Step 2: Gather Content

This is where the power of Collaborate comes into play.

Team members can be assigned tasks to work on content and send it to the Editor for approval. This makes the work of the Editor and Art Director much easier.

The flatplan will reflect the status of the content for each page, based on what has been approved by the Editor.

Working with Articles

When you want to work on an Article, click its working title on the spread. You can also go to the Articles section at the top menu and open it from there.

You can write your Article directly in the text editor at the top of the Article view and apply simple text options, such as Paragraph or Heading 1, 2, 3 and 4. You can also set the text to be bold, italics or underlined.

If you prefer to write your Article in a separate document (such as in a word-processing application), you can upload it directly to the Article view. You can also upload images or other files that should be included in the article.

To upload files:

1. Use the UPLOAD FILES button under the text-editor field. The Contributor can upload a Word, Pages or other type of text document as a file attached to the Article. 
2. Share the upload link with others, so they can add to the article. Each article has a unique link which will notify the Editor and any assigned Contributor when content is uploaded.

NOTE: You don’t have to be a team member or have an Issuu account to use the upload link.

All team members can add comments to an Article at any time. If no member is set to be notified directly, this comment will only go to the current owner. It will also be visible in the article history.

TIP: The Article History is on the right-hand side of the Article view. Here you can see a list of all changes made to the Article and who has made the changes. By clicking on the version number, a new window will open showing the changes made to the text in the text editor.

Working with Ads

You can find an overview of all Ads currently in the Publication at the sidebar on the flatplan, or in the Ads section at the top menu.

Hover on the Ad will show an Edit button. This will allow you to edit the specifications you chose when creating the Ad, and mark the Ad as complete.

To upload content for an Ad,

1. Select an Ad from the list on the Ad view page
2. Click the UPLOAD FILES button on the righthand side. Here you'll also find an upload link that you can share with others who will be contributing to the Ad. As with articles, they don’t need to be a team member or have an Issuu account to upload via the link.

TIP: If you're using the same Ads in multiple Publications you can move or copy an Ad to another Publication. To do this:

1. Click EDIT next to the Ad on the Ad view.
2. At the bottom of the pop-up, you will find a MOVE/COPY button. You can choose whether to move or copy the ad, and what publication you wish to move or copy it to. 

Article and Ads Process

When a Contributor or other team member working on an Article is finished, he or she can either forward it to another team member or set it to Complete pending approval, which will assign it back to the Editor for approval or rejection.

An Ad is initially set to be In Progress. When the Salesperson has uploaded the final content for it, the status of the Ad is simply set to Complete.

The upper status bar on the flatplan shows the status of all Articles and Ads on a page. The status colors are as follows:

• Yellow - In progress
• Red - Overdue (according to the set deadline set)
• Green - Marked as Complete by the Editor

Managing the Workflow

When working with Articles and Ads, you can assign them to different team members or change the status of the content at the bottom right-hand side of the menu, under Article History.

Articles and Ads can be unassigned, assigned, pending approval or complete:

• Unassigned: All Articles and Ads start out in this state. Anyone can edit an Article or upload content. This state will be displayed as yellow on the flatplan.
• Assigned: The Editor assigns an Article or Ad to team members. Team members will also be able to assign Articles or Ads to others. Anyone can upload content, as this doesn’t overwrite previous files. This state will also be displayed as yellow on the flatplan.
• Pending approval: Once an Article or Ad is finished, the assigned team member (or Editor) on that task can submit it for approval. This will alert the Editor to review it, and then accept or reject it. This state is displayed as yellow on the flatplan.
• Complete: When an Editor has reviewed the content and accepts it, he or she can mark it as Complete. Only the Editor can reopen this for edits after this state. Once all content on the page has been completed, the state will be displayed as green on the flatplan.