[in new window] [back] [close]
[introduction] [FAQ] [search] [what's new] [index]

Adding a document
 
add document

A document can just be an empty shell, a place holder, ready to receive a file, in which case you just need to name it in the 'empty' tab. In this way you can lay out the structure of your publication in advance even though you don't have all the content for it yet.

I want a file with my document

However, it's more likely you'll want to add a file as the first version at the same time. Using the 'file' tab, choose a file to become the first version of the document using the box/button at the top (different browsers offer this button in somewhat different ways: in Chrome and Firefox you can drop files from the file manager onto the button instead of clicking it).
You can add more than one to become separate documents, either by using the button repeatedly or choosing more than one file at once.
For pictures, you are also offered the opportunity to provide a caption. Captions are presented as if they were a "second page" of the picture.
If you identify a Zip file, you can choose whether or not to unzip it on receipt. If you choose not to, you can (on the menu) later manually. Either way, any folder structure in the zip file will be reflected in Ensembling.
You can also fetch one or more files from the internet by giving URLs in the 'url' tab (especially useful for image files. You can get the URL of an image by right clicking on the image and using "copy image location" in Firefox or Properties and then copying it in Internet Explorer). If you give the URL of a whole page, we will try to analyze the page and fetch all the significant pictures and documents referenced by that page). We cannot fetch items from internet sites that need you to log in.
Or for plain or formatted text, you can paste it or type it right there in the respective tab (you'll need to provide a name for it too).

Soliciting ideas

Before a document reaches the draft stage you may want to ask for ideas about what should be in it. While colleagues could just make comments in the usual way on a minimal document, brainstorming backgrounds facilitate this by showing comments on the page(s) of the document itself and combining them with the text of the document for later incorporation into more finished pieces.
Tick/check the box on the plain or formatted text tab to do this.

Files can have comment deadlines

If you want, you can set a deadline set for when comments need to be made by. This applies to the first version of the document. You can set this in
 
add document
or add or change the deadline separarately later.

Tell your colleagues a bit more more about the document

Introductory information can be added to help readers understand what the document is for and how it came about and things like that. It is not intended as a place to make comments about the content, not least because it applies to the document not the specific version. Information is shown under the document name and can also be changed or added later.

Why you might not want to tick the 'inform colleagues' box

You may be keen to tell all your colleagues that you've uploaded your new document and you can do so by ticking the box. But bear in mind that the recipients may not be as keen as you are, especially if you're adding quite a few documents. Because people can choose to watch a folder for new and changed items it is not always necessary to send lots of specific emails to them.
However, if you are going to send an email it is better to do it through Ensembling than copy the URL and send an email separately. Here's why.

Getting a file from another document

Occasionally you may want to add a new document where the file was earlier added as a new version of another document, probably unintentionally. To do this
  • the document which you want to steal the most recent version from
  • choose
     
    add document
  • choose the 'empty' tab and provide a name; click OK to make the empty document
  • choose
  • choose the 'select' tab; then OK
You can only do this for source documents which have more than one version (you can just rename and/or move a document with only one version, rather than making a new one).
You can only steal the most recent version in this way. On the very rare occasion when you want to steal an older version here's how:
  • go to the source document
  • choose
  • click the version you want to steal
  • delete it, using (on the menu, and not using the permanent deletion option!)
  • go to the Deleted Items folder –
  • the document which was created to hold the deleted version (it will usually be the first one)
  • go back to the folder where you want the new document
  • Use (on the
     
    menu) to move the document containing the version you wanted into that folder
  • you'll probably also want to the document ( menu)

Sending files from Google Docs

The simplest way to use Google Docs as a souce for a new document is to send it directly from Google Docs:
  1. select the document in Google Docs (tick/check the box next to its name)
  2. choose Share
  3. choose Email as attachment
  4. select any of the available formats other than HTML
  5. send to the email address of the folder the document is to go in (e.g. 1234@ensembling.com where the numnber is that of the folder the new document should be put in. The number is shown in the address bar and also the whole address is on the Google Docs tab of the New Document form.
Any text in the Message box will be included as introductory text. The Subject line will be used as the document name. You can also put 'NOTIFY!' in the subject line, which is equivalent to ticking the 'inform colleagues' box when adding manually.
You can only do this when you can a login here with the same Google account. So if you don't already use your gmail address or account to log in, before doing this for the first time:
  1. sign out
  2. sign in again using your Google account. This will temporarily create a new, empty account for you in Ensembling
  3. choose on the menu
  4. change the Gmail email address to your usual one
  5. confirm you are the same person as indicated
That will associate your Ensembling account with your GMail address so we can recognize the incoming email and attribute it to you.