Collaborating in The Cloud

Using Office on Demand temporarily streams Microsoft Office 2013. This is not the same as having installed Office 2013. From the “Edit Document” menu in the Web App, choose “Edit in Word.” When asked to use Office on Demand, click the “Yes, let's go” button. Click “Run” at the bottom of the screen. You'll need to have a Microsoft Office account to continue using Office on Demand. At that point, you've got all the functionality of Microsoft Office Word for formatting and finalizing your legal documents. [Note: As of this writing, following a trademark dispute, Microsoft has rebranded "SkyDrive" to "OneDrive." See, "Following Trademark Dispute With BSkyB, Microsoft Rebrands 'SkyDrive' To 'OneDrive,'" TechCrunch. Microsoft has not indicated yet when the change will take place. Microsoft is currently advertising that OneDrive will be "coming soon." The transition should be seamless to the user.]

The Status bar in the Microsoft Web App shows SAVED TO SKYDRIVE or other cloud location.

Having a Game Plan

Consider using the following points as a checklist prior to attacking the document with multiple reviewers:

'

1. Inform reviewers to which cloud location the file has been uploaded;
2. Determine who is setting the permissions to share the document, and if permissions are being set for editing specific parts of the document only;
3. Set a timeline for completion;
4. Agree on how communication will be handled during the revision process;
5. Will Track Changes be used? It's important to know that the Web App does not have a Track Changes feature, only Comments;
6. Decide how the legal document is going to be formatted (only the Non-Web App has the features needed to produce legal documents); and
7. Who has the final authority in accepting or rejecting the various revisions.

'

Sharing from the Microsoft Web App

Open or create a document and click the Share tab. Type the recipients' e-mail addresses and a useful note. Click the “Recipients can edit” link. Two drop-down fields are now available: The first gives the choice of the recipients being able to only view the file ' or if the recipient can edit as well. The second field determines if the user must be logged in with their Microsoft account. Click the “Share” button beneath the fields you just completed. Click the “Close” button to return to the document.

An e-mail has been sent to the recipient(s) with a document link to the specified cloud location.

The Status bar in the Microsoft Web App shows SAVED TO SKYDRIVE. The upper right corner of the Web App indicates the other reviewers who are currently working in the document. In the Non-Web App, the Status bar indicates how many authors are currently editing the file.

To turn off sharing of the document, click the “Share” tab. Under the “Shared with” panel, click the user's name or e-mail address; that name is now moved to the center of the window. Click the “Can edit” link and choose “Stop sharing,” or change to “view only.”

Sharing from a Non-Web App

In Microsoft Office 2010, you can save a file to the Web by choosing “File>>Save” and “Send>>Save to Web.” In Microsoft Office 2013, save a file to the Web by choosing “File>>Save As>>Your Sky Drive,” or “Other Web Locations.” To share, choose “File>>Share” and send the invitation as mentioned in sharing from the Web App mentioned earlier in this column.

Working with Multiple Authors

When typing text in the Non-Web App, you'll see dotted square brackets in both the Non and Web App. This is an indicator someone is adding text. The dotted square bracket does not consistently appear.

After you've saved the file, Word presents a dialog box letting you know new content is highlighted in green. This highlighting does not print, and goes away the next time you save the file.

Revising a specific block of text can only be done by one reviewer at a time. The first person to begin revisions has control over that block of text. If two reviewers start typing at the exact same time, Word will prompt with a Conflict dialog box the next time you save. This is where it's important to have your communication game plan in place.

To further restrict editing, the reviewer in the Non-Web App has an option in the Review tab to block authors from editing specific portions of the document. Select the blocks of text and click the “Block Authors” button, then click “Block Authors.” A dotted square bracket with a “Paragraph locked” icon indicates this area of text has been blocked for editing by other reviewers, as well as who applied the block.

It should also be noted that Track Changes are automatically accepted and incorporated into the document when opening a file in Microsoft Word Web App. The Comments will migrate to the Word Web app, although the functionality is limited to New, Reply, Mark as Done, and Delete.

Many reviewers rely on the Comments feature for communicating during the revision process. While some comments may be germane to the document, they can also be used as a communication tool. Just be sure to delete those prior to finalizing the document.

Final Counsel

Be sure to have the game plan in place. As with any new technical functionality, it is always best to practice first. Sharing a simple test file for a bit of editing lets each author see how text is being updated. Use the Comments feature to communicate (don't forget to delete those prior to finalizing the document) or decide on another method of communication between reviewers. Communication is critical when sharing a file. The cloud is here to stay.

Sue Hughes is the Security Products Division Specialist at PayneGroup. In this capacity, she serves as subject matter expert on all things metadata, redaction and Microsoft Office. A member of this newsletter's Board of Editors, she is a Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT), Microsoft Certified Application Specialist Instructor (MCASI), and Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) for Office 2007 and 2010. Sue is also an author of the best-selling Microsoft Word 2013 for Law Firms by PayneGroup.

One of the great advantages of working with files in a cloud drive is sharing documents with other reviewers/authors in real time. Real time is the actual time during which reviewers are making changes to the document. This can be accomplished with all reviewers working in a Web App, with one or more in the Microsoft Office 2013 desktop application, using Office on Demand, or any combination of those mentioned ' the latter two will be referred to as the Non-Web Apps for the purpose of this column.

While real time is mentioned, you won't actually see all of the other revisions when working in the Non-Web App until the document is saved, so be sure to save frequently while working in the Non-Web App. The Web App does not have a Save feature, but shows changes in real time, and saves automatically.

When the revisions appear in the Web App can vary depending on network speed. However, those changes should appear within a moment or two of the change being made by another reviewer.

Using Office on Demand temporarily streams Microsoft Office 2013. This is not the same as having installed Office 2013. From the “Edit Document” menu in the Web App, choose “Edit in Word.” When asked to use Office on Demand, click the “Yes, let's go” button. Click “Run” at the bottom of the screen. You'll need to have a Microsoft Office account to continue using Office on Demand. At that point, you've got all the functionality of Microsoft Office Word for formatting and finalizing your legal documents. [Note: As of this writing, following a trademark dispute, Microsoft has rebranded "SkyDrive" to "OneDrive." See, "Following Trademark Dispute With BSkyB, Microsoft Rebrands 'SkyDrive' To 'OneDrive,'" TechCrunch. Microsoft has not indicated yet when the change will take place. Microsoft is currently advertising that OneDrive will be "coming soon." The transition should be seamless to the user.]

The Status bar in the Microsoft Web App shows SAVED TO SKYDRIVE or other cloud location.

Having a Game Plan

Consider using the following points as a checklist prior to attacking the document with multiple reviewers:

'

1. Inform reviewers to which cloud location the file has been uploaded;
2. Determine who is setting the permissions to share the document, and if permissions are being set for editing specific parts of the document only;
3. Set a timeline for completion;
4. Agree on how communication will be handled during the revision process;
5. Will Track Changes be used? It's important to know that the Web App does not have a Track Changes feature, only Comments;
6. Decide how the legal document is going to be formatted (only the Non-Web App has the features needed to produce legal documents); and
7. Who has the final authority in accepting or rejecting the various revisions.

'

Sharing from the Microsoft Web App

Open or create a document and click the Share tab. Type the recipients' e-mail addresses and a useful note. Click the “Recipients can edit” link. Two drop-down fields are now available: The first gives the choice of the recipients being able to only view the file ' or if the recipient can edit as well. The second field determines if the user must be logged in with their Microsoft account. Click the “Share” button beneath the fields you just completed. Click the “Close” button to return to the document.

An e-mail has been sent to the recipient(s) with a document link to the specified cloud location.

The Status bar in the Microsoft Web App shows SAVED TO SKYDRIVE. The upper right corner of the Web App indicates the other reviewers who are currently working in the document. In the Non-Web App, the Status bar indicates how many authors are currently editing the file.

To turn off sharing of the document, click the “Share” tab. Under the “Shared with” panel, click the user's name or e-mail address; that name is now moved to the center of the window. Click the “Can edit” link and choose “Stop sharing,” or change to “view only.”

Sharing from a Non-Web App

In Microsoft Office 2010, you can save a file to the Web by choosing “File>>Save” and “Send>>Save to Web.” In Microsoft Office 2013, save a file to the Web by choosing “File>>Save As>>Your Sky Drive,” or “Other Web Locations.” To share, choose “File>>Share” and send the invitation as mentioned in sharing from the Web App mentioned earlier in this column.

Working with Multiple Authors

When typing text in the Non-Web App, you'll see dotted square brackets in both the Non and Web App. This is an indicator someone is adding text. The dotted square bracket does not consistently appear.

After you've saved the file, Word presents a dialog box letting you know new content is highlighted in green. This highlighting does not print, and goes away the next time you save the file.

Revising a specific block of text can only be done by one reviewer at a time. The first person to begin revisions has control over that block of text. If two reviewers start typing at the exact same time, Word will prompt with a Conflict dialog box the next time you save. This is where it's important to have your communication game plan in place.

To further restrict editing, the reviewer in the Non-Web App has an option in the Review tab to block authors from editing specific portions of the document. Select the blocks of text and click the “Block Authors” button, then click “Block Authors.” A dotted square bracket with a “Paragraph locked” icon indicates this area of text has been blocked for editing by other reviewers, as well as who applied the block.

It should also be noted that Track Changes are automatically accepted and incorporated into the document when opening a file in Microsoft Word Web App. The Comments will migrate to the Word Web app, although the functionality is limited to New, Reply, Mark as Done, and Delete.

Many reviewers rely on the Comments feature for communicating during the revision process. While some comments may be germane to the document, they can also be used as a communication tool. Just be sure to delete those prior to finalizing the document.

Final Counsel

Be sure to have the game plan in place. As with any new technical functionality, it is always best to practice first. Sharing a simple test file for a bit of editing lets each author see how text is being updated. Use the Comments feature to communicate (don't forget to delete those prior to finalizing the document) or decide on another method of communication between reviewers. Communication is critical when sharing a file. The cloud is here to stay.

Sue Hughes is the Security Products Division Specialist at PayneGroup. In this capacity, she serves as subject matter expert on all things metadata, redaction and Microsoft Office. A member of this newsletter's Board of Editors, she is a Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT), Microsoft Certified Application Specialist Instructor (MCASI), and Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) for Office 2007 and 2010. Sue is also an author of the best-selling Microsoft Word 2013 for Law Firms by PayneGroup.