Glossary for Business Collaborator version 4.9

This glossary introduces the most important concepts in Business Collaborator. New users are strongly recommended to take a few moments to familiarise themselves with these concepts.

(Clicking on a term will take you to a relevant discussion in the help pages. To return to this glossary, use the "Back" button of your web browser.)

Access Rights - Different levels of access to objects are available (e.g. read or write) and these can be customised. Access rights can be set for individuals or groups.

Action - an operation which can be performed on an object.

Address Book - your Business Collaborator address book is automatically kept up-to-date with the names and email addresses of everyone you invite, or who invites you, to a workspace. You can also add a member to your address book manually.

Archive - transform several objects on the server into a single file saving storage space and reducing download times

Bag - a clipboard into which objects can be placed in order to move them.

Banner - used to customise your web page by adding a suitable logo or image to it

Brava! - third-party software used to permit server-side viewing and markup (redlining) of documents

Business Collaborator home page - the first screen you see when you log on to Business Collaborator which shows all workspaces of which you are a member. (You may rearrange your view of these workspaces as you wish but workspaces to which you have been newly invited will always appear at this level.)

Catchup - select this action when you no longer want to be reminded of the events associated with that particular object.

Collection - similar to a folder but more suitable for holding large numbers of objects. Collections are searched rather than browsed to locate items within them.

Discussion - used to ask questions and get responses concerning a particular object

Document - any kind of data file that can be uploaded to a folder or workspace. In addition to plain text documents, Business Collaborator can be used to store and organise proprietary document types, such as MSWord or WordPerfect, PostScript files, MSExcel spreadsheets, GIF images, zipped files and many more.

Edit - use the new (in Business Collaborator version 4.9) Save from Windows functionality to edit your document quickly and simply by clicking on   |  Edit   for the document.

Field - a column of data stored in a table (of a relational database)

Fold/Unfold - to make a folder display/hide its contents without going into the folders directory

Folder - an object that is used to store other objects inside it. They are generally used to avoid cluttering the screen with objects that are not related to one another. They are used to categorize your objects so that they appear in a sensible hierarchy within the workspace.

Issue - this is a means of formalising the exchange of documents, where the user creating the issue can create a meaningful grouping of documents and request and obtain responses from a number of people

Immutable - objects that are immutable cannot be changed, e.g. a document that has been issued is immutable as it may be revised but cannot be edited

Mailbox - used to store e-mail from any one of your e-mail accounts

Member - is a user, who has been "invited" to the workspace. This usually means that members of a workspace have access to its contents (although this may be reconfigured by changing the access rights).

Merge - to transform two tables into a single table

Metadata - is data about data which mightt include attributes such as the author's name and file type.

Mobile Query - a search query which can be reused and shared with other users

Notification - to request regular information via e-mail concerning all actions that have been performed on your object in a specified time-interval

Object - a workspace, folder, document, web link (or URL), relational database, discussion, meeting or other object built into the Business Collaborator system.

ODBC - Open Database Connectivity which allows Business Collaborator to link to back end databases

Owner - you automatically become an owner of an object if you create it. Additional owners of an object can be added. Access rights are usually set so that owners have a different set of allowed actions to members.

Personal Space - a limited amount of space allocated to each user for their private use. Private folders and personal objects such as the waste basket contribute to a user's personal account.

Personal Folder - a folder for use by an individual - members cannot be invited. A personal folder is part of a user's personal account.

Publish - select this action to update your 'Publish URL' link with your new version of its 'default' page.

Record - a row of data stored in a table

Relational Database - a number of tables which are linked together via fields of related data. These tables can contain any number of fields with all possible kinds of information stored in them such as names of members of staff, their e-mail addresses, etc.

Replace - to replace an old object with a more up-to-date one.

Server-side document viewing - is an option in Business Collaborator version 4.5 and above. Documents can be viewed and marked up (redlined) without downloading them from the server and without having a suitable application installed locally

Shared Folder - a subdivision of a workspace. A folder for use by a set of members.

Version - select this action to track how many times your document has been updated. Previous versions will have been replaced but they are retrievable if necessary.

Weblink/ URL - points to the location (or address) of a web page. URL stands for Universal Resource Locator.

Workspace - is a folder that is accessible to other members as well as to its owner. It can contain a hierarchy of folders and documents. A workspace should be used to collect together related objects which will be shared amongst the same group of people - for instance to provide a company Intranet or to collaborate with colleagues and clients on a business project. A workspace is the object created by an organisation or a group to allow collaboration.

bc.support@groupbc.com, September 2003