Getting Started

  • Why is co-authoring not supported as a native functionality in the DMS?
    While it is true that Microsoft supports third-party hosting platforms for co-authoring, the Microsoft client APIs that support the environment are limited to Office 365 via the web browser. Not all firms use Office 365, and users have found that the web versions of the Office applications offer limited capabilities compared to the desktop's rich functionality. OneDrive for Business provides users the ability to co-author from any Office application on any device that supports co-authoring. While this increases complexity for IT to deploy a OneDrive for Business environment, it reduces user friction and streamlines the end user's experience when deployed.

  • I have installed iManage Work Desktop for Windows and see the Co-Authoring ribbon group on the iManage tab but all options are grayed out!
    Ensure that you are connected to an iManage Work Server. In the File group, select iManage Open and open a document from the iManage Work repository. On the iManage tab, in the Co-Authoring group, select Invite People and share the document with the required users for co-authoring. The co-authoring session begins and all options in the Co-Authoring group are active/available.

  • What type of documents are supported for co-authoring?
    Microsoft support the Open Office XML formats for co-authoring. This includes *.DOCX, *.PPTX, and *.XLSX. If the documents are in older formats, such as *.DOC, you must convert to *.DOCX first.

  • How are OneDrive for Business and SharePoint used for co-authoring?
    All co-authoring activity is managed by SharePoint technology. Office 365 sites use OneDrive for Business, which leverages SharePoint technology to support co-authoring. On-premises deployments use SharePoint directly. For more information, visit the following web pages:
  • Where do documents get checked out in OneDrive for Business?
    Documents are checked out to the location of the user who initiated co-authoring in OneDrive for Business. iManage maintains the same hierarchy as the portable directory that users have on their local drives except that the folder is named imPortable.

  • Can I use iManage Work Desktop for Office integration with Co-Authoring?
    Yes, Co-Authoring 9.3.2 and 9.3.3 are compatible with iManage Work 10.0.2 Office integration and later.

  • Why do I get a prompt to co-author Excel documents online instead of using my desktop application?
    Excel only supports co-authoring from the web application. This is applicable to all versions of Excel.

  • How do I customize the templates for co-authoring emails sent out to the collaborators?
    There are four HTML templates in <iManage Work install directory>\coauthoring. Open each template in Outlook and modify. Save the file using File > Save As and choose *.oft as the file type. Replace the existing files as Co-Authoring relies on the file names to find the templates.
    To prevent future product upgrades from overwriting your customized templates, store the customized templates in %localappdata%\iManage\Work\coauthoring. Co-authoring first searches the %localappdata% folder and the installation directory is probed only if no email templates are found. For more information, see the Customizing Email Templates for Co-Authoring section in iManage Work Desktop for Windows Customization Guide.

Collaboration

  • I have received an invitation to co-author a document. Can I invite another user?
    You can share the document with other users in your organisation by selecting Share > Invite people or with external users by selecting Share > Get a link (online mode only). As the document owner, you can track any changes they make by using the Revision History feature.

  • Does iManage Work Desktop for Windows compatibility mode provide audit entries for every user who has collaborated?
    When a user starts, finishes, or syncs a co-authoring session, the Revision History for the document displays the names of all users who have modified the document up to that point. For external users, who do not exist in iManage Work Server, their email ID is displayed. The Timeline for the document displays the co-authoring activities by iManage Work users. External collaborators are referenced by their email addresses in the comments and the audit is logged as the co-authoring session originator. This includes users whose email is in the firm's Office 365 email directory, and users whose email is not in the directory.

    If the co-authoring session is finished using DeskSite, the Timeline displays all users who collaborated in the comments.

  • How can I identify which documents that are checked out for co-authoring?
    To view the list of documents which are shared with you for co-authoring and the documents that you have shared with other users for co-authoring, select iManage > Co-Authored Documents. The Co-Authored Documents dialog box appears displaying the list of documents.

    If you have DeskSite installed in standalone mode or compatibility mode with iManage Work Desktop for Windows, right-click the checked out document in the Document Grid and then select Document Info > Checkedout Info. For documents that are checked out for co-authoring, the Checkout Path field displays a URL (http://<path to SharePoint or Office 365 site.

  • Every time an email notification is to be sent to the co-editors, a message pops up asking me to confirm access to my email address information. I cannot proceed until I select the Allow access for check box and select Allow. Why does this happen? Can I suppress/disable these messages?
    This could occur due to Outlook security settings. To prevent the access confirmation messages from appearing, install an antivirus software and restart your system. The issue should be resolved.

  • I cancelled the Outlook notification email before sending but the co-authoring session is not cancelled. What should I do?
    The co-authoring session begins the moment you select Share in the Invite people dialog box. The specified users get access to co-author the document even if you do not send the email invite to notify them. You need to manually remove the document from OneDrive.

    Alternately, you can either end the current co-authoring session or open the Invite people dialog box, remove the users from the Shared with list by right-clicking the username and selecting Remove user, add the required users to the Editors and Viewers fields and select Share to send out the email invite again.

  • What if the document owner ends the session while I am still making the changes? Will my updates be lost?
    This is not possible because the document owner can end a session only when the document is not in use. If a co-editor or the document owner has it open in another device, an error message appears.

  • During a co-authoring session I realize that a user who has permission to view can make useful edits to the documents. Is it possible to change the permissions during the session? Alternately, can i remove a user who should not edit the document any further?
    On the iManage tab, in the Co-Authoring group, select Invite People. The Shared with area displays the names of all users who are part of the co-authoring session. Right-click the username, and then select Remove user or change permission to: <Name of the permission>.

  • Why can't the users, who I invite as viewers for a co-authoring session, see the edits that I make while they are viewing the document?
    This is a design feature of the Office applications. To view the edits, the users have to:
    • close and re-open the document if they are accessing the document offline. 
    • refresh the page in the browser if they are accessing the document online.

  • Why do I not see other users’ changes immediately while co-authoring?
    This is known as real-time collaboration. Microsoft introduced real-time collaboration in Office 2013 online and extended it to the desktop clients with Office 2016. When using Office 2013 applications, users must manually select the Save button. This forces a sync request back to OneDrive.

    NOTE:

    All users on Office 2013 have to do this to ensure that their changes are saved and provided to others. 

  • Can I sync a co-authored document while other users are still editing it?
    Yes you can but you will be asked to confirm if you still want to proceed, and some of the latest changes by the co-editors may not be included.

  • Why can't I use the iManage Save & Sync feature with co-authored documents?
    Save & Sync is used to commit intermediate changes to iManage Work and is not applicable during co-authoring sessions. Since the document is stored on OneDrive for Business, the intermediate changes are already available to everyone in the co-authoring session. The document must be finalized by selecting the Finish button to upload the final copy to iManage Work.

  • What happens to the document in OneDrive for Business after it is checked in?
    The document is moved to the recycle bin in OneDrive for Business. The document remains in the recycle bin according to the retention policies set in OneDrive for Business.
  • Are the versions that OneDrive for Business creates during a co-authoring session brought into the DMS during check in?
    To prevent flooding the DMS with versions, co-authoring checks in only the last version of the document. All users who have edited the document, however, are added to the document history with an audit entry.

Private Documents

  • Can I share a private document for co-authoring with users who do not have access to the document in iManage Work Server?
    A warning message is displayed informing that the users will be granted additional permissions currently not allowed in iManage Work. select Yes to proceed to sharing the document.

  • Does co-authoring a private document affect the document's security in iManage Work Server?
    No, co-authoring never changes the document security in the repository. Invitees are unable to use the NRL in the invite because they do not have access to the document in the repository. They can access the document using the URL in the email.

Revision Review

  • How do I review exactly what was changed by the multiple co-editors during the session?
    On the iManage tab, in the Co-Authoring group, select Revision History. For DeskSite, select Revision History on the Co-Authoring tab. Select any two revisions and select Compare in the right pane. The two revisions open in separate panes, and the name of the authors and the changes that they made are displayed.

  • While editing a document in Word/native application, I see that other writers are making changes but the content they changed/added is not visible immediately.
    Theicon and the co-editor's name is displayed in the area where the person is making the updates. Select the Save  icon in the top-left corner or select the Ctrl+S keys to save the document and refresh the view so that the changes by co-editor's are visible.

  • If the co-editors share the document with other users, will I be able to track who made what edits?
    If other users are editing the document simultaneously along with you, their names are displayed. Every co-editor can also view the names of others working on document during simultaneous editing. To view the changes after you sync the document (by selecting Sync, on the iManage tab in the Co-Authoring group or by selecting Sync on the Co-Authoring tab in DeskSite), select Revision History. The name of the co-editor, date and time of the edit, and revision number are displayed. Changes made by external users are listed as changes by Guest. Select any two revisions, and select Compare in the right pane to view the exact changes.

External Collaboration

  • Can users who are not in iManage Work participate in co-authoring?
    Yes. To invite external users, enter their email addresses in the Invite People dialog box that is used to start the co-authoring session. Moreover, when the document is in OneDrive, other users can be added.

    CAUTION:

    While this provides convenience, it may also be considered a security breach.

    iManage does not have control of the sharing process in Office applications after the document is in OneDrive for Business.

  • How does the new external collaboration affect the email invite?
    If you invite external collaborators, Microsoft sends email invites directly to the users. These email invites can be viewed from your sent items folder. If you choose the option to preview the notification email in Outlook, the external users' email IDs do not appear in the email invite if they are not part of the firm's Office 365 email directory. If the external users are in the firm's Office 365 email directory but not registered in iManage Work Server, the users' email addresses will appear in the email invite. If you open the Invite people dialog box again to invite more users, the external users' email IDs are displayed in the Shared with list.

  • How do I block external collaboration for co-authoring sessions?
    By default, external collaboration is enabled and is controlled through your OneDrive for Business configuration. You must manually turn it off. For more information, refer to Microsoft's documentation on external collaboration by visiting the following web page:

    https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Manage-external-sharing-for-your-SharePoint-Online-environment-C8A462EB-0723-4B0B-8D0A-70FEAFE4BE85


Administration

  • How can Administrators unlock co-authored documents?

    When users unlock a checked out document, they have access to their OneDrive location where the document is stored for co-authoring. When the administrator tries to unlock a document, Microsoft requires the administrator to access the user's OneDrive from an administrator's console. Therefore, the admin must unlock the document in both iManage and in OneDrive. OneDrive must be configured for admins to have access to users' OneDrive locations. 
    For more information, refer to Microsoft's documentation https://support.office.com/en-us/article/onedrive-admin-center-b5665060-530f-40a3-b34a-9e935169b2e0.

    To unlock a co-authored document, administrators must perform the following steps:

  1. Login to SharePoint as an Administrator (this account is different from an NRTAdmin account). 
  2. Navigate to the desired user's OneDrive. 
  3. [Optional] Download the document to save the changes. 
  4. Remove the document from OneDrive. 
  5. Unlock the document from iManage using Control Center.