution assignment, where you edit content or add content. For example, you may be asked to add a topic on a subject in your area of expertise.

You receive an email inviting you to take part in a Contribution Assignment. Select the link to open the content in the Contributor Editor. Look for a message from the creator of the assignment, advising you to select a certain favorite profile when you open the assignment. If they have not included a message, the profile may be set automatically or is not needed.

To edit, you will open the content in Paligo's Edit View, which is a specially designed interface for contributors. There, you will be able to change content, add new content, and leave feedback comments.

If you receive an email inviting you to take part in a contribution assignment, it means another user wants you to either:

  • Add new content

  • Edit the live content

  • Make suggestions for changes, without changing the existing content

Note

When an Author or Admin creates a Contribution Assignment, they can choose whether you can edit the content or are limited to only making suggestions.

To contribute to the content:

  1. Select the assignment in the Assignments Panel.

    Paligo dashboard. The Assignments panel is highlighted, showing that the user has been assigned to review, contribute, and translate assignments.

    The view that opens varies, depending on the Assignment Types.

    Tip

    For alternative ways to open an assignment, see Different Ways to Open Assignments.

  2. Select the Settings icon and choose Profile settings. Cog icon.

    Cog menu in review mode / edit mode has a profile settings option.
  3. Select the Favorites tab and choose the appropriate profile.

    profile-settings-review.jpg
  4. Select Apply.

  5. Close the profile settings dialog. Delete_small.png

  6. Use the View selector at the top to see which views you can access.

    Switch view selector. It is a dropdown menu with options for review, edit, and suggest.
    • If your only option is Suggest, then you are limited to making suggestions only.

    • If you can select Edit, you can Switch Between the Views and edit the live content, add new content and make suggestions too, if you wish.

  7. This step only applies if you are making a suggestion.

    1. Use the View selector to enter the Suggest view. Suggest mode icon. It is a lightbulb.

    2. Click in the body of the content at a position where you want to add a suggestion.

      You can click in any existing text and type a suggestion or use delete and backspace to suggest content should be deleted. Paligo adds your suggestions alongside the existing content. You cannot change the existing content.

      Paligo opens the editor and the toolbar becomes available.

      Suggest View showing a selected topic. The edit toolbar is available for use and you can add and remove text too.
    3. Use the Contributor Editor Toolbar features to format your suggestion content (for example, to add admonitions such as notes and warnings), see Edit Content in Edit View.

      A table shown in the Suggestion View. The table has some regular text, some suggestion deletions and some suggested additions. The suggested deletions have a red background and a line through the text. The suggested additions have a green background.

      Note

      If a toolbar feature is grayed out, it means it is unavailable in Suggest View.

  8. This step only applies if you are editing the content.

    1. Use the View selector to enter the Edit view. Contribute_small.png

    2. Click in the body of the text at a position where you want to add, change or delete content.

      Content shown in Edit mode of Contributor Editor. The Edit mode switch is highlighted and so are the editing toolbar options at the top.
    3. Use the Contributor Editor Toolbar features to add, change, delete, and format the content, see Edit Content in Edit View.

      Note

      You cannot access advanced features such as content reuse, as these are reserved for Paligo authors who use the full editor. The Contributor Editor is a simpler editor, designed to allow non-technical writers to add content.

  9. When you are finished, create a snapshot.

    A snapshot is an archived version of the content at a particular point in time and useful when you compare different versions.

    1. Select the Settings icon and choose Create Snapshot. Cog icon.

      Create_Snapshot_Edit_View.jpg
    2. A snapshot is an archived version of the content at a particular point in time and useful when you compare different versions.

      New snapshot dialog has a comment box for adding information about the snapshot.
    3. Select OK to confirm the comment and create the snapshot.

  10. Select the Finish assignment button to display the complete assignment dialog. Finish assignment icon. It is a blue square with a white clipboard on it. The clipboard has a white checkmark on it.

    Finish assignment options - Approved or Needs Work.
  11. Select either:

    • Approved to mark the content as ready for publishing, with no further work needed.

    • Needs work to notify the Paligo author that the content needs some changes.

    • Reset status to clear the status of an assignment so that it no longer has a done or needs work status.

    Paligo sends an email to the author who invited you to the assignment that informs that the assignment is completed and has either been approved or needs further work.

    If it needs further work, the author can read your comments in Paligo and make changes to the content, ready for the next round of reviews.

    A Paligo author will most likely review the content and use the features available in the full Editor to make sure your content has a valid structure and is consistent with other documentation. The Paligo author may reassign the assignment to you if they have questions or feel more work is needed.

    Note

    You cannot access advanced features such as content reuse, as these are reserved for Paligo authors who use the full editor. The Contributor Editor is a simpler editor, designed for reviewers and contributors.

  12. Select where to go next:

    • Take me to the Dashboard - Press Enter to select this option.

    • Stay on this page to continue working on the content.

    Assignment_Finished_small.jpg

The Contributor Editor has a view selector at the top and you can use it to switch between:

  • Review_NewContributorEditor.png Review - Use this view to read the content and add comments, see Working in Review View

  • Contribute_small.png Edit - Use this view to add new content or edit the live content, see Working in Edit View

  • Suggest mode icon. It is a lightbulb. Suggest - Use this view to make suggestions, accept or reject other users' suggestions. The suggestions are added alongside the existing content. Then another user, typically an author, can accept or reject the suggestions, see Working in Suggest View.

  1. Select the assignment in the Assignments Panel.

    Paligo dashboard. The Assignments panel is highlighted, showing that the user has been assigned to review, contribute, and translate assignments.

    The view that opens varies, depending on the Assignment Types.

    Tip

    For alternative ways to open an assignment, see Different Ways to Open Assignments.

  2. Use the View selector to display a different view.

    Switch view selector. It is a dropdown menu with options for review, edit, and suggest.

    Note

    You can only select the views that you have permission to access.

    For example, if you are a contributor, the Contribution Assignment may be set up to limit you to Review View and Suggest View only.

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