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General
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What is Tangentworks 550?
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It's an affordable, new information management solution that integrates all of the tools you need to optimize collaboration among information participants. This web-based solution makes information management easier, faster and more collaborative. 550 uses a unique structure to optimize the natural flow of information, allowing your team to share documents, calendars, task lists, announcements, request for information (RFI) logs, submittal logs, photos and customized lists.
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What makes 550 different?
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550 was designed by architects especially for the AEC (architecture / engineering / construction) industry. (But anyone who collaborates on complex information or tasks for clients will find it useful.)
As architects, we were frustrated by the limitations of existing information management applications. By analyzing what works and what doesn't, we created the ultimate collaborative tool for executing information from start to finish.
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What are people using 550 for?
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550 is primarily a web site that allows project teams (owners, architects, consultants, contractors, subcontractors) to access all of their information data instantly 24/7 from any internet connection.
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What can it do for me?
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550 improves communication and allows your team to bring a complex information to completion faster and with fewer complications. It enables you to manage information with greater collaboration, timeliness, productivity and cost savings.
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How much does 550 cost?
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It's very affordable because you pay only for what you use, based on the number of projects you manage and the amount of storage you use on our servers. For more information, see the Pricing FAQs below and our current Price List.
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How do I pay for 550?
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A monthly charge is made to your personal or company credit card.
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Is 550 an expense reimbursable by the client?
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We believe 550 is a reimbursable expense. All documents are downloadable, which eliminates the significant reproduction and courier costs that are typically billed to clients. Once clients appreciate the savings, they'll gladly pay the nominal monthly fee. To make your billing easy, we provide you with detailed invoice backup listing the exact monthly charges for each information.
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Can I try it before deciding if 550 is rig ht for my company?
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There are two free options for test driving 550:
Login to our sample “test drive” websites for architects, developers and contractors and experiment with the data for the sample information you'll find there. Feel free to play around with the data all you want.
Sign up for a free workspace using your own data. There is no fee for the first workspace, and the first 100 MB of storage is also free. There is no obligation to upgrade or add services if the basic plan's free workspace and 100 MB is all you need.
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Technical
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Do I need to download or install any software before I can use 550?
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No, 550 is hosted on our secure servers. There's nothing for you to download or install. All you need is a current browser with JavaScript turned on.
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What about privacy?
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Tangentworks respects the privacy of all 550 users. See our Privacy Policy for details.
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What about security and backups?
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Your data is very secure and backed up daily. Our application and all subscriber data are stored on the servers of Rackspace, the premier provider of managed hosted services. Want to know more? Go to www.Rackspace.com.
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What are the system requirements?
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550's performance depends on the performance of your computer system. If you're running CAD software, your system is more than sufficient.
Other systems requirements include:
Browser: Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher or Firefox 1.5 or higher. Your computer system should meet their minimum recommendations for systems and Internet connection speeds.
Internet connection: DSL or broadband (not suitable for dial-up if you upload or download many large files).
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Data Organization and Features
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What is this about Pyramids?
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550 is not about multilevel marketing! A Pyramid is our term for a Subscriber's organizational structure. Read below about Pyramid Levels to see why this analogy makes sense.
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What are Multiple Pyramids?
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Multiple Pyramids is a unique 550 feature that no other software on the market has. When you login to 550, you have access to the Pyramids of every Subscriber who has invited you to be a member or guest. That's right- one login to access ALL of the information you're involved in.
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What is the SkyView Page?
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The SkyView page is your personal page at the very t op of all the Pyramids you're a member of. Your personal page shows you all of the pertinent information for each Pyramid. This includes a series of "widgets" that are customizable to show whatever is most import ant to you: task lists, calendar items, messages, weather reports, stock reports etc.
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What is a Pyramid Level?
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Our Subscribers typically have an organization chart that is shaped like a pyramid-with their company at the top, then divisions or studios, then clients, then information, and then phases if needed. Each of these is a "level" in your 550 Pyramid. You can have any number of levels within 550, but we strongly suggest that you follow our standard structure.
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Am I required to use your level scheme?
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No, but we strongly recommend that you do. Because many 550 users have access to multiple Pyramids, using one standard structure eliminates confusion. For example, a subcontractor may be an invited guest of three general contractors. When he logs in to 550, he will see the three Pyramids and within them, all of the information should align vertically within the same column (Level).
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What if I don't need the Studio or Client Levels?
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Simply skip these by leaving their Levels blank. When creating a Information Workspace, we recommend that you tag it as a Information so that it appears on the correct Level.
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What is a Workspace?
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A Workspace is another word for a web site or area within a Pyramid. The basic Workspace is a information with all of its information. Other types are Client Workspaces and Studio Workspaces. When you are the Subscriber, your Workspace is at the very top of the Pyramid.
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What are Favorites?
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If your company works with a lot of information at once , you can use the Favorites feature to focus on the information most important to you. Instead of looking through dozens of other information on your Skyview Page, you only see the information you are working with. If you turn off the Favorites feature, all information will become visible.
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What is Roll-up/Roll-down?
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Roll-up is a feature that allows information you create at a lower level of the Pyramid to appear at the top of the Pyramid and even on your Skyview Page. This is very useful for calendar events, RFI's and Submittals because you can look in one place to see everything that needs your attention.
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Pricing
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How does the pricing system work?
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Your monthly cost is based on the number of Workspaces you have, plus the amount of data you store on our servers. See our Price List and the next item for details.
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How much do you charge for storage?
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The cost varies, depending on how much data you store on our servers. Initially, you pay 15 cents per mb per month. As you increase the amount of data you store, this drops to 5 cents per mb per month. The rate is based on the TOTAL amount of data that you store (not per Workspace).
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What documentation do you provide for expense reimbursement?
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We provide a monthly invoice of all your expenses, with detailed costs broken down by client and then by information. This includes t he cost per Workspace and the cost for storage. This documentation can easily be attached to your client invoice.
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How much do you charge per user?
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That's simple-NOTHING. Unlike other information management solutions, with 550 you never pay for users-no matter how many you have. Instead of restricting access, we encourage you invite all of your information team members to join 550 and stay up-to-date 24/7.
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Lists
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Is there a way to create my own Custom Lists?
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Absolutely. We can't create a list for every need you may have, so we made it easy for you to do it. With the Custom List tool, you can create your own list with any field type you need, save it as a template and add it to any of your Workspaces. This feature is included in your basic cost per Workspace.
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Can I share my Custom List with other Subscribers?
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Yes. Because 550 is a web-based application, you can tag any of your Custom List templates to make them available to all 550 Subscribers-or just those you select.
550 also lets you see other Subscribers' Shared Lists. Browse the index page of Shared Custom Lists on our site to see what may be useful to you.
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Miscellaneous
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Does 550 share data with Microsoft Outlook and other calendar programs?
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550's calendar is fully iCal-compliant and allows you to export all of your calendar data to any calendar software that supports this format, including Microsoft Outlook.
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Can 550 be customized with my company identity?
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Yes, there are several ways to apply your brand to t he 550 web site:
Replace the logo on the login page with your logo
Replace the logo at the top left of the web site home page with your logo
Change the Workspace color boxes in the navigation bar to the same color family your company uses.
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How do users login to my section of your web site?
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You have three login options:
Regardless of where you log in, you'll see all of the Pyramids and Workspaces you have access to.
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What happens to completed information?
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Just set the status to Inactive. This removes the Workspace from your list of information. However, the data still reside on our servers and are available for easy re-activation if you need to retrieve something later.
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Do I pay the same for inactive information as I do for active information?
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No. When you deactivate a Workspace, you pay a lower fee for it and your storage costs decrease too. See the current Price List for more information.
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Can I reactivate an inactive information ?
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Yes. This is as simple as turning on a light switch. All data are immediately available to you and all of your users.
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Can 550 run on our own server?
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No. 550 is a web-based software product, not a desktop application. Because it runs on our server, we can make improvements and new features available to you instantly. You and your users never have to buy, download, install or upgrade any software. You also don't have to buy your own server or pay for an IT department to maintain the system.
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How are new releases of 550 handled?
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Since 550 is a web-based application, we are always working to enhance the user experience. We listen to our users and implement changes and upgrades quickly in response to their feedback. This takes pl ace without major interruption of service or requiring our users to buy new software. Check our blog for announcements of changes and additions.
Tangentworks is known as an ASP (Application Service Provider) or SAS (Software As Service).
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What determines which Workspaces a user can see?
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The Subscriber decides what each user will have access to upon logging in.
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What determines a user's ability to see lists or per form tasks such as creating, editing or deleting a record?
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When adding a new user, you assign him to a specific User Group, such as Administrator, Staff, Consultant, Client Management, Client Staff, Contractor Management, Contractor Staff, Vendor/Subcontractor, Guest, etc. This determines which Lists within a Workspace he can see and what he can create, edit, delete, download, etc.
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Managing information on the web is new to me. How do I get my documents online?
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550 allows you to upload single or multiple files simultaneously. There are two ways to do this:
Or, use our drag and drop feature to drag any folder or file(s) onto the 550 target area.
Your files will be uploaded and named automatically. Thumbnails will be created for any PDF or image files.
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How do I create my own PDF files to upload?
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There are many tools available for creating PDF file s. For documents that reside on your computer, simply install a PDF writer, which is a virtual printer in your printing dialog box.
For paper documents, you have two options:
Use a scanner (for large-scale documents, you may need to have your local repro house do the scans-to-PDFs.
Or, use a service such as Maxemail (www.maxemail.com), which allows you to create a virtual fax number. Using your existing fax machine, send t he document to your virtual fax number. It will be sent to you via email as a PDF file. This method also enables clients and engineers to send faxes directly into your email inbox.
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How can I notify users of additions or changes to my web site?
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You can "push" Notifications to selected users when you create or edit certain lists such as RFI's or Submittals.
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Getting Set Up
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How do I set up my Pyramid?
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There's no single way to set up your Pyramid. Generally, it's best to make a simple diagram to determine the Workspaces you need to create on each Level.
Here's an easy set-up sequence you can follow:
Workspaces
Customization
User Groups
Users
Widgets
Monitor Users
Workspaces - Once you have your Pyramid structure in mind, you're ready to create the Workspaces. First, create the Level 2 Workspaces by adding a to your Level 1 Workspace. Then add Workspaces to Level 3 and Level 4.
Customization (optional) - To add your = own branding, you can change the default color of your Pyramid and upload your company logo. To do this, g= o to Administrative > Look and Feel.
User Groups - Next, review the User Groups to make sure that you have enough granularity between the types of users that you work with on a daily basis. In the User and Admin Manuals, you'll find some suggested User Group designations for architects, contractors and developers/owners. You can always add more groups later and move users from one group to another to control access.
Users - You can add users in several ways, depending on the size of your company and how much time you want to spend. From the Administration>Users screen, use the Add User command to fill in all of the data for each person in your company. Or use the Invite User function and let each person input his/her personal information during lo gin.
Lists - Next, add the Lists to the Workspaces. From the Administration List screen, edit the Lists and decide:
Which User Groups should access (see) each List.
Which Workspaces should contain each List.
Review all the standard settings to make sure they meet your needs. Especially check and adjust (if needed) the Roll-up/Roll-down and Notification settings.
If you need additional lists, you can create Custom Lists now. Be sure to read about Custom Lists and Templates in the User and Administration Manual.
Widgets - Once your Lists are set up, customize the Summary page for each Workspace by adding the appropriate Lists and External Widgets.
Monitor Invited Users -As they join, their information will appear in the Users List. You can edit them and give them access to additional Workspaces if you choose.
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How do I invite users to join?
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From the Administration Users page, simply select the Invite Users action item in the upper right corner. Enter the email addresses of the people you want to invite, set up the initial Workspace(s) they will have access to, assign them to a Us er Group and press the Send button.
While 550 allows you to invite multiple people at one time, you should group them by their User Group and their initial Workspace. For more information, see the Us ers and Administration Manual.
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If I'm not an Administrator, how do I invite other people to join a Workspace?
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Invitations can only be sent by the Administrator(s) of a Pyramid. Contact your Administrator and request an invitation to be sent. If you want to invite several people, send your Admin an email with their email addresses on a single line, along with their roles in the information. For example:
Hey Jim, please invite the following people to the Bazaar Mall Information workspace:
johndoe@easybuildcontracting.com (contractor)
s.smith@superiormechanical.com (subcontractor)
mk2981@aol.com (subcontractor)
tedjones@kjlconsulting.com (consultant)
mrbigshot@bazaar-realty.com (owner)
Admin Tip: Remember to separate each of the invitees into their User Groups as described above (delete the role descriptors shown in parentheses).
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How do I invite someone who is having problems responding to an invitation?
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As a rule, you should blind copy yourself on all invitations. From this invitation, right mouse click on the Accept Invitation to Join Workspace link and select View Source. Within the HTML code of this email you'll find a link that looks something like this:
https://subscribername.550works.com/invitations/rsvp/67c6a1e7 cd971982s87e
Copy and paste this URL (on a single line) into an e mail and send to the invitee. He can either click on the link or copy and paste it into his web browser. This should open the login screen where he should select the Create an Account link.
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Can I invite a user to multiple Workspaces with a single invitation?
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Yes.
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When does an invitation expire?
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From the time an invitation is sent, a person has seven days to join. During this time, her name appears in the Invitations Sent but Not Accepted list on the Administration>Users page. If the invitation expires, simply send another one and perhaps follow up with a personal email that's not sent from Tangentworks so that it won't be mistaken for spam.
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Why are there no widgets on my personal Sky View page?
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Users add their own widgets to their SkyView Page.They may be either internal list= s or external widgets.
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Why don't my newly created Workspaces appear in the Navigation bar?
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Make sure that you've added the users to the Workspace. This can be done= in either of two places: Administration Workspaces or Administration>Users.
Also, try logging out and then logging back in to 55 0.
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Why is a Standard List or my new Custom List missing from a Workspace?
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There are several things to check:
Make sure that the Visibility is set correctly in the List detail, with the desired User Groups moved into the Selected column.
Next, make sure you've added the List to the desired Workspace. On the same page of List detail, you can see the Workspaces that contain this List.
List View within Workspaces can also be controlled on the Workspace detail page.
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Where's the best place to create a new record?
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Create records (tasks, RFIs, submittals, etc) within the appropriate Workspace. Records may either roll-up or roll-down, allowing them to be seen within other Workspaces. However, it's not possible to create these records in other Workspaces. That's because the Choice Lists for contacts and other items in these Workspaces may be different t han the ones in the Workspace where you're creating the record.
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What can I put in External Widgets?
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On the Add External Widget Page, there's a link to Google Gadgets, where you can select from hundreds of widgets. This is the easiest way to add Widgets.
Other sites that generate RSS feeds and other content provide a URL or script that you can copy into the text box. For RSS feed s, use the URL. For most other things, use a script tag, which looks like this:
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Do I have to create the same External widget over and over for multiple Workspaces?
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Rather than creating these widgets for each Workspace, create a Shared Widget from the Administration Shared Widgets screen.
These External Widgets are created the same way as t he ones on the Summary pages. For each Shared Widget you select the Workspace(s) on which you want it to appear.
Tip: Shared Widgets should not be used for items like maps or weather unless the Workspaces all need to contain the exact same Widget.
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What is a Notification?
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Depending on how the Administrator has set up your Lists, you may find a Notification item at the very bottom of the entry form. If you want to immediately notify other participants within your Workspace about this new or edited item, select their names and add a personal note that will be included in the email that Tangentworks sends, such as:
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