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Table of Contents
The Author application
The Welcome page
Libraries
Opening an existing Model
Creating a New Model
Model Pages and Views
Sidebars and Notes Area
The Ribbon
Editing in Text View
Editing in Diagram View
Property Types
Author Online
License Activation
Working Online
Corporate Libraries
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Author 5.0 Quick Start Guide
Business Optix brings the rigor and
discipline of business modelling and
design into focus for the business user
It is ideal for managing and
communicating business best practice,
standards, policies and procedures
Author is the Business Optix authoring
tool
This Quick Start will show you just how
simple Author is to use
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The Welcome page
The Welcome page is a live web
page, giving you quick access to
the latest online
Help and Documentation
Downloads
Demos and Business Optix
Support.
If you are not connected to the
internet, all links on the page will
be disabled.
At the left are buttons for viewing
recent models, connecting to a
library and creating a New
Model.
NOTE:
The area at the top of the main Author window
shows the familiar Office-style ribbon.
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Libraries
The Libraries page is where
you go to connect to a library.
You may have several different
libraries available, in which
case select the one you want to
work with using the Library
dropdown.
You can Work Online or Offline:
in either case, you are still
connected to a library. The
library controls the types of
model and output styles
available, as well as the
Samples you can explore.
NOTE:
Author licensing requires connection (to any
library) at least every 28 days, after which you
will see this dialog when you start Author.
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Opening an existing Model
The Samples panel lists
example Business Optix
models (different libraries
may show different lists):
just click on one to open it.
You can also browse for
and open an existing
model, using the Open
button on the the Home
ribbon, or the Application
menu.
Or select any of your
Recent Models, shown
both on the Start Page and
on the Application menu.
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Creating a New Model
You can start building a new model by
clicking on the New Model button on the
Start Page, the Home ribbon, or the
Application menu.
Author will show you the types of model
available to you. The types of model
available will depend on which library you
are connected to (the example shows the
standard set available in the Business Optix
library).
To start creating a new process, double-
click on the Process icon.
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Model Pages and Views
You can have any number of
models open at a time, and
switch between them (and the
Start Page) by clicking the
appropriate page tab.
You can switch between Text
and Diagram view, using the
buttons on the Model ribbon or
the Status bar.
NOTE:
All standard models support both Text and
Diagram view, but some libraries may
offer models that only support Text view.
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Sidebars and Notes
The Model Explorer contains a
collapsible Table of Contents,
and an alphabetic Index, of all
the components of the model.
It also holds a list of
Stakeholders and the model’s
Change History.
The Properties Inspector allows
further detail to be entered
against each component. Each
type of component has its own
set of property trays.
The Notes area has separate
pages for property Guidance
Notes, component Comments,
and any Verification Issues with
the current model.
NOTE:
You can show or hide the Notes area using the Show/Hide Notes button on
the Status bar, and the sidebars using the Sidebars ribbon buttons.
You can resize the sidebars by dragging their edges. You can also drag
them to new positions (such as a separate monitor) by dragging their title bar.
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The Ribbon
The Home ribbon provides the
standard Windows Clipboard, File and
Editing commands.
Model offers a set of Insert tools
(which vary from one type of model to
another) for adding new components
to a model, along with the View and
Sidebars commands.
Output is where you’ll find the Outputs
and Styles commands used for
generating documentation from your
models.
Review provides Proofing, Comments
and Compare commands typically
used in model review and approval
cycles.
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Editing in Text View
You add components to a
model in Text view by clicking
on the relevant Insert tool on
the Model ribbon.
You can edit the properties of
the component as required.
The most important properties
are shown in the main text
area.
Further detail may be added
using the Properties Inspector.
You can delete a component
by right-clicking on its entry in
the Table of Contents, and
selecting Delete.
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Editing in Diagram View
To add a component in Diagram view, click first on the
tool and then on the diagram, where you want the
component to be added.
To place a Link, click
1. on the component you want to link FROM
2. on the link tool
3. on the component you want to link TO
You can move components by selecting them and
dragging them, or using the cursor keys (use the Ctrl
key to move a pixel at a time).
You can also
• resize them by dragging their edges (if resizable)
• edit their labels by double-clicking on them
• adjust them using the right-click menu
NOTE:
The Align and Distribute commands use the
FIRST item you selected as their base.
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Property Types
Most Author properties are standard text, check
boxes or drop-downs, but Author also uses the
following special types:
• Lookups let you select an existing component
from a drop-down list, or type the name of a
new component
• Lookup lists allow multiple lookups, using a
lookup dialog (click the + symbol to open the
dialog)
• Links allow one or (depending on the property)
more hyperlinks to be entered (click the link
symbol to open the dialog)
• Rich text editors allow text formatting, as well as
the inclusion of images and tables
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NOTE:
Not all lookup lists
allow new names to be added.
NOTE:
When working online,
you can select
documents, images and
models from a library.
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License Activation
Corporate user licenses are controlled from
the relevant corporate library.
Individual user licenses are controlled from
the standard Business Optix library.
Trial users (anyone without a library
account) cannot connect to a library, and so
are restricted to 28 days use.
After 28 days without connecting to a
library, you will no longer be able to create
or open models (though you will still be able
to Work Online to re-activate your license).
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Working Online
When you Work Online,
Author downloads any
new configuration files and
then shows the contents of
your selected Library.
The Business Optix library
shows only your private
My Work area, which
allows you to store files
online. Right-click on any
entry to see the available
options, or just double-
click on a file to open it.
Corporate libraries offer
additional features.
NOTE:
If you open a file from a library, you can continue
working on it even if you go offline.
The next time you go online, any changes you have
made will be uploaded to the library automatically.
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Corporate Libraries
Corporate Libraries contain
additional (to My Work) areas.
The Public area (if available)
provides anonymous access to
library content
The Reports area contains
HTML reports
The Shared area lets multiple
authors work together. Every
time you save a model here, a
new version is created.
The Stakeholders area is used
to hold generated outputs for
public use.
The Workflow area (if available)
provides access to in-flight
workflows.
NOTE:
If you are a corporate user, your system administrator
should have given you a Settings.xbp file.
Opening this from within Author will add the corporate
library to your Library dropdown.
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Business Optix:
Surrey
3 St Georges Yard | Farnham | Surrey | GU9 7LW
London (FusionExperience)
International House | 1 St Katherines Way, London, E1W 1UN
Dublin
Regus House | Harcourt Centre | Harcourt Road | Dublin 2
USA (FusionExperience)
9833 Fosbak Drive | Suite 1000 | Vienna | VA 22812
t/ + 44 (0) 845 600 0115
w/ businessoptix.com