Collaboration panel

Use this to share your document on the local network with other Power PDF users for editing.

This panel is called from the Panel bar by the following tool:

If you do not see this tool, right-click in an empty area of the Panel bar and select it.

In order to start a LAN Collaboration meeting, all partners need to comply with the following:

• Partners should have Power PDF 3.0 or later up and running, with computers connected to the same local network.
• Meeting members should be visible on the local network, and then wait for the co-editing meeting invitation dialog to pop up. See Prepare for co-editing for details below.
• The meeting owner (the person sharing the document for co-editing) should be visible on the local network, and then should setup and start the collaboration session..See Start collaboration for details below.

Note: The following features are not available during the collaboration meeting: Edit Text, Convert to Editable, Bates numbering, Sequencer, Clean Document, Secure Delivery, Modify security, RMS security, Sign and Certify functions, Tag PDF tool, Reading order functions, FormTyper, Form Contrlos panel.

Prepare for co-editing

To prepare for a co-editing meeting, either as the meeting owner or as a meeting partner, do the following:

1. Switch to the Collaboration Panel.

2. Collaboration Panel requires you to specify your nickname prior to editing. Enter a name in the Rename Nickname dialog box which is unique on the local network, then click OK.
   Note: The Rename Nickname dialog box can be started later by clicking on its icon at the top of the Collaboration Panel.

3. Select Visible to users in the same LAN to be discoverable to other Power PDF users for co-editing. This step also enables the Start Collaboration button.

Now meeting partners are ready to be called into a session by the meeting owner.

Meeting members receive a confirmation dialog at the start of the meeting with the following message:

• <Nickname> has invited you to co-edit the document "<Documentname>".

The filename in the confirmation message is built upon the name of the shared document, with the "_Collaboration.pdf" addendum at the end.

Partners can join by confirming the message. Power PDF asks for Access Code if it was required by the meeting owner.

Start collaboration

Whilst meeting partners are awaiting for the invitation, meeting owners should proceed with the steps below:

1. Open the document you would like to share for collaborative editing, (The file should not be located in a shared folder.)
   Note: If you miss this step, then the Collaboration Panel will ask you later to specify the document path or browse for a document.

2. Switch to the Collaboration Panel.

3. Collaboration Panel requires you to specify your nickname prior to editing. Enter a name in the Rename Nickname dialog box which is unique on the local network, then click OK.
   Note: The Rename Nickname dialog box can be started later by clicking on its icon at the top of the Collaboration Panel.

4. Select Visible to users in the same LAN to be discoverable to other Power PDF users for co-editing. This step also enables the Start Collaboration button.

5. Click Start Collaboration to display the LAN Collaboration dialog box.

6. Select partner(s) and set up security in the LAN Collaboration dialog box. The meeting builds up and starts promptly you click Start in this dialog box.

LAN Collaboration meeting

During the meeting all meeting members can work on the same document, using the familiar user interface. The following features are active in a co-editing meeting:

• All members see all changes real time.

• Cursors of other members show up colored and labeled with the nickname.

• The Collaboration panel provides a toolbar and a partner list.

During the meeting, members can do any of the following:

• In the Collaboration Panel toolbar click Exit () or right-click on your nickname in the list, then select Exit from the context menu to leave the co-edit meeting.
• Hover the mouse over a nickname, then click , or right-click on that nickname then select Follow View from the context menu to watch that partner's Document Panel working.
• • In follow mode the Document Panel shows all the activities of the selected partner in real time, including edits and scrolling.
  • Click the semi-transparent Following <Nickname>'s Current View button floating near the top of the Document Panel to unfollow the partner and return to co-edit mode.
• Click Exit () or right-click on your nickname in the list, then select Exit from the context menu to close the co-editing meeting. After a confirmation message, meeting owner may save the document. Other members may save the document only if the Normal security option was selected by the meeting owner in the LAN Collaboration dialog box.

During the meeting, only the meeting owner can do the following:

• In the Collaboration Panel toolbar click Add () or right-click on your nickname in the list, then select Add from the context menu to invite a new partner to the co-editing meeting.
• Hover the mouse over a nickname, then click , or right-click on that nickname then select Remove from the context menu to dismiss that partner from the meeting.