The new interface showing a project page SIX Evolving the user experience Easy to use, self-evident, familiar, simple; the user experience has been central to the development of BC Six, the latest version of our industry renowned project collaboration service. Enhanced usability A brand new portal-inspired interface, that is both appealing to use and familiar, has been developed with two fundamental purposes: to inform users by driving key information to them; and to rapidly direct them by making navigation simple and as quick as possible. We’ve introduced new server, project and module summary pages and made the global dashboard clearer. Enriched collaborative management Integration with MS Office 2003 and 2007 has been extended, with direct file uploading from within MS Office applications, and email attachment only uploading from MS Outlook®. Email management has been improved to include header metadata. New document management features enable metadata editing for issued files, drawing comparisons and simpler batch printing. All-in-all, these are just a shortlist of some of the new powerful features, that makes BC Six more than just an upgrade. • New user interface • Integration with MS Office • Improved email management • Improved drawing management Product sheet BC Six “The extranet you can build on” now boasts a new interface, more desktop integration, and improved email management, all developed with one single premise, to put ease of use at the forefront of the user experience.
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The new interface showing a project page
SIX
Evolving the user experience
Easy to use, self-evident, familiar, simple; the user experience has been central to the development of BC Six, the latest version of our industry renowned project collaboration service.
Enhanced usabilityA brand new portal-inspired interface, that is both appealing to use and familiar, has been developed with two fundamental purposes: to inform users by driving key information to them; and to rapidly direct them by making navigation simple and as quick as possible. We’ve introduced new server, project and module summary pages and made the global dashboard clearer.
Enriched collaborative managementIntegration with MS Office 2003 and 2007 has been extended, with direct file uploading from within MS Office applications, and email attachment only uploading from MS Outlook®.
Email management has been improved to include header metadata. New document management features enable metadata editing for issued files, drawing comparisons and simpler batch printing. All-in-all, these are just a shortlist of some of the new powerful features, that makes BC Six more than just an upgrade.
• New user interface
• Integration with MS Office
• Improved email management
• Improved drawing management
Product sheet BC Six
“The extranet you can build on” now boasts a new interface, more desktop integration, and improved email management, all developed with one single premise, to put ease of use at the forefront of the user experience.
Enhancing usabilityMaking time more productiveFind files using enhanced navigation panelThe navigation panel now provides users with alternative methods to navigate the system simply and quickly. The panel can be switched between projects (previously referred to as workspaces) and the user’s personal areas (e.g. their bag, waste bin, saved searches, schema settings, etc.). Using new navigation buttons, the panel can also display a searchable list of projects, or a reworked global dashboard.
View contextual module information with module tabs and portletsIt is now possible to extend the interface by adding module tabs and portlets that display information contextual to the current project. This ensures users can quickly view the relevant information from other modules without having to switch to them.
Use email file metadata for rapid retrieval of uploaded correspondenceEmail header information (such as To, From, Subject, etc.) are now saved as metadata, meaning that sorting and searching for emails is even easier.
Quickly access recent projectsA list of recently accessed projects is presented in Recent Projects portlet, available on the new server summary page. Users can quickly return to the projects they last accessed without needing to browse to them using the navigation tree.
Take fewer steps to find project information with quick search portletA quick search portlet provides users with a simple search form available from the server summary and project summary portals.
Batch print with easeThe batch printing functionality has been revamped and enhanced. Users can now refine selections, utilise customisable default settings (for quick processing) and pick from templates to include metadata in the banners or watermarks.
Cutting-out the painClearly view your projectsThe new projects panel replaced the workspace panel. Pagination in the panel has been replaced with vertical scrolling - making the panel more scalable no matter how many projects a user has - and also enables projects to be grouped in categories. This list now also includes the Projects where the user has been invited only to access sub-folders within those projects. A “flag” icon highlights new projects.
Know exactly where you are with improved location barThe new location bar has been improved to clearly display the project being accessed and the user’s current location within that project. It only appears on one row, no matter what the location; a new drop-down reveals the full path of the current location which can be used for navigation.
Jump easily between modulesNew, always visible, module links enable users to easily switch between BC modules without opening multiple browser windows.
Easily access user informationUser information has been relocated to the top-right, with the intuitive new location making access to user settings easier.
What’s New in BC Six SIX
Remove duplication of effort with repeat issuingWhen issuing document revisions, it is now easy to access a list of recipients of the previous versions using the user picker. Users who previously received documents for information can be promoted to reviewers and suggested recipients are contextual to the previous workflow, ensuring that previous review processes can be followed.
Edit metadata after issuing filesCertain privileged users can now make corrections to file metadata after the file has been issued and/or revised. All changes and previous data are captured in the files audit trail. This improves the accuracy of information and management of documents and files.
Giving you more controlBring key information to the fore with portal-inspired interfaceNew server summary page and project summaries pages, utilising a portal-like approach, have been introduced. The portlets drive information to users and present a range of summary, server, project and related module information.
Get more visibility to tasks with granular global dashboardThe Task dashboard is now presented in the left-hand panel and provides a more granular and detailed view of outstanding tasks and their due period. The documents/issue toggle has been removed. Coloured text clearly indicates overdue tasks.
See your Day fileThe Day file (right) summarises a user’s incoming pipeline of work over a prescribed period. By default summarising all incoming issues for the previous day, the user is able to see a breakdown by type of issue and their action status.
Instantly know project activityThe Project Totals portlet provides improved visibility of activity by listing the document and transmittal types in a project, with a count of each.
View the status of project tasksThe Project Tasks portlet displays a summary of task information, akin to the new global dashboard in the left-hand panel, but relative to a project.
Stay abreast of file changes with Brava!® XBC Six incorporates the powerful Brava!® Enterprise .NET compare functionality. Files can be visually compared by using side-by-side comparisons, dynamic fade overlaying, or using automatic difference highlighting. Brava!® Enterprise is the “flagship” release from IGC which ensures file compatibility and the largest feature set, and can be pre-installed for BC enterprise customers – something the JavaTM version cannot be.
Making it familiarCustomise project workspacesAvailable on project summary pages, the project information portlet enables user to present basic information relating to the project, such as a project description, project owners as well as a project specific image.
Maintain familiarity with backward compatible interfaceBC Six will continue to work in the Sapphire Interface although without any of the new user interface components. The new Graphite interface has been designed so that the majority of custom-branded interfaces can be easily migrated. Familiarity is retained with the benefits of the new interface
Improving information sharing & managementIntegrate with your desktop using MS Office add-inA .NET add-in for MS Office Standard 2003 and 2007 (including Outlook®, Word, Excel® and PowerPoint®), has been developed to provide a simple and intuitive way to save files directly to BC Six, without having to save them locally or first close the file. Projects can be browsed and searched from within the add-in and previously accessed projects found easily through Bookmarks and Recent locations.
Extract & upload email attachments using enhanced MS Outlook® add-inProvides a simple and intuitive way to add project-related files that are attached to emails. The MS Outlook® .NET add-in has been extended to enable attachments to be uploaded and tagged separately.
Better process supportReceive clearer instant email notificationsInstant email notifications have changed to look more like an email and can also be formatted with custom branding. Notifications will appear to have been sent by the user. The emails also include more context, including the details of any response or reply.
Improving team communicationStay abreast of project newsThe BC News module, now implemented as standard, enables users to stay up-to-date on project, programme and company developments. The news module enables permitted users to add news items and present recent headlines on the main news page. The module can be further extended to show headlines in a portlet on the server start page.
