Support
nGen Collaboration works best with these browsers:
Web Listeners
Privacy Settings
Activity Feeds
3rd party Integration
Administrative Capabilities - Every Collaboration Hub will have at least one administrator who has access to and the ability to configure the following:
Technical Architecture
o Java
o Ruby
o Javascript
o Rails (aka Ruby on Rails, built on Ruby)
o XML (eXtensible Markup Language, an open source framework for defining documents on the web)
o JUnit (test framework built on Java)
o Jackrabbit (content management system built in Java)
o SAML (security assertion markup language, open source standard for exchanging security information among web applications)
o MySQL
o Amazon S3
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The Subscribe widget is used to subscribe to RSS feeds. What's an RSS feed? Well, RSS is a family of Web feed formats used to publish frequently updated works. Most wikis and conversations on the Collaboration hub are available as an RSS feed. RSS means "Really Simple Syndication". You can use RSS feeds to easily stay informed on the topics of your choice.
There are three types of RSS feeds available on Collaboration: Internal, Public and Secure.
A wiki article describing how to use the Internal RSS can be found here. Basically, you click the blue Internal RSS feed icon if you want to read updates from your "My Page" while logged onto the Collaboration hub.
To use the Public RSS feed you will need to install a feed reader, like Google Reader or Netvibes, then when you click on the RSS icon, you will be given a URL which you paste into the reader. The reader will then check for updates and deliver them to you automatically.
If the wiki or conversation is restricted to members of a particular group, you will need to use a reader that can authenticate your Collaboration password, like BlogBridge. Remember, your login name is the email address that you use for the Collaboration hub. Your password for authenticating is the same as the one that you use to get on the Collaboration hub.
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The Recently Viewed widget can be found on your hub's Home page, as well as your My Page. You can use the widget to quickly return to areas that you have visited since your most recent log on.
By clicking the cog icon, as illustrated above, you can configure the widget to save as many entries as you like and as many characters in each title as you like. Every time you log out, the cache is cleared, so you start every session with a clean slate. The default setting for the widget is 10 entries with a maximum of 26 characters for each title.
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The Most Active widget can be found on the hub's Home Page and on your My Page. The Most Active widget is a great way to keep up-to-date on the topics that are getting the most replies.
Here's what it looks like:
Clicking on the cog icon, as illustrated above, will allow you to configure the widget.
You can then choose the number of items to be displayed, as well as the timeframe:
Click the Save button and your new parameters will be set.
The default setting for the Most Active widget is the 6 most active items in the last 90 days.
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The File Repository widget can be found on your My Page. It looks like this:
If you have uploaded files or images, you can see them by clicking on the Existing Files or Existing Images link.
You can replace existing documents by selecting its radio button and providing the updated document in the 'Upload File' text box. Doing so will update all references to the file or image.
The Calendar widget can be found on your hub's Homepage or your My Page.
It looks like this:
The current day is dark blue, while days with nGen Meetings scheduled are a lighter blue, like the 3rd and the 10th in the calendar above.
Click on a day that has an nGen Meeting scheduled and information regarding the meeting will appear below the calendar. Click on the name of the meeting and you will be taken to the nGen Meeting page for that particular meeting.
For more information on nGen Meetings, click here.
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The FriendFeed widget is found on your My Page. You may have to add it by clicking on the +Add Widgets link to your Widget Repository.
What is FriendFeed?
FriendFeed is a Web 2.0 feed amalgamation site that allows people to comment on and share online activities. In their own words, "FriendFeed enables you to keep up-to-date on the web pages, photos, videos and music that your friends and family are sharing. It offers a unique way to discover and discuss information among friends."
You can visit FriendFeed at http://friendfeed.com.
The FriendFeed widget looks like this:
After you have set up your account at FriendFeed and logged in, it will look more like this:
You can click directly on the FriendFeed links to gather more information on the spot.
FriendFeed is a great way to stay "in the know" and the FriendFeed widget brings it right to your nGen Collaboration desktop.
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The Twitter Status widget can be found on your My Page. It looks like this:
You can update your status by typing it in the field and then the Enter key. It will then be displayed like this:
Your Profile Avatar will now be highlighted, like this:
Mouse over anyone's highlighted Avatar and their status will appear in a pop-up box.
Click directly on your own status in the Twitter Status widget to change it or to clear it.
If you have a Twitter account and you want your status to be updated automatically from your latest Twitter entry, you will need to update your profile. First, click on your avatar, as indicated above. Then click on the link your Profile Page as indicated below.
You will then need to type in your Twitter Username and then Save Profile.
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The Participate widget is very useful and can be found on most pages in nGen Collaboration. Here's what it looks like:
You can use this widget to Start a Conversation or wiki, Create a Task, Poll the Hub, Add Resource to Library, Survey the Hub, Create an Idea, Join Interest Group, Attend Meeting or Create an Idea Campaign.
You can integrate your Facebook profile with Collaboration.
First, click on your avatar, as illustrated below.
Second, click the Edit Profile link.
Third, click "Sync Facebook Profile" and follow the directions.
To get to your User Profile page, click the link in the upper right corner, like the one indicated below.
On your User profile page you will find links to Edit Profile, Manage Favorites, Preferences and Change Photo. You will also find your your Colleagues. Your Colleagues are the people that you have favorited by clicking the, next to their avatar.
nGen Ideas
nGen Ideas is a powerful ideagora that allows users to create idea campaigns, and submit & rate ideas.
Go to nGen Ideas
| The Participate Widget now contains a Create an Idea link. Create an idea in an idea campaign or by itself. | There are new Ideas widgets: Recent Ideas, Top Ideas, My Ideas, and Most Active Ideas. | |
Create an Idea - users can create an idea either as part of an idea campaign, or as a standalone. Just like a conversation or wiki, the idea can be tagged, assigned to a group, made private, and broadcast to other users.
Idea Campaign - users can create idea campaigns to organize ideas around a single theme.
Creating an idea campaign is just like creating an interest group.
Each idea campaign shows a list of all of the ideas submitted to it.
| Users can vote an idea up or down. The campaign owner can review ideas and assign a status. | |
nGen Meetings
nGen Meetings allows users to create public & private meetings, invite attendees, add informative and collaborative content, and export calendar information to Outlook, Entourage, and other calendars.
Go to nGen Meetings
| Participate Widget - the Participate widget now contains an Attend Meeting button. | Calendar Widget - the new Calendar Widget now displays meetings the user is attending or open to join. Click on the highlighted date to see a list of scheduled meetings. | |
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The Meetings Dashboard shows all of the meetings a user belongs to or can join. Private, hidden meetings are not visible.
Form a new Meeting - users can select start and finish times for the meeting.
Meetings can be configured the same way as an interest group, and conversations, wikis and ideas can be tagged to be associated with the meeting.
By checking Show/Hide Participate or Favorite/Feed, the meeting creator can configure Meeting functionality...
Checking the Participate box allows users to add conversations, wikis, ideas, etc. to the meeting.
For example, if a user wanted to add a map to the meeting, a Google map could be embedded in a conversation...
...and it would appear in the Meeting.
By not checking either of the boxes, the Meeting can be simplified and user contributions limited.
nGen Collaboration version 8.5 will allow you to share your meeting with a group, even if it's private or closed.
Relative Navigation
In the illustration above you will note the three links that are circled. When you see links like these you can use them to navigate to the conversation/wiki that was created previous to and following the page you are on. The link to home will take you to your home page.
The Collaboration application works best with Microsoft 7.0 or newer OR Firefox 3.0 or newer. You can check which version you have by clicking on the browser Help menu and choosing About.
To upgrade the Firefox browser, click http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox
To upgrade the Microsoft Internet Explorer, click http://www.microsoft.com/windows/downloads/ie/getitnow.mspx
Widgets are tools that you can use with Collaboration. They are compact applications that you can easily add to or remove from your workspace.
There are many types of widgets that come with Collaboration. Some you will find useful, some maybe not so much. The great thing about widgets is that you can configure them any way you want.
How to add/delete a widget
Every tab on your Collaboration hub has a repository of widgets that can be reached by clicking the "Add Widgets" button, as indicated below.
And the widgets on every tab can be configured differently.
If you want to move the widget to a new position, click and drag the widget from the title bar, as illustrated below.
How to configure your widget
Many widgets can be configured further by clicking on the "configure" button, as indicated below.
When you configure the Most Active widget you can adjust the number of conversations to show, the date range and the title. You can even remove the widget from all of your Collaboration pages. Don't worry you can always get it back from your widget repository.
You can minimize the widget by clicking on the down arrow, as illustrated below.
Click on the X, as illustrated below, if you only want to remove the widget from the page you are on.
RSS is a family of Web feed formats used to publish frequently updated works. Most wikis and conversations on the Collaboration hub are available as an RSS feed. By the way, RSS means "Really Simple Syndication".
There are three types of RSS feeds available on Collaboration: Internal, Public and Secure.
A wiki article describing how to use the Internal RSS can be found here. Basically, you click the blue Internal RSS feed icon if you want to read updates from your "My Page" while logged onto the Collaboration hub.
To use the Public RSS feed you will need to install a feed reader, like Google Reader or Netvibes, then when you click on the RSS icon, you will be given a URL which you paste into the reader. The reader will then check for updates and deliver them to you automatically.
If the wiki or conversation is restricted to members of a particular group, you will need to use a reader that can authenticate your Collaboration password, like BlogBridge. Remember, your login name is the email address that you use for the Collaboration hub. Your password for authenticating is the same as the one that you use to get on the Collaboration hub.
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If you are the owner of a group or the administrator for a group then you can set the default mode for conversations in your group. The setting can be found while creating the group or by clicking the "Update Interest Group" link.
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The Recently Viewed Items widget in Collaboration can be found on your Home page or your My Page. The number of items displayed can be configured by clicking on the Preferences icon, as displayed below.
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This is the "Add to Favorites" icon.
You can favorite a conversation, wiki, user or group by clicking the icon that is next to any one of these items. The item will then be added to your Favorites widget.
The icon indicated below will allow you to configure your Favorite widget.
You can then set the number of favorites that you want to be displayed in the widget.
You can manage your Favorites widget by clicking on the Manage link illustrated below.
You will then be brought to a page where you can click the Remove Favorite icon.
Or the Show in Favorites icon, as below. This is a toggle switch. Click once to "not show". Click it again to turn it back on.
Or the "Alert me when the Conversation changes" icon, as below. This is another toggle switch. Click it once to disable alerts. Click it again to enable alerts.
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