Ways of sharing proofs
A proof can be shared in a number of ways:
- By email using a personal URL
- Via a Public URL
- Using an Embed Code to display a Miniproof, which is an embedded proof viewer
These sharing options can be utilised via the following ProofHQ functions:
Add People
People who have been added to a proof
- They will receive an email with a Personal URL to the proof. When they click this link they will be taken to the proof page where they will be logged in to the proof and be able to comment on and approve the proof (depending on their role).
How to access a proof you've been added to
Email notification
When somebody is added to a proof they will automatically be sent an email with a personal URL to access the proof. To open the proof, they simply need to click on the URL in the email which will open the proof in their browser.
The email notification will include the following details:
- New proof notification
- Deadline (if a deadline has been set)
- Proof details
- Proof Progress
- Personal URL to the proof
To open the proof from an Email notification:
- Open the New Proof email
- Click on the blue Go to proof button in the email (this contains the personal URL)
- This will open the proof in the Internet browser
The person will be taken directly to the proof page where they can make mark-ups, comments and decisions without having to log in (the reviewer's name will appear automatically in the bottom left corner of the proof page).
Anybody with a valid email address can be added to a proof. They do not need to be a ProofHQ user (i.e. they do not need their own ProofHQ login).
Note to reviewers: The URL is personal to you and will open the proof with you already identified as the reviewer. It is important that you do not forward the URL to anyone else or any comments that they make will be in your name. If you want to allow someone else to view or review the proof, you can provide them with the Team URL or add the person to the proof.
See Add a person to a proof
View proof in the All items page
Any proof that you've been added to will appear in the All Items page of your account.
Search for the proof in your account
You can search for any proof that you've been added to based on the following criteria:
- Description (message associated with a Proof)
Also see
Search
Share
How to use the Share function
You can 'share' a proof via:
You cannot choose a role for the person you are sharing the proof with. The recipient will be able to view the proof in read only mode. However, the option to sign in will be available. So, if the person has already been added to the proof they can simply enter their details and then they will be able to make comments/decisions (depending on their existing role). If the person has not already been added to the proof, and Subscriptions has been enabled in the URL section of the Proof Details page, they will be able to subscribe (add) themself to the proof. (See Subscriptions.)
Share via the Tools menu on the proof page
- Go to the proof page
- Open the Tools menu and choose Share from the Share drop down menu
- The Share page will appear
The Share page includes the following details:
- Link to the proof (if desired, select the tick box)
- Link to download the original file (if desired, select the tick box)
- People - add recipients here - contacts will appear in the auto-complete field (remember to click the Add button)
- Subject and message
- Send
Share via the Actions menu on the All Items page
- Go to the All items page
- Click the arrow to the right of the relevant proof to open the Actions menu
- Choose Share
The Share page includes the following details:
- Share Team URL (if desired, select the tick box)
- Share Download URL (if desired, select the tick box)
- People - add recipients here - contacts, groups and partners, will appear in the auto-complete field (remember to click the Add button) *
- Subject and message
- Send
* If you select a group or partner from the auto-complete field, all contacts in that group or partner organisation will appear. You can then delete the people you do not wish to share the proof with.
Share via the Folder Details page
- Go to the Folder Details page
- In the Proof items section, click the arrow to the right of the relevant proof to open the Actions menu
- Choose Share
The Share page includes the following details:
- Share Team URL (if desired, select the tick box)
- Share Download URL (if desired, select the tick box)
- People - add recipients here - contacts, groups and partners, will appear in the auto-complete field (remember to click the Add button) *
- Subject and message
- Send
* If you select a group or partner from the auto-complete field, all contacts in that group or partner organisation will appear. You can then delete the people you do not wish to share the proof with.
Sharing Summary
If you use the Share function:
- They will receive an email with a link to the proof (and original file if that option was selected by the person sharing the proof), but when the proof page opens they will not be logged in.
- There will be a Sign in option:
- If they have already been added to the proof they can log in to it and then make comments and decisions on the proof (depending on their role).
- If they have not been added to the proof already, and Subscriptions is enabled in the URLs section of the proof, they will be able to subscribe to the proof (i.e. add themself to the proof). They will then be able to make comments and decisions (depending on the default role set for subscribers) and WILL appear in the People section of the Proof Details page.
- If Subscriptions has not been enabled on the proof and they have not already been added to the proof, they will only be able to view the proof in Read Only mode.
How to access a proof that has been shared
Email notification
When a proof is shared in this way, the person will automatically be sent an email with a personal URL to the proof. To open the proof, they simply need to click on the URL in the email which will open the proof in their browser.
The email notification will include the following details:
- Proof details
- Link to the proof
View in the All items page
Any proof that's been shared with you will appear in the All items page in your account.
Search for the proof in your account
You can search for any proof that's been shared with you based on the following criteria:
- Description (message associated with a Proof)
Also see Search
Team URL
Using the Team URL to share a proof
You can share a proof by providing the desired recipient with the Team URL (a public URL). All proofs have a Team URL. The Team URL is a URL that opens the proof but does not log reviewers in automatically. Team URLs can be used when information about a proof is being sent to a group of people.
To use the Team URL:
- Go to the Proof Details page
- Scroll down to the URLs section
- Copy the Team URL
- Paste the Team URL into an email and send it to the desired recipient
In the URLs section you can also enable (or disable) Subscriptions and save your preferred Subscription settings - Default role for Subscribers and Subscriber validation required. (See Subscriptions.)
Team URL Summary
If you use the Team URL function:
- You need to manually copy and paste the Team URL into an email and send this to the relevant person.
- There will be a Sign in option:
- If they have already been added to the proof they can log in to it and then make comments and decisions on the proof (depending on their role).
- If they have not been added to the proof already, and Subscriptions is enabled on the proof, they will be able to subscribe to the proof (i.e. add themself to the proof). They will then be able to make comments and decisions (depending on the default role set for subscribers) and WILL appear in the People Section of the Proof Details page.
- If Subscriptions has not been enabled on the proof and they have not already been added to the proof, they will only be able to view the proof in Read Only mode.
How to access the proof from a Team URL
To access the proof from a Team URL:
- Users open the proof by using email and password
- Non-users open the proof by entering an email and display name
NB: In either case you can select the Remember me tick box, meaning you will only have to enter your details this one time (for this proof).
The Team URL does not identify reviewers when the proof opens. Instead, the proof opens in read-only mode.
If a person wants to add a comment they need to identify themselves by signing in. If they are already a reviewer on the proof they will be prompted to enter their login details.
If they are not already a reviewer on the proof, they will need to subscribe. Note: Subscriptions can be disabled, in which case they will not be able to subscribe to the proof.
Subscriptions
To allow people to subscribe to a proof,
Subscriptions must be enabled in the URLs section of the
Proof Details page.
When the Team URL is opened in the Internet browser, the proof will open in Read Only mode. To identify themselves, the person will need to:
- Click on the Sign in button at the top left of the page
- Enter an email address in the prompt screen.
- If they are an existing reviewer, they will be logged in.
- If they are not a reviewer, but are a user of ProofHQ, they will be prompted for their password to complete their subscription. Once they enter their password they will be logged in.
- If they are not a reviewer, and are not a user of ProofHQ, they will be prompted for a display name. Once they enter their display name they will be logged in.
- They will receive an email notifying them that they have a new proof to review. They will then be able to access the proof via the personal link in the email as if they had been added to the proof in the normal way (see How to access a proof you've been added to).
NB: They will be added to the proof in the role set as the Default role for subscribers. This can be changed in the URLs section of the Proof Details page.
Miniproof
The Miniproof is a widget that lets you embed a proof in a web page, blog or wiki. The Miniproof shows the proof, all existing comments and mark-ups and lets you work on the proof as if you were in ProofHQ.
How to embed a miniproof in a website, blog or wiki
- Go to the URLs section of the Proof Details page
- Copy the Embed viewer details
- Enter the Embed viewer details into the relevant website, blog or wiki.
How to access a proof from the miniproof
You open the proof from a Miniproof by clicking on the Full Screen button, the New Comment button or the Reply button.
You then access the proof from a Miniproof in exactly the same way as from a Team URL:
- Users open the proof by using email and password
- Non-users open the proof by entering a display name and email.
Here is an example of a Miniproof embedded inside a Basecamp project (Basecamp is a project management application from 37signals).
Also see: Basecamp
Add a person to a proof
You can add a person (or people) to a proof in two ways:
You can add ANYBODY to a proof (as long as they have a valid email address). They do not need to have a ProofHQ account!
Reviewers DO NOT count towards your user limit. You can add as many people to a proof as you like, FOR FREE!
Add a person in the Proof Page
- In the Proof Page, open the Tools menu, choose Share, and then Add People.
- The Add people page will appear
- Type in the person's email address and click Add. You can add as many people as you like. (If you have added the person to a proof before, their details will appear in the auto-complete field.) You can also add groups here too.
- Choose the Role of the person
- If required, add a subject and message
- If required, add a deadline
- Click Save
- The people added to the proof will receive an email notification to advise that they have a new proof to view, review, approve, etc.
Add a person in the Proof Details page
- In the Proof Details page click the Add people button at the top of the page.
- The Add people page will appear.
- Type in the person's email address and click Add. You can add as many people as you like. (If you have added the person to a proof before, their details will appear in the auto-complete field.) You can also add groups here too.
- Choose the Role of the person
- If required, add a subject and message
- If required, add a deadline
- Click Save
- The people added to the proof will receive an email notification to advise that they have a new proof to view, review, approve, etc.
