You will notice the seven menus which appear across the top of the CASCADE display, these menus provide access to the various features which CASCADE can perform for you. The following sections give a brief description of the functions available through each of the seven menus.
Information menu
Navigation menu
The Navigation menu allows the user to make large jumps in the document spaces. It allows the user to jump to the CASCADE root directory. It also provides the user access to bookmarks, history, the browser, and in the future, a feature called "docuverse".
Navigation in CASCADE is accomplished most frequently by use of the document folder bar to the left of the document display area. In addition, much navigation occurs by following the links and comments in documents. Within the document, user can use the mural, located at the rigth of the document area. Each small box in the mural indicates an existing comment in the document. The whole mural indicates the length of the whole document, and the scrollbar length indicates the length of the document being displayed. By clicking on the mural, CASCADE will display the document portion where that particular comment is located.
Document
Edit menus provide the basic tools to edit a document, such as Copy/Cut/Paste, Undo/Redo, and Find/Replace which will simplify the task of editing a document.
Utilities provide access to helper applications you have defined such as postscript viewers, HTML editors, web browsers, image viewers, etc. It will also provide access to a mail utility attuned to the needs of collaborative authoring.
Help displays this information about using CASCADE.
Change Project
This option will bring up a dialog box which will allow you to select
any of the projects to which you have access.
If you have the privilege as a project administrator, then under the Main Menu you will be given the option of Project Administrator. Having this option, you can create, delete or edit a project, organize members of groups, add, delete, or edit users, and other administrative rights. This option is categorized into 4 folders: Project, Member, User, and Comment. To create a new project, open the Project folder, and click the "New Project" button. Type in the project name in the provided space, and leave other spaces blank (for the time being). Having the new project created, you will need to complete the necessary details, such as adding groups, specifying the comment semantics, and organizing the users/members for each group within the project. For this purpose, first of all you must add yourself as a member of the PROJECT ADMIN group. You can accomplish this in the Member folder. Having yourself as a member of the Project Admin group, now you can add new groups, specify classses and types for the comment semantics, and to add members to the groups.
This option will present a dialog as is shown below:
The user indicates the type of document, its parent(folder), its protections and groups that will be given access. CASCADE will then launch the appropriate editor to allow a new document to be written.
To create a new folder, simply select the "Create Folder" option. You will be given a dialog box as shown below.
There are only two folder types -- ordered and unordered. The parent folder will default to the current folder and the group access rights will default to that of the parent as well.
Simply make any changes and click the OK button.
Use this function to import a new document from the local machine into the project space.
Import Doc(Replacement)
This function is used to replace a document in the project space with the newer version;
This is necessary when the document is
created and edited using a plugin application, such as
Microsoft Word. At this point in time, CASCADE does not
have the capability to create or edit MS Word documents,
instead it will launch the appropriate application from
the local machine.
This function allows the user to export a document to the client (local machine). The "Save" dialog box will be displayed, permitting you to save the file to your local disk. Simply type the file name or select the file you wish to export from the file selection box, and click the OK button.
This function enables you to move documents or directories from one location to another within a project space. The "Document Relocation" window within the project you are currently logged into consists of two lists of directories. Clicking on the desired document or directory from either list will enable that document or directory to be moved to the other location clicked from the other list. The direction of the movement is indicated by the arrows shown on the "Move" button between the lists.
This option allows a document to be deleted. The Delete dialog box shown below allows you to delete one or more files. When you select a document from the list box, a full description of the document will be provided. Clicking the "Delete" button will delete the document selected from the list. In this way you can delete multiple documents. To close the dialog box without deleting documents, press "Cancel". After completing the deletion of documents, click "Close" to close the dialog box.
The preferences option will bring up a multi-indexed dialog box that will allow you to specify your personal preferences in the following areas: The Main Menu currently consists of seven items:
This option allows the user to specify whether the document/folder bar shows an icon for the file type, as well as specify the name of the document or folder. It allows the user to determine whether the representations of comments in the mural bar are small or large. It also allows the user to set some features of the browser, such as whether the user wants to show an icon, path, or maximum level for the browser. The user can also set preferences regarding the number of history list items.
This option can be used to customize colors and fonts used in the display of documents. The foreground and background of the document and mural areas may be set here. In additon the colors used to depict certain specialized objects found only in CASCADE are specified here. Colors for other objects in CASCADE are set through the File Type preferences, and colors for comment types are set through the Comment preferences.
The Comment preferences allow you to set any of the options for any of the dimensions set up for the comments made on your project. By default, CASCADE provides three dimensions "status", "disposition", and "type". Status generally tells you whether the comment has been addressed or not. Type tells you what kind of comment it is -- an objection, a clarification, etc. Disposition identifies the person taking action on the comment. You may set the colors for the various options to suit your own needs. For example, you might wish to make objections stand out and grammatical corrections be less visible.
The File Type preferences dialog provides a rich array of tools for managing the many file types that can be handled by CASCADE. First, you will select a line from the combo box which describes a type/subtype of file -- for example type SGML, subtype HTML. Once a file type has been selected, you may specify the colors which will be used to display it in the document/folder bar and the browser. You may also specify whether the built-in editors and viewers are to be used with this filetype or whether you wish to use your own. If you select your own, you may use the browse facility to find the executable file on your machine.
The network preferences allow you to specify multiple servers that provide CASCADE services as well as the default server you use.
It is important to note that the current printing function assumes your default printer is a postscript printer. The print function produces postscript and will not function correctly for non-postscript devices.
The printer menu allows you to specify left and right margins in points -- 72 points equals 1 inch. You may also specify a header and a footer as well and whether a line will divide the header and the footer from the text.
You may also specify whether or not the pages will be numbered. Finally, you may specify the number of pages to be printed/sheet in the printing preferences menu. If you get sixteen pages per sheet, you need to go to the printer preference to change it. Also, if printing is too big, you should pick a smaller font and reprint. To prevent any printing error, it is suggested that you use 10pts or 12pts of Times Roman font, but it is encouraged to try other size and fonts.
The Setting section allows the user to choose whether he/she wants to save the main window layout when exiting.
The Setup section is still under development and will allow the user to specify work areas and cache sizes.
This is the place to input or edit your information as a user, such as your name, address, email, etc. Recall that the comment labeling can be made as first names or last names as well, therefore you might want to have it right. This is also the place where you change your password if you wish to.
The Utilities section allows you to identify the specific helper applications that exists on your client machine.
This option is currently under development
This option will terminate your session and disconnect your client from the server.
When you log in, you will be informed of the number of actions undertaken on the project since you last used CASCADE. You can see this in the Select Project dialog by noting the number following the project name. In the Project Activity dialog, you are provided with several options. You can choose a list of activities from the Quick Query box, or you can select your own query using the Query Builder facility. CASCADE has two default quick queries: All activities during the last two weeks and new comments during the last two weeks. To see the result, you need to click the "Search" button. Then on the lower portion of the dialog, the activities list is given. It has two choices of ordering key that you can select from a drop down list. The list displays the type of activity, done by whom, when, and on which document.
This activity list is an ad hoc document prepared on-the-fly for the user, based on Profile settings. This document is ephemeral and therefore is not subject to editing. To delete items, mark them as ``Read'' and set your profile to show only ``Unread'' items. Currently we are working to expand the set of Status types. This should allow more flexibility in suppressing the display of unwanted items. For example, if a status of ``Hide'' were available, then items could be selectively excluded from reports without impeding access should the occasion arise at a future time.
This feature gives information on activities being done in the project. Basically, it enables the user to generate a query based on criteria such as kind of activity, when it was done, by whom, and on which document or in which directory. When the feature is activated, a Query Builder window will be created, consisting of several menus and buttons. The Query Builder feature has four main groupings: Actions, Users, Documents, and Time. (1) Actions: The Actions grouping allows you to choose what kind of actions you want to observe. The choices are: Document Relocation, Document Removal, New Document, Update Comment, Update Content, and Update Document Information. You can choose all of them by selecting "Any" from the "Selected" pull-down menu. If you need to select more than one action but not all, depress the Control button while simultaneously selecting the actions. You can also negate choices by clicking the "Not" button.
(2) Users: The Users grouping allows you to choose which user(s) or group(s) to observe. When you choose "Group", the lower box will show the groups which are listed under the active project. Similarly with "Actions", you can select "Any" for all or "Selected" for a selected number of groups from the "Selected" pull-down menu. Choosing "Member" instead of "Group" will give you the members currently listed under the project. You can also negate your query by activating the "Not" button.
(3) Documents: The Documents grouping allows you to choose which document(s) to observe. It has been filtered to include only those activities done since your last login. You can choose "Any", "Selected", "Current Folder", or "Current Document" from the pull-down menu. This grouping also has a negating option which is activated by clicking the "Not" button. An additional function provided by this grouping is to permit the document or folder to be designated as a primary or secondary target. The current document or folder will set the object of interest to the current selection which is being displayed in the viewer list.
For folders: When you consider a folder as the primary target, then the query will run only through the folder and look for activities done to the folder alone. On the other hand, if you consider a folder as the secondary target, then the query will run through all folder contents, if they exist, and look for all activities done to the folder and its contents.
For documents: When you consider a document as the primary target, then the query will only run through the document and look for activities done to the document alone. On the other hand, if you consider a document as the secondary target, then the query will run through all the folder comments, if they exist, and look for all activities done to the folder and its comments.
(4) Time: For the Time grouping, you can choose "Any", "Ago", "Between", or "Since". "Any" will return activities spanning all times, while "Ago," "Between," and "Since" will return activities for user-determined time intervals. These are designated in the pop-up box when you click on the particular choice. On the top bar of the Query Builder window, you can find "Options" and "Query" menus. For those who desire to do a more advanced query, then selecting "Options" and "Show Components" will enable you to do so. The "Query" menu only has a "Show Query" sub-menu available for common users to choose. This sub-menu will generate a text window with the query presented. There are no choices presented here, since this feature is mainly for developers' purposes.
After selecting your query properly, you can start it by clicking the "Search Now" button. The result will be displayed in a "Project Activity Display" window. Within this display window, you can slightly modify your query. These modifications include designating the 1st or 2nd key for ordering, and whether the display is ascending or descending.
Another button, "Add to List," is also provided for you to modify the query which has been created.
The User Activity menu will give a User Session Display. This is a graphical representation of users' sessions. After the user(s) and the time interval is specified, and the "Plot" button is clicked, the requested user session will be displayed. It can be displayed as bar or as area, and it can be zoomed in/out. "Clear All" and "Clear Select" buttons are provided to clear the plot accordingly.
The dialog box shows a plot for each session over the past x days requested. then click the desired users from the names listed in the box. The dialog box will show a plot for each session over the past x days requested. The most recent session is at the top. If the user has not logged in during the period, their box is yellow. If they are currently logged in, the box has a red line around it. This facility is very useful in learning user(s) pattern of logging in to CASCADE. It can be used to set up a meeting time with certain members as well knowing when they used to login.
The document information provides information of a document being viewed. For example, who created it, which project it belongs to, what is its description, type, subtype, lock status, etc. The access level is also shown here. For those who have the privilege, this access protection can be changed here.
The folder information is very similar with the document information.
This dialog shows the current logged in session. It provides the session ID, login (start) time, logged in user, project, host, and port number.
This system gives the user most current message or information about the system sent by the developers. It will be enabled when there is a message, otherwise it is disabled.
CASCADE allows user preferences for comment display. By selecting the "comment display" menu choice, a comment window is shown to the user. You can choose size of mural (large or small), mural background color (CR- user-defined or BK- black) and status of comment (on or off) in mural area for all documents. Also, you can select the comment color in this menu as the dialog shown below:
This dialog shows that at the current time, comments are being displayed based on their status, which may be either "open", "pending", or "settled". They will be displayed in "blue", "rose", or "green" respectively. Again, keep in mind that the dimension classified and the values allowed may be different for any given CASCADE project. Also, the colors chosen and the dimension displayed will be set by you depending on what you are interested in seeing.
One more setting can be made, that is to specify the labeling. Users are given the option to see the comments labeling by usernames, first name, last names, first initials, date/time when the comment was made, or date/time when the comment was last modified.
Bookmarks allows the user to keep track of specific documents they might want to jump to at various points in their session. Like a teleporter, a bookmark will move the user to the specific document and change all of the related environment variables appropriately. Bookmarks are persistent across sessions and keep track of where a user was last in a given session. Bookmarks are added by simply clicking on the ``Add Bookmark'' choice when it appears. Bookmarks are removed by clicking on the ``Remove Bookmark'' option. The bookmark for that selected document will then be deleted. Editing bookmark is also available in this menu. A bookmark dialog will be shown as below when you click on the ``Edit Bookmark'' option. You can jump to the selected document by clicking on the bookmark list. When changing a project, a new bookmark associated with the project will be loaded.
Using the edit bookmark dialog, there are several setting that you can specify. The red circles preceding a bookmark indicates that this bookmark is available under the bookmark menu. Without the red circle, you will not find the bookmark under the menu. This feature is provided with the intend to simplify or reduce the amount of information, in this case bookmarks, which are immediately shown, but without reducing the capability of having more bookmarks when needed. The options are to order the bookmarks alphabetically or chronologically. You can also the maximum number of bookmarks that you want to display in the menu.
This choice shows the documents that were opened in a current session beginning with the most recent on top. History also keeps track of where you are in a document, so using the history list to navigate through documents will not only return you to the document, but to the location within the document where you last were.
The history menu has a special property - it is a tear-off menu. You can click on the tear-off bar locating at the top of the history list menu. Then the menu will become a dialog window for selection as below.
The browser provides a tree-based visual display of the folders or document structure. A separate window is used to display the space. A sample browser screen is shown below. You can use the scroll bar to roll through the display. You can click on the nodes to change directories or to display documents. The nodes in this tree diagram are color-coded in the same manner as items in the folder list:
The yellow node indicates a second or third level directory that contains a large number of entries. In order to avoid cluttering the display, these are summarized as the yellow node. Clicking on the node that is the immediate parent of this node (the button to the immediate left) will expand the yellow node and redisplay the screen. Immediate children of the highest node(farthest left) on the tree are always displayed.
An option is given whether to show the comments or not. This is done by enabling or disabling the "Show Comment" checkbox located at the lower side of the display.
This choice will move you back to the root of the project you are in at that time.
To edit a document you are reading, simply choose the "Edit Document" option from the "Document" menu on the main menu bar. The screen will change from light blue to white, the cursor will change from a "link arrow" to an I bar, and the status line at the bottom of the screen will say "Edit Mode". When you have finished editing, choose "Save and Continue Editing" from the "Document" menu to save the file and continue your editing. You can also choose other exiting options, which are "Save and Exit Editor", to save and return to "read/comment" mode.
If you are doing a lot of editing, it is probably a good idea to periodically save your work. This is really important with client server applications because it is possible that you could lose the connection to the server for reasons over which you have no control. You can choose the "Discard Changes" option to abort your editing changes or "Discard Changes and Exit Editor". This last option will leave the document without any changes and exit the editing mode, returning to the view mode.
This menu will print the current document on your default printer. CASCADE will use the printer specified by the "Printer" environment variable. If this is not specified, CASCADE will require you to enter a legitimate printer name. In either case, you can change the name of the printer or document to be used.
This menu option enables the user to print a document with the comments. Each comment in the document will be given a number, and there will be an endnote for each associated comment.
This menu allows you to insert a document from your local machine. It is not quite the same as "Import Document", because this option works within an opened document instead of having a new document. When the "Select File to Insert" dialog appears, just click the file that you want to insert and CASCADE will insert your file into the document. At this point of time, this function will only work for plain text documents.
Line Wrap/ Show Special Characters
These selections allow you to wrap lines or show special characters in given document viewers.
This selection gives you another window dialog box as a notepad. You can navigate around CASCADE with this notepad window open. As below, the smaller window for the shown document is a notepad window.
This menu provides standard editing functions. The menu items -- Undo, Redo, Copy, Cut, Paste, Select All, Clear, and searching functions (find, find next, replace).
The Utility menu provides access to applications for expanding the domain of documents which you may manipulate. These applications are Notepad, HTML Editor, Web Browser, PostScript Viewer, PDF Viewer, Image Viewer, Audio Player and Video Player. A Mail utility is also provided here. These utilities will need to be set by you as the user. You need to decide what application to use and is available in your local machine, and specify it in the Preference-Utility dialog window. For example, if you want to use Netscape as the Web Browser; then you should open the Preference dialog window from the Main menu and go to the "Utility" folder. Here in the Web Browser space fill in Netscape's path on your local machine. If you do not know the application path, you might need to ask someone who is familiar with your application directories.
The Mail utility is straight forward, but keep in mind that it is devoted for the use within the project. A list of recipients is provided in the "Recipient" folder. You can simply choose your mail recipient here.
This option provides information on how to use CASCADE. To begin, click on Help from the menu. The help is divided into several sections. From the help window, click on Navigate and choose "Table of Contents" which will show you the contents of the CASCADE help system. Choose from the table to find the help that you need.
In addition to the CASCADE Help system, there is also general help, i.e. a help on help. Within the help screen there is a help menu which when selected will display help on the various features of the help system.