Collaboration

Brightspot is built to allow for maximum collaboration between users. Tools are available to allow working on assets simultaneously, communicate about an asset right on the asset's edit page, or even send messages at the field level.

Viewers

When you open an asset in the content edit form that's also opened by other users, Brightspot displays your avatar in their editorial toolbars, and you see their avatars in your toolbar.

In addition, Brightspot displays your avatar in the Recent Activity widget on the dashboard and the search panel (below). The avatar indicates to other editors that you are working on the asset.

Watchers

As content is created or edited in Brightspot, you or other editors may want to "watch" that content to see if or when changes occur.

Adding watchers

This topic describes how to add watchers to an asset.

To add watchers to an item:

1. Search for and open the item on the content edit page.
2. In the upper-right corner of the content edit page, click to access the content edit actions list.
3. Click View Watchers.
4. In the In the View Watchers pop-up, click the Add Watcher field to search for an editor to add as a watcher.
5. Click Add.
6. Click to close the widget and return to the asset.

To add yourself as a watcher to an asset:

1. Search for and open the item on the content edit page.
2. In the upper-right corner of the content edit page, click to access the content edit actions list.
3. Click Watch.
4. Close the content edit actions list.

Removing watchers

This topic describes how to remove watchers from an asset.

To remove watchers from an asset:

1. Search for and open the asset on the content edit page.

2. In the upper-right corner of the content edit page, click to access the content edit actions list.

3. Click View Watchers.

4. In the View Watchers pop-up, click to remove an editor as a watcher.

   

5. Click to close the widget and return to the asset.

To remove yourself as a watcher from an asset:

1. Search for and open the asset on the content edit page.

2. Click Unwatch.

3. Close the content edit actions list.

Searching for watched content

You can filter on content you or another user is watching, which can reduce the number of search results.

To search for watched content:

1. Click in the Search field to open the search panel.

2. Under Global Filters, in the Any Watcher filter, select one of the following:

   • Any Watcher–The search results are not filtered by watcher.
   • Watcher: Current User–Filters for content you are watching.
   • Wather: Select–Filters for content that the user you select is watching.

3. Add other search criteria as necessary.

Brightspot displays content that you are watching.

Adding watchers automatically

You can automatically add editors who save or publish an asset to the list of watchers in the Watchers widget.

To automatically add users as watchers:

1. Click > Admin > Sites & Settings > Sites > Global.
2. Under the CMS tab, expand the Watch cluster.
3. Toggle on Publish User Auto Watch On Save to automatically add an editor who publishes an asset to its list of watchers.
4. Toggle on Update User Auto Watch On Save to automatically add an editor who saves an asset to its list of watchers.
5. Click Save.

Note

An editor may opt out of the Watchers list for an individual asset and will not be re-added if they save or publish the asset in the future. For details, see Removing watchers.

Conversation

Using the Conversation widget, you can post messages about individual assets. All other users who have access to the asset can see your messages in the widget. You can leave contextual comments at the field level, which will display not only on the field, but also in the asset's main Conversation widget.

This section covers using conversations in Brightspot.

Sending and viewing messages

This topic describes how to send and view messages through the Conversation widget.

To send and view messages:

1. Search for and open the asset in the content edit page, and access the Conversation widget in the side toolbar.
2. In the rich-text editor, type the message, and then click .

Note

When you post a message, Brightspot automatically adds you as a watcher for the asset—unless you have already manually removed yourself from the watcher list.

Mentioning users

You can mention another editor in your post by adding @ and then typing the user's name, or by clicking Mention in the toolbar. If that editor configured delivery options for conversations, then Brightspot sends a notification to that editor.

Editing and deleting messages

Once you have created and added a message to a conversation, you can edit or delete it.

To edit or delete a message:

To edit the message, click . Edit the message and click Save, or delete the message by clicking Delete Permanently.

Replying to messages

Once a message has been added to the conversation, you can click Reply > and post a reply to that message.

Pinning messages

Click , then click Pin / Unpin Comment to pin the selected message.

Resolving messages

If a comment has been addressed, you can click to resolve the comment. Once a conversation has resolved comments, you can toggle on Show Resolved Comments to see a list of resolved commments.

Contextual commenting

Brightspot's contextual commenting feature helps you provide, understand, and address feedback more efficiently, enhancing collaboration and potentially shortening the time needed to review and publish content.

When viewing a content edit page or any page that contains fields in Brightspot, you may leave a contextual comment on any given field, and other users may view them in that field's context. If the field exists on a content edit page, such as when viewing an article asset, you can view contextual comments from the Conversation widget as well.

To leave a contextual comment:

1. Search for and open an existing asset.
2. Hover over a field, such as Headline.
3. Click the comment icon next to the field name.
4. In the Conversation pop-up, add a comment.
5. Click .

Tip

If a contextual comment exists, Brightspot lets you know by displaying a circle above the contextual commenting icon.

To respond to a contextual comment:

1. Search for and open an existing asset.
2. Hover over a field, such as Headline.
3. Click the comment icon next to the field name.
4. In the Conversation pop-up, underneath an existing comment, click Reply.
5. Add a comment.
6. Click .

To resolve a contextual comment:

1. Search for an open an existing asset.
2. Find the comment you want to resolve.
3. On the right of the comment, click

To view contextual comments alongside general conversation:

1. Search for and open an existing asset.
2. In the side toolbar, click the message bubble to open the Conversation widget.
3. View the conversation history.

Note

If a contextual comment exists on an embedded asset, and the asset gets removed, Brightspot still stores the comment in the Conversation widget and provides a trail to where it once appeared before the asset was removed. For example, if a comment was left on a module added to the Contents field of a homepage, and then the module is removed, users still see in the Conversation widget the commenter's name, the comment's timestamp, a trail describing where the comment originated, and the comment itself.

Limiting the Conversation widget to certain types

By default, the Conversation widget is available for all content types. The following procedure describes how to limit the Conversation widget to specific content types.

To limit the Conversation widget to certain types:

1. Click > Admin > Sites & Settings > Sites > Global.
2. Under the CMS tab, expand the UI cluster.
3. From the Conversation Types list, select the content types for which you want the Conversation widget to be available in the content edit page. (If no content types are selected, the Conversation widget is available for all content types.)
4. Click Save.

Locking

Brightspot allows for collaboration among editors through various methods. One of those methods is locking, which allows multiple editors to work on the same site or asset without fear of overwriting each other's work.

Types of locking

In a collaborative environment, many editors may be working simultaneously on the same asset, which opens the possibility of one editor overwriting the edits of another editor. To prevent conflicting edits, Brightspot locks content in one of two ways:

• Content locking locks content at the asset level. When the first editor (locking editor) opens an asset in the content edit form, all fields are locked to any other editors until the asset is released by the locking editor.

• Field-level locking locks only the fields modified by an editor, allowing other editors to modify other fields in the content edit form. The editor who locks a field first is the locking editor, preventing other editors from accessing the field. For example, Andy, Alice, and Arthur are working simultaneously on the same article.

  Action	Result
  Andy is modifying the headline	Headline field is locked to Alice and Arthur
  Alice is modifying the image	Image field is locked to Andy and Arthur
  Arthur is modifying tags	Tags field is locked to Andy and Alice

Site-level locking

Site-level locking locks the entire Edit Site or Edit Global widget. The message area indicates that the widget is locked and by whom. When a widget is locked, only the locking administrator can modify the site. If another administrator belongs to a role with the Content Unlock permission to unlock a locked site, then the lock message includes an option to remove the lock.

Brightspot allows administrators to remove another administrator's site lock after a period of inactivity

To unlock a site widget:

1. In the lock message, click Unlock. Brightspot displays a confirmation message.
2. Click OK. Brightspot unlocks the widget for you, and locks the widget for other administrators.
3. Edit the site as necessary.
4. Click Save.

Field-level locking

Field-level locking locks only the fields modified by an administrator on a first-come, first-served basis. For example, Joe opens the Edit Site widget and changes the Site Category field. At this point, Brightspot locks the field in favor of Joe. When Alice opens the Edit Site widget, she sees a message indicating Joe made a change to the field but has not yet saved it.

To unlock a field:

1. In the locked field, click Unlock. Brightspot displays a confirmation message.
2. Click OK. Brightspot makes the field editable.
3. Edit the field.
4. Complete your site's workflow and publish the asset.

When Joe saves the site settings, Brightspot releases the field lock, and Alice can then edit the field herself.

Unlocking a locked asset

Editors belonging to a role with the Content Unlock permission can unlock a locked asset. (For information about setting this permission at the role level, see Creating a role and Editing a role.)

To unlock a locked asset:

1. In the lock message, click Unlock. Brightspot displays a confirmation message.
2. Click OK. Brightspot unlocks the item for you, and locks the item for other editors.
3. Edit the asset as necessary.
4. Complete your site's workflow and publish the asset.