Collaborating with other users on Asta Vision programmes

To start a collaboration session on an Asta Vision programme:

1. Click the File tab, then click Open.
2. Click Vision. If you are not already logged in, a button appears for you to log into Asta Vision.
3. Log into Asta Vision. A list of programmes to which you have access appears. You can filter the programmes that appear in the list by entering text in the Filter field, by clicking Status and selecting the programme statuses in which you are interested, or by selecting a specific programme type in the drop-down field to the right of the Status button. You can also filter the list so that it displays only programmes to which you have been assigned in Asta Vision, by clicking the Assigned to me check box. Filtering is a good way of reducing the number of programmes that appear in the list, making it easier to find the programme you want.
4. Right-click the programme on which you want to start a collaboration session and select Collaborate. The programme is checked out, a new collaboration session is started, and you see the Collaboration Programmes section of the Open tab, where the programme is added to the list of programmes that are currently under collaboration.
   
   If the Collaborate menu command is not available for a programme, either collaboration has not been enabled for the programme's project in Asta Vision, or the programme is currently checked out to you or another user.
5. You and other users can now click Collaborate to the right of the programme to join the collaboration session. When you do this, the programme opens in Asta Powerproject and you can begin working collaboratively on it. If you have specified that a programme or baseline revision should be imported and treated as a baseline automatically each time the selected programme is checked out or downloaded, the programme or baseline revision is downloaded at the same time and appears as a baseline in the Baseline/What If Manager dialog.

Once you have started a collaboration session on a programme, you can open it in the following ways:

• Click the programme in the Vision programme list, on the Open tab of the Backstage view.
• Click Collaborate to the right of the programme in the Collaboration Programmes section of the Open tab of the Backstage view.

Once you have started a collaboration session on a programme, if multiple users have been created in the programme using Library Explorer in Asta Powerproject, you can sign into the programme as a different user and start collaborating on it in the following ways:

• Right-click the programme in the Vision programme list, on the Open tab of the Backstage view, and select Collaborate as New User.
• Right-click the programme in the Collaboration Programmes section of the Open tab, and select Collaborate as New User.

Collaboration sessions do not appear in the Recent section of the Open tab of the Backstage view.

To join a collaboration session that has already been started on an Asta Vision programme:

1. Click the File tab, then click Open.
2. Click Vision. If you are not already logged in, a button appears for you to log into Asta Vision.
3. Click Collaborate. You see the Collaboration Programmes section of the Open tab, which lists the programmes to which you have access that are currently under collaboration.
4. Click Collaborate to the right of a programme. The programme opens in Asta Powerproject and you can begin working collaboratively on it.

Once a collaboration session has been started on a programme, if multiple users have been created in the programme using Library Explorer in Asta Powerproject, you can sign into the programme as a different user and start collaborating on it in the following ways:

• Right-click the programme in the Vision programme list, on the Open tab of the Backstage view, and select Collaborate as New User.
• Right-click the programme in the Collaboration Programmes section of the Open tab, and select Collaborate as New User.

While working in a collaboration session, all the users who are collaborating can make changes to the programme. As well as seeing your own changes, you see the changes made by other users, as they make them, in real time. For example, if another user creates a new task in your current view, that task will appear instantly in your view; if another user deletes a task from your current view, that task will disappear instantly from your view. As soon as a user starts to make an edit, all the objects being edited are locked, highlighted with a different background colour, and remain locked until that user saves their edits. You are unable to edit an object if it is locked to another user.

While working in a collaboration session, you may find it useful to communicate to other users who are collaborating, using Asta Powerproject's chat feature. You can send messages to the other users to let them know what changes you are making or to ask their opinion. You can also use chat to let other users know if you need them to save their changes and leave the session - for example, before rescheduling the programme, or before checking it in or submitting it.

You, and other users, can leave and rejoin collaboration sessions whenever you like. To leave a collaboration session, simply save your work and close the programme. If all users leave a collaboration session, as long as nobody has checked in or submitted the programme, the session remains open and you and other users can rejoin it at any time. Note that if you want to rejoin a collaboration session, you must join it via the Collaboration Programmes section of the Open tab, as collaboration sessions do not appear in the recent projects list.

A collaboration session remains open until a user checks in or submits the programme - or until they cancel the check out - at which point the programme is checked in or submitted and the collaboration session ends.

We recommend that you commit your changes regularly, and that you do not leave collaboration sessions checked out overnight.

To end a collaboration session on an Asta Vision programme:

1. Ensure that all other users have saved their changes and left the collaboration session. You could use Asta Powerproject's chat feature to request that other users do this.
2. Either check in or submit the programme. Everyone's changes are committed to Asta Vision, the programme is checked in or submitted and the collaboration session ends.