Annotating Files in Renaissance – ec2i

ec2i use a third party software product called Dialogue to deliver the ability to annotate pages and images within Renaissance.

Although it’s a third party component, the integration between Renaissance and Dialogue is seamless, so the user has no separate login to another system and their activity is entirely constrained and audited within Renaissance.

The link to open a file for annotation is presented in one of two ways:

On the Version Page and Image grids, clicking on the 'Annotate' icon will open the file. Please note, that if a file has annotations on it’s current version, the icon will have a pink background.
In the Flat Plan and Page Turner, clicking on the ‘Annotate’ link will open the file.


Page Turner

Version Page or Image Grid

Flat Plan

It’s also possible to open multiple files at once in Dialogue from the Version Page or Image grids by selecting the check box next to the required files and selecting the ‘Annotate’ option from the drop down list at the foot of the page.

Once a file is open, the user is presented with the interface below.

Important Notes (please read before you get started):

If another user starts annotating the file while you’re viewing it, the annotation notes they add will appear on your screen in real time.
If you wish to be notified when another user opens a file that you’re currently viewing, enable the ‘Connection Notification’ in the Preferences menu at the bottom of the page.
Please note, that depending on the configuration of the user, the access to the approval buttons in the bottom right corner of the screen may vary.
One important thing to remember is that a user can only change or delete annotations they have added during their current session while the file is open. Once the file is closed, annotations added previously cannot be changed.
If you have made a mistake, please use the ‘Add a comment’ to the original annotation, by clicking on the ‘Add Comment’ icon highlighted in red on the image below. Depending on the configuration of the user who left the original annotation, they may receive an email notification advising them that a comment has been added to their note.

Explanation of Dialogue Tools (clicking on the chevron, if available, will reveal more options)

	Adds a marker for the annotation and allows you to move the actual comment box away from the marker, so as not to obscure the area underneath.
	Please adjust alignment.
	Please adjust brightness.
	Please adjust colour.
	Please adjust contrast.
	Something went wrong here.
	Please adjust placement.
	Please adjust resolution.
	Please adjust size.
	With any of the options above, enabling the ‘sticky’ option before placing the first mark on the file, will enable you to place multiple occurrences of the mark without going back to the menu and selecting it each time.

Pencil	A drawing tool that lets you draw a shape of your choice to indicate the area for correction.
Rectangle	A simple tool that allows you to draw a rectangle shape to indicate the area for correction.
Ellipse	A simple tool that allows you to draw an elliptical shape to indicate the area for correction.
Arrow	Allows you to draw an arrow shape. The direction of the arrow is in the direction you drag.

Word	To use, click once on the word of your choice. The word is selected and a new annotation note is created using that word.
Line	To use, click once on the line of your choice. The line is selected and a new annotation note is created using the words from that line.
Paragraph	To use, click once on the paragraph of your choice. The paragraph is selected and a new annotation note is created using the words from that paragraph.
	Please note with all three of these options, you can click in the note and change the text. Anything you change will be highlighted in green to indicate the change.

	Measures distance horizontally and vertically including the angle as you move the mouse.
	Measures the angle in degrees only as you move the mouse.
	Measures the area of a square as you draw it.
	Measures the area of a shape as you draw it.
	After you have used one of the measuring tools above, clicking on the note icon in the top right corner of the measuring tools menu will add the measurement as an annotation note.

The Channels tool allows you to turn off the colour channels of a file by clicking on the eye icon next to each one. This is useful if you want to check that black text is overprinting tint panels or if you wish to check which elements of a file are in a spot colour.

	The densitometer tool allows you to check the colour breakdown of any element of a file.
	To add the readings of the densitometer as an annotation, click the icon in the top left corner that appears as you mouse over the target.
	To close the densitometer, click the icon in the top right corner that appears as you mouse over the target.
	If you want to detach the target of the densitometer from the box where the values are displayed, click the link icon. Clicking the link icon again will re-attach the target and value boxes.

PDF which has individual pages set as spreads, then this allows you to view them as single pages. However, if you’re viewing PDFs produced by ec2i’s production system, this will not work, because each spread is seen as a ‘whole page’ by the software. You can, however, choose to view the PDF with or without the trim marks using this tool.

This allows you to rotate the file you’re viewing, so this is useful if you have packaging type work or, like one of our clients, you produce one half of your catalogue upside down!

General

Encoding
Best to leave as UTF8.

Units
Select the unit in which the measurements are displayed.

Use pixels for Images
If this option is selected all measurements are displayed in pixels, and the unit selected in the Units option is not used.

JPEG Quality
Type a JPEG quality value in %. 100 would be maximum quality.

Screen Resolution
You must type the resolution of your screen in this text field, to allow for an accurate display in 100% display mode.

Retina
This option is only available if a Retina screen is connected. Select this option to take advantage of the higher pixel density of the screen.

Moiré Reduction
Enabling this option will reduce the appearance of Moiré, but will slow down the display of the files.

Create Note as Checkable
Select this option to automatically enable the check status each time a note is inserted. If this option is not selected, you will have to manually select the Enable Check Status check box in the contextual menu of the note.

Connection Notification
If you enable this setting, then you will receive an on screen notification if another user opens the same file as you in Dialogue. Please note, even with this setting disabled, if another user starts annotating the file while you’re viewing it, the annotation notes they add will appear on your screen in real time.

Monitor Profile
It’s possible to setup calibration control of a user’s monitor in the system. If this is of interest, please contact ec2i.

Clicking the ‘Zoom to Fit’ option will resize the preview of the file, so it fits in the available space in the browser window. Moving the slider will increase or decrease the magnification. Clicking on the ‘1:1’ button will change the display, so 1 pixel of the file is displayed as 1 pixel on screen.

Revisions and Comparing Files

Until a file is saved after having annotations added, the ‘Revisions’ tool will be greyed out. However once a file has had at least one annotation added and has then been changed in some way afterwards, the Revisions tool becomes active and shows a count of how many revisions are present.

	Clicking on the Revisions tool displays a list of the revisions and the option to view or compare with the current or another version. If you choose to compare with another previous version, both versions will then be available for comparison.

	By default when files are opened for comparison, the system analyses both files and highlights the differences between them. Please note, the ‘blinking’ effect can be disabled from the sub menu of the Analyse tool, which is accessed by clicking on the chevron.

	The ‘Overlay’ mode, allows you to use the red divider to slide back and forwards, revealing the version underneath as you go.

	The ‘Side by Side’ mode, allows you to view both versions at once. Tip: Use the ‘Zoom to Fit’ option to fit both files in the application window as shown in the image to the left. Tip: Use the slider to magnify the image and you can then ‘move’ around the file and the system displays the exact area of both versions as you move.

The ‘Approval’ buttons are configured on a per user basis and may or may not be available to a user depending on their permissions and the stage of the file in the approval cycle.

The tools in the top right corner enable you to search the text in notes, expand or collapse all notes and sort.
However, the expand and collapse option only works on notes such as the standard note and densitometer.

The following options are available on annotation notes once they’ve been added by clicking on the gear icon (options) on the note.

Enable/Disable Check Status	If you enable this option a ‘check box’ is displayed on the note, which can be used to indicate if the instruction as been performed.
Mark as Checked	Set the Check Status to Checked.
Mark as Unread	Set the Read Status to Unread.
Copy Text to Clipboard	Copy the text of a note to the clipboard for pasting into another program.
Reply	Another way of commenting on a note.
Add attachment	You can upload an attachment for a note. The current limit is 10mb.
Delete	This is only available on annotation notes added while the document is open. If the document is closed and then re-opened, it is not available.

If you have enabled the Check Status, a box appears on the note that allows a user to indicate the instruction has been actioned.

If you have enabled the Read Status, a solid circle appears on the note that allows a user to indicate the note has been read.

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