MORE FEATURES

Our full list of features can't be covered in these few brochure pages, but we'll touch on some more here.  Please don't hesitate to use our contact page to request a live WebEx demo of the system.

WORKFLOW TAGS

You've read about some basic workflow tags that can be set on any uploaded image (Suggest, Select, Reject).  Workflow tagging doesn't stop there.  FigureOne projects are arranged in a familiar “tree” of nested folders and files...

... that automatically feels natural to anyone who's worked with files on a hard drive.  (The structure could literally be ISBN Section Name Chapter Name Spec Images, or Series Name Book Name Spec Images, or whatever nomenclature best suits a project.)  And you can set workflow tags at any nesting level and they are automatically applied to all lower levels: for example, an editor can mark every spec in a chapter as Locked with a single click on the chapter.  And on busy projects, every click you save counts!

Workflow includes more than just the image suggest/reject/select/lock/approve process (what we call, in sum, the Approval process).  FigureOne allows you to record where project elements stand in the hi-res order/receive/upload process; the permission request/grant process; and any other multi-stage or single-step requirements you want to record on the way to production.  All workflow tags are boldly color-coded, so it could not be easier for a project observer to understand the status of a project, subfolder, or spec.

USER SECURITY

In keeping with our policy of fine-grained control, FigureOne users are assigned one of nine specialized Security Roles (SRs), from OBSERVER to ADMINISTRATOR, that are specifically tailored for the way they will participate in the photo research process.

It's important to understand that the FigureOne SR does not have a particular tie to a user's title outside of FigureOne -- what might be called their “HR” role.  While experience shows that on most projects, authors will make final selections for use, there are numerous exceptions where the author acts as more of an eavesdropper on the process.  Similarly, editors may be charged with making suggestions and selections of their own, or with shepherding selections through subsequent parts of the workflow (selection locking and approval), or they may simply monitor the project as researchers collaborate with authors to find the right image. 

Our Security Roles thus don't actually refer to authors or editors by title, but rather allow for control over real FigureOne features such as whether a user may tag only suggestions, tag suggestions and selections, manage the spec list, delete images, and so on, creating a flexible matrix from which project administrators can choose the best-fit role for every team member that allows the user to do everything he or she needs to — but nothing they don't.  In addition, access is assigned on a per-project basis, so authors and researchers can only see their own books (client-wide accounts can also be created, so that in-house photo managers automatically have full control).

PARTITIONED WORKFLOW

Partitioned workflow settings dictate that less-privileged users see smaller partitions (slices) of the project depending on other users' actions.  For example:

• If the setting "Selectors only see suggestions" is enabled, then selecting users (commonly authors) will only see images that have previously been given the thumbs-up by being Suggested by another user.  This creates a less distracting, more focused workflow, with any chaff from the original research batch removed.
• Similarly, "Observers only see selections" means that observing users (production users will be given this role in a project so they can work on mockups) see only those images marked as Selected by the author or other selector.  Again, this creates a targeted display with only the images of importance shown (and an even quicker display in the observer's browser), with no confusing clutter of long-since-rejected images. 
• No matter what, the full set of original images is still present in FigureOne, visible to administrator-level users for postmortem suggestion/rejection analysis, as backup selections, and as proof of the researcher's original work.

SECURITY TAGS

Security/privacy settings can be set on many FigureOne elements to hide them from general view while allowing use by smaller subsets of the project team.  The allowed users see these research objectives in the context of the wider project, so all users end up with a streamlined view that only includes their own obligations.

• Private images: only visible to the original uploader by default, they can be publicized at the researcher's discretion, allowing for discrete sets of submissions for the same spec (primary and backup sets, for example, or images at different budget tiers in terms of repro fee). 
• Restricted specs: viewable by in-house staff and researchers but not by selecting users, these can be used for covers or other special research concerns.
• Shared image pools: loose collections of images that do not themselves allow a selection, but whose contents can be copied and used elsewhere in the project in a “show-through” fashion.

IMPORT AND EXPORT OPTIONS

The initial spec list can be imported into a project when it's first set up, saving huge amounts of copying-and-pasting.  All we need is a properly formatted Excel-style spreadsheet of your chapters and specs and we'll do the import for you at the project's inception.  (Spec numbers and descriptions can also be edited at any time using the Spec List Editor.)

All the selections in a chapter, or a single selection, can be automatically output as a customizable PDF “spec sheet” that includes credit/caption information and is suitable for forwarding to outside agencies without FigureOne access, or simply for printing to your laser printer.

And when projects are complete, the entire project (all submitted images, not just selections) can be exported to a searchable CD-ROM for long-term archiving.