Notes, Comments

Comment & Threads

No more checking through multiple email threads, all comments and threads are kept centralized inside the proof with real-time collaboration.

As new proof versions are uploaded, all the notes and comments get locked down on the older proofs, but they are still visible when you compare the versions. This gives you a full audit trail and allows reviewers to only ever annotate on the latest proof, avoiding mistakes.

As users start to add notes, they will appear in the tray on the right-hand side of the screen. The comments tray can be hidden or displayed when users are in the review interface, allowing reviewers to use the entire screen.

Once a note gets created, it will display the author of the comment, and if "allow comments" is ticked, other reviewers can add comments against the note. 

This function is handy if you want to start a discussion thread or canvas opinion on a particular note. Different users can apply comments, and they will appear in the thread, the comments can also have uploads attached to them. 

If you want to draw other reviewers' attention to a note or comment, you can @mention the user. 

@mentions

When reviewing a proof, you may want to canvas another person's opinion, ask a question, or give yourself a sanity check!

@mention anyone inside a note or comment and the @mentioned user will receive an invite which will take them to your specific note where they can reply.  The user will not see any other comments allowing them to focus precisely on the area where you need input. This ensures concise feedback from your @mention reviewer.

When a reviewer types the @ symbol inside a note or when commenting on a note, suggested users (based the reviewer's contacts and teammates) will be smart listed while the user is typing. Reviewers can also @mention anyone outside of the reviewer's contacts (with appropriate permissions) by simply @mentioning an email address, that address will then get added to the reviewer's contact list for future use.

This feature allows for quick, targeted responses to questions and queries for reviewers who may or may not be inside the proofing project. The @mention is targeted and only exposes the @mentioned party to the specific note where assistance is required. 

Efficient Markup Display

When the reviewers annotate and comment on proofs, the notes may not get applied in any particular order. For example, note one might be in the middle of the page, and note two could be in the top left corner.

When the document author or art-worker comes to apply the changes, it could be more challenging and less time-efficient moving around the file implementing the changes in note order. With Efficient Markup Display it doesn't have to be.

Aproove WM added the X-Y sort button to automatically re-order the notes based on the X-Y position on the page. Now the author or art-worker can apply the changes in the most efficient way of moving left to right, top to bottom, across the page. 

This time-saving feature contributes to high return on investment by saving the time it takes to apply corrections.  

Conflict Management

The key to the successful progression of projects, tasks, and proofing is clear and concise instructions and feedback that enables work to progress while keeping to the deadlines.

video above;  Example of a conflict manager making a decision when a deadline has expired 

Legal compliance can also be a huge factor, and you must have mechanisms in place to ensure the processes get followed.

What happens if a deadline or task does not get completed before the deadline or two reviewers have conflicting decisions in a workflow?

Aproove Work Management caters for Conflict Resolution in multiple ways:

Deadlines
Aproove WM will allow multiple Conflict Resolution Managers to be assigned at any stage and across any group. The Conflict Resolution Manager gets notified if a task or deadline is close to expiring or has expired.

Now the assigned Conflict Manager can:

• Contact the team member that has not carried out a task
• Extend the task deadline (it cannot get extended past the project deadline)
• Do the task themselves
• Force the task to the next or a previous stage in the workflow

Notes and Comments
The ability to have discussion threads on notes and comments is beneficial, but it could lead to an indecision if two or more people do not agree. The Author or Project Manager can make decisions in notes and threads and then close the discussion.

This ensures clear, concise feedback inside the thread. For audit purposes, all the notes and threads get saved to ensure full accountability across all the versions. 

Proof Instructions Across Multiple Proofs

Sometimes you need to give a proofing instruction that is not associated with any specific object on a page. You may also want to apply that instruction across multiple proofs. This is where the Proof Instructions note tool comes in handy.

From the project flatplan the user can:

• Click on "Select Proofs"
• Select the proofs you want to add page instructions too
• Type in your instruction
• The note will get added to each page that was selected 

When you go to one of the proofs, the page instruction is displayed in the notes tray with a blue background to differentiate a proof note from an annotation.

Deep Zoom

Aproove's tiling technology allows you to zoom even deeper into your proofs, enabling you to check those finer details such as small text and icons with un-believable speed.

When files get uploaded, they automatically get "tiled" into thousands of pieces during the ripping process using Aproove WM's patented technology. 

As a user starts to zoom on a file priority gets given to that area. Deep Zoom pieces together the relevant tiles and sends them back to your browser display at incredible speed. This provides the reviewer with a smooth and fast display experience as they move around the proof, and they never have to wait for the entire proof to render before it is displayed. 

Aproove Work Management even lets the administrator (enterprise-level) set the zoom level on a project by project basis. This gives granular control to decide if you want a higher zoom ratio on specific content and a lower zoom ratio (saving space) on other content.

This means that:

• The zoom display is fast
• The zoom level is deep
• Checking small content such as type and icons is extremely easy
• Notes and annotations can be applied even when you are zoomed in at a deep ratio.