Q: Can I collaborate in real time on a value model with a colleague who is working remotely or in another office?
A: Yes, multiple people can open the same value model at the same time. This is especially useful when working with colleagues in teams of two or more. Whether your colleague is on the other side of the planet, or working at the desk right behind you, the collaboration feature allows you to work together on the same model, without huddling over the same laptop or screen.
You can also take advantage of the collaboration feature while working on your own, simply by opening one model in multiple browser tabs at the same time.
Although any user who has the model open can make changes to it, only one user may Save those changes, in order to avoid data conflicts. After the first user (who has Edit or Owner permission on the model) opens it, all subsequent users access the model in read-only state, even if they have Edit or Owner permission on the model.
If you are one of those users placed in read-only state, you will see a Reload button instead of Save, as seen below. Each time your colleague who has Edit control makes any changes, and hits the Save button, your Reload button will become active, allowing you to easily refresh the model with the latest modifications.
If you would like your colleague to transfer Edit control to you, click the blue collaborators link at the top of the page, followed by the Request Edit Access button, as seen above. They will be presented with the option to either Grant or Deny your request. If granted, the model will automatically reload for you, including any changes that your colleague has made, and removing any changes that you made while in read-only state.
As mentioned above, you can also use the collaboration feature to open the same model in different browser tabs by yourself. This is particularly useful if you want to have it open in multiple tools (e.g. Value Modeling and Value Communication) simultaneously. Then, you can pass the Edit control back and forth with yourself by requesting permission in one tab and granting permission in the next.
Do you have a question you think would make a good tool tip? Email techsupport@leveragepoint.com.
