App Overview

Our intranet software comes with a large selection of pre-built applications - or Apps, as we call them - which act as structured content libraries.

You can customize all of our Apps to better suit your company needs, and you can also create your own App so it does exactly what you want.

These are the apps available:

  1. Blogs
  2. Buy and Sell
  3. Company News
  4. Company Store
  5. Contacts
  6. Discussion Board
  7. Documents
  8. Events Calendar
  9. Job Center
  10. Knowledgebase
  11. Library
  12. Online Forms
  13. Photo Albums
  14. Recipe Share
  15. Suggestion Box
  16. Support Desk
  17. Task Manager
  18. Training Calendar
  19. Video Library

In This Article

Add an App

Manage Apps

Folders for Organization & Security

App Settings

Advertising for Apps

Types of Apps


Many Apps are created with the App Builder foundation, but are then configured with different fields and layouts to display different types of information to users (e.g. documents, news, images).  So once you start working with one App and feeling comfortable, you'll feel a similar level of comfort adjusting settings, security, folders, etc. across all Apps.

Add an App

To add an App, follow this process:

  1. Click the Admin icon in the Toolbar
  2. Click the Assets tab
  3. Select the Site where you want to add the App
  4. Click the + icon next to the Apps button.Add_an_app.png
  5. Select the desired App template - Forms and Employee Directory are exceptions as they can’t be used as a template or have additional copies create. mceclip0.png
  6. After selecting the app, you can rename and provide a description, click Create to save the app and modify it later if needed, or click Build to begin customizing the app.

  1. Note: When adding an App to your site it isn't automatically added to the Global or Site navigation. You'll need to add it to the navigation, as explained in the Create Navigation article.

Manage Apps

To view the apps already added to a site:

  1. Click Admin
  2. Click Assets tab
  3. Select the site you'd like to view
  4. Click Apps as shown belowManage_apps_1.png
  5. Hover over an App Card and you'll see the options to copy, move, or delete each App, as shown below.

Copy_move_or_delete_App.png

Note: Options to Copy, Move or Delete won’t be available for Forms or Employee Directory.

Copy or Clone an App

If you’re looking to retain the same layout and fields in a customized app, it’s possible to copy the App as a new content library or to another site. Note that cloning / copying an application doesn't bring over the content.

To copy an existing App:

  1. Navigate to Admin
  2. Click Assets tab
  3. Click on the site where the app lives
  4. Click Apps
  5. Hover over the app card and click the copy icon as shown below. Give the new App a name, and click

mceclip1.png

Folders for Organization & Security

Content within each App is stored in folders.

Folders_for_Org_and_Security.png

The guidelines on working with folders are:

Folder_guidelines.png

  • Apps must have a minimum of one folder
  • If there's only one folder in an App, its contents will automatically display when you land on the App.
  • (1) Expand or contract your view of the folders by clicking the links at the top of the folder list.
  • (2) [Add Another Folder] – add a new parent folder to the app
  • (3) Sub-folders are indicated with a multiple-folder icon (Subfolders_icon.png)
  • (4) Add a sub-folder

For more folder options, click Properties (under Settings) from the folder screen and scroll to the bottom for Folder Properties. Click to show available folder display options.

Folder_properties.png

Folder_properties_2.png

Manage Folders

When you are in the App, hover over the Admin icon in the Toolbar, then click Manage Folders.

Manage_Folders.png

Select the folder or sub-folder from the list by clicking on their name to access the folder options shown below in the second image.

Folders_and_subfolders.png

Folder_options.png

To rename a folder, click into the name (refer to the folder name ‘Poetry’ shown above) and update as necessary, then click ‘Save’ at the bottom of the screen.

(1) Folder Options

  • Folder owners – users or groups with this access will be able to manage the folder, its security, workflow, add additional sub-folders, etc.
  • Folder security - choose security permissions for users, groups, or Global permissions for all users. Learn more about Security for Apps.
  • Workflow – Configure approval workflow which hides published items until they have been fully approved. Learn more about creating workflow.
  • Advertise - enable or disable advertising for each folder and set app’s advertising options to appear on the Whats New feed.
  • Multiple file upload - allows you to perform a batch upload of files to a specific folder or category within the Application
  • Move folders - click move and you can move the folder into the top level folder or any of the other folders within the App
  • Copy folder structure - copy the structure, with the option of retaining security and settings

(2) Archival Options

If you have an Archive Date field added to your app (enabled under App Admin > click Manage Fields from the right menu), you have additional options available at the folder level:

  • Require archiving – this enables all items added to this folder to require an archive date.
    • For content that has already been added to this folder but doesn’t have an archive date, the archive date will be x days from the current date based on the configuration within your Archive Date field settings (Click Manage Fields from the right menu to edit the Archive Date field settings)
  • Archive On – Adding new items to the folder will automatically default to displaying an archive date.
    • Content owners will have the ability to change the archive date or select ‘do not archive’

App Admin

For additional functionality and behaviour changes in most apps, this can be done within App Admin.

Summary

In Summary, you’re able to change the name of the app, its description, and icon that appears next to the app. To do this:

  1. Navigate to the app
  2. Hover over the Admin icon in the toolbar
  3. Click App Admin

mceclip2.png

After clicking App Admin you'll land on the Summary screen. Here you can:

  • (1) Change the icon
  • (2) Display name
  • (3) Description
  • (4) Select or deselect the checkboxes (4) to choose whether the App icon, title, and description will display for users from the front-end
  • (5) Based on App – As you’re able to rename your apps, this section displays the template used to create the app (Use this app name when searching the Help Center)
  • (6) Global Navigation – This indicates if the app appears within the Global navigation at the top of your intranet (not all apps will need to live in the global navigation)

After making any of these changes, click the blue Save icon which appears during editing, so your changes are retained.

Settings

Available settings will vary based on the App, but will include some or all of:

  • Properties - choose options for adding a header graphic, including in site search (and/or excluding archived items), pagination, whether the number of items or subfolders will display in folders,  the number of columns that the subfolders are listed in (manage more folder options in the Folders | Security setting of App Admin), whether files and links will open in a new window, and whether Read Confirmation is active. Learn more about Read Confirmation.
  • Ratings | Comments - control the social aspects of content with the following options (all options may not be available for all Apps):
    • Thumbs Up / Thumbs Down
    • Anonymous Users - this option allows for users who aren't logged in to be able to rate an item; we recommend disabling this option as anonymous users can vote multiple times.
    • Public Ratings - enabling this option allows all users (including anonymous) to see ratings; disabling the option limits viewing to Super Admins, Administrators, and App Owners.
    • Enable Comments - checking this box gives users the option to comment on an item. This box must be checked in order for the other Enable Comments options to be available.
    • Always Show Comments - when this box is checked, all previous comments will automatically show when a user lands on the page (i.e. without them having to click a link to reveal).
    • Anonymous Users Comment - choose whether non-logged-in users can add their comments.
    • Public Comments - enabling this option allows all users (including anonymous) to see comments and for comments to be searched; disabling the option limits viewing to Super Admins, Administrators, App Owners, and the owner of the commented-upon item.
    • Moderator Email - if you want comments to be approved before becoming public, add an email in the Moderator Email field (this must be an email of an intranet user).
      ***Note: this functionality will not work with Office365 as Microsoft has strict protections on emails sent on users' behalf.
  • Tagging - tagging is another means of classifying content and locating it. Choose whether to include tags and to allow users to create their own tags.

Manage Fields

Fields can be retitled, removed, or added, so any App better suits your organization's needs. To do this, when you're in the App hover over the Admin icon in the Toolbar, click App Admin, then click Manage Fields from the menu on the right. You'll now see all of the data fields which will show to users when they enter information into the App.

You can click and drag to reorder fields, or click and drag fields from the left column into your field options.

For each field, mouse over the right side to reveal options:

  • edit pencil (1) - click this to show more options for the field
  • delete icon (2) - click this to remove the field entirely

You can also click on the linked field name (3), i.e. 'Description', to change the name that users see, change the size of certain fields, etc.

Manage_fields.png

After making a change, scroll to the top and click the Save button to retain your changes.

Title Behaviour - what happens when a user clicks on the file link?

One setting specific to our App Builder Apps (e.g. Documents, Buy and Sell, Knowledgebase, etc.) is what happens when a user clicks on the file link. Choose either to open the details page for the file, or the actual file (note: a PDF will open in the browser, a Word file will download for the user to open).

To change the setting, when an Admin is in the App, hover over the Admin icon, top right, click App Admin, click Manage Fields, and click the edit pencil for Title. Select either details or file; note that if files are already in place in the App you'll receive a warning about indexes being rebuilt.

Title_behaviour_1.png

If the option for opening the actual file is chosen above, an Admin should also select how the files should open for the user. Do you want them to open in the same window, or in a new window?

To change this setting, when in the App hover over the Admin icon, top right, click App Admin, and click Properties. Near the bottom of the screen under Options, the Default Target for Uploaded Files/Links is shown. To change the default target, or window in which the file opens, click on the linked name, choose the setting you want, and click the Save button.

Title_behaviour_2.png

 

Advertising for Apps

New content added to any App can be advertised to the Site Home Page in the What's New feed. To access advertising settings, while in the App an Admin can hover over the Admin icon in the Toolbar, click App Admin, and click Advertising Options.

This page shows:

  • Folder Advertising - advertising is set by folder, and all folders currently in the App are shown. If the box is checked for a folder, contributors can advertise content. If the box is not checked, contributors aren't able to advertise content. To make changes to advertising for a folder, select or deselect a box and click Save to retain changes.
  • Advertising Options - set options for advertising, including:
    • default to advertise now - all added content will advertise to What's New unless the contributor specifically chooses that it shouldn't
    • thumbnail for advertising - this shows in the What's New feed beside the item; you can put in place a standard thumbnail, as well as choose whether users can add their own thumbnail if desired
    • archive - set a standard period of time for when items move into the archive; for news items this may be a short time, for other items this may be much longer

After making any changes, click Save to retain them.

Types of Apps

Following is a list of the Apps available:

  • App Builder - custom-build any type of App you need
  • Blogs - blog to share company, management, team, or project updates and insights
  • Buy and Sell - staff-only marketplace of items to sell or give away
  • Company News - organizational announcements and news of any type
  • Company Store - post branded items for sale, track internal inventory, etc.
  • Contacts - store organizational contacts such as links to industry sites, vendors, competitors, or articles
  • Discussion Board - topics for conversation or best practices
  • Documents & Policies - document management including features of check in/out and read/confirm; this App has many features so it's in its own section rather than the Applications section
  • Employee Recognition - modified version of the Suggestion Box App which is provided on initial installation intranet; intended to nominate a fellow colleague for a job well done
  • Events Calendar - create calendars for staff events, stat holidays, or vacations
  • Job Center - display job openings for staff
  • Knowledgebase - store FAQs, information to be shared with staff, etc.
  • Library - library resources for resources to check out
  • Photo Albums - post company photos, share organizational logos, etc.
  • Recipe Share - share favorite recipes, ingredients, nutritional information
  • Suggestion Box - share employee suggestions for improving the organization
  • Support Desk - submit tickets for techs and track progress
  • Task Manager - delegate tasks to group members
  • Training - create courses staff can register for, manage registrations and waitlists; this App has many features so it's in its own section rather than the Applications section
  • Video Library - modified version of App Builder which is provided on initial installation intranet

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