Team Leaders & Authors - Manage and Report Workflow using "Print an Outline" in UPK
- by [email protected]
Did you know you can "print an outline?" You can print any outline or portion of an outline. Why might you want to "print an outline" in UPK... Have you ever wondered how many topics you have recorded, how many of your topics are ready for review, or even better, how many topics are complete! Do you need to report your project status to management? Maybe you just like to have a copy of your outline to refer to during development.
Included in this output is the outline structure as well as the layout defined in the Details View of the Outline Editor. To print an outline, you must open either a module or section in the Outline Editor. A set of default data columns is automatically included in the output; however, you can configure which columns you want to appear in the report by switching to the Details view and customizing the columns. (To learn more about customizing your columns refer to the Add and Remove Columns section of the Content Development.pdf guide)
To print an outline from the Outline Editor:
1. Open a module or section document in the Outline Editor.
2. Expand the documents to display the details that you want included in the report.
3. On the File menu, choose Print and use the toolbar icons to print, view, or save the report to a file.
Personally, I opt to save my outline in Microsoft Excel. Using the delivered features of Microsoft Excel you can add columns of information, such as development notes, to your outline or you can graph and chart your Project status.
As mentioned above you can configure what columns you want to appear in the outline. When utilizing the Print an Outline feature in conjunction with the Managing Workflow features of the UPK Multi-user instance you as a Team Lead or Author can better report project status. Read more about Managing Workflow below.
Managing Workflow:
The Properties toolpane contains special properties that allow authors to track document status or State as well as assign Document Ownership.
Assign Content State
The State property is an editable property for communicating the status of a document. This is particularly helpful when collaborating with other authors in a development team. Authors can assign a state to documents from the master list defined by the administrator. The default list of States includes (blank), Not Started, Draft, In Review, and Final. Administrators can customize the list by adding, deleting or renaming the values.
To assign a State value to a document:
1. Make sure you are working online.
2. Display the Properties toolpane.
3. Select the document(s) to which you want to assign a state. Note: You can select multiple documents using the standard Windows selection keys (CTRL+click and SHIFT+click).
4. In the Workflow category, click in the State cell.
5. Select a value from the list.
Assign Document Ownership
In many enterprises, multiple authors often work together developing content in a team environment. Team leaders typically handle large projects by assigning specific development responsibilities to authors. The Owner property allows team leaders and authors to assign documents to themselves and other authors to track who is responsible for a specific document. You view and change document assignments for a document using the Owner property in the Properties toolpane.
To assign a document owner:
1. Make sure you are working online.
2. On the View menu, choose Properties.
3. Select the document(s) to which you want to assign document responsibility. Note: You can select multiple documents using the standard Windows selection keys (CTRL+click and SHIFT+click).
4. In the Workflow category, click in the Owner cell.
5. Select a name from the list.
Is anyone out there already using this feature? Share your ideas with the group. Those of you new to this feature, give it a test drive and let us know what you think.
- Kathryn Lustenberger, Oracle UPK & Tutor Outbound Product Management
