Host a Studio Session

You will need a validated Studio account to create a Studio Session. If you have not established one yet, see Create a Studio Account to do so now.

To start a new Session:

1. From the Studio tab, go to Start > New Session. The Start Studio Session dialog box appears.

   • If you have not already created an account, the Create Studio Account dialog box appears instead. Create a Studio Account before proceeding.

   
   

2. Enter a name for this Session in the Session Name field. The name does not have to be unique.

3. Click Add to select PDFs to include in the Session, or click Add Open Files to add the files that are currently open in Revu. Files can be added later, as well. See Manage a Session below for more information.

   Note: Adding a PDF with a Legend to a Session will cause the Legend to appear as a Snapshot for as long as it is in the Session. Once the PDF is taken out of the Session, however, the Legend will resume normal functionality and will automatically update to represent changes made to the PDF while it was in the Session.
   

4. Select the desired options from the Permission list. These will apply universal permissions to all Attendees. Check Save, Print, Markup, Markup Alert, or Add Documents to allow Attendees those permissions by default or uncheck them to remove those permissions from Attendees by default.
   • Universal permissions are automatically applied to all attendees who are not subject to individual or group permissions, which can be set up after the Session has been created. See Defining Access and Permissions in Studio Sessions for more information about permissions in Studio Sessions.
5. To restrict access to the Session by email address, select Restrict Attendees by E-mail Address. You will have the opportunity to add allowed attendees on the next screen, or you can do it after the Session has been created (see Manage a Session below for more information). To allow any user with the Session ID to join the Session, uncheck this option.
6. To set an expiration date for the Session, select Session Expires and enter the desired expiration date and time. Expiration dates must be in the future; Revu will not allow a back-dated expiration date.

7. Click OK to save the settings and upload the files. The Session Invitation dialog box appears.

   

   Inviting somebody to a Session automatically adds them as an Allowed Attendee in the Session Settings (see Setting Attendee Access in a Studio Session for more information about Attendee Access). In addition, the invitee is also sent an email containing information about the Session, as well as a link allowing them to automatically connect to the Session. If you do not wish to do this, click Cancel; the Session will be created without invitees. You can send invitations later (see Inviting Attendees to the Session) or add Attendees without sending invitations (see Setting Attendee Access in a Studio Session).

8. The Session Information is shown at the top of the dialog box. To copy this information to the clipboard in order to paste it into another program, such as an email message, IM or other document, click Copy Invitation.

9. To add invitees from the address book of your default email program, click Address Book.

   Note: The email program must be MAPI compliant for Revu to access its address book. The address books from web-based email like Gmail, Hotmail or Yahoo cannot be accessed.

10. To add invitees manually, click. When the Add E-Mail Address dialog box appears, enter the invitee's email address and click OK.
11. To add all the members of an existing Group, click . When the Select Groups dialog box appears, select the desired Group and click OK.
12. To change the email address of an invitee, select the entry and click. When the Modify E-mail Address dialog box appears, enter the new email address and click OK.
13. To remove an invitee, select the entry and click.
14. Enter a Message to add to the invitations, if desired.
15. Click OK. Email invitations will be sent to all the invitees from the Studio server.

By default, all Attendees are granted the default permissions that were assigned during the creation of the Session. Additionally, if the Restrict Attendees by E-mail Address option was used, only those people who were invited during the creation of the Session will have access to it. You can change these conditions by configuring the Session Settings. See Defining Access and Permissions in Studio Sessions.

Once a Session has been created, its Attendees list set, and all the permissions assigned, it often requires no additional management.  However, documents, Attendees, and permissions can be added or removed as needed over the course of a Session.

Attendee Access

Many changes to the Attendee access can be made during a Session: invitations can be sent to new Attendees, existing Attendees can be denied access, and the restriction status of the Session can be changed. 

Inviting Attendees to the Session

1. Click Invite at the top of the Attendees section of the Studio tab. The Session Invitation dialog box appears.

   

2. The Session Information is shown at the top of the dialog box. To copy this information to the clipboard in order to paste it into another program, such as an email message, IM or other document, click Copy Invitation.

3. To add invitees from the address book of your default email program, click Address Book.

   Note: The email program must be MAPI compliant for Revu to access its address book. The address books from web-based email like Gmail, Hotmail or Yahoo cannot be accessed.

4. To add invitees manually, click. When the Add E-Mail Address dialog box appears, enter the invitee's email address and click OK.
5. To add all the members of an existing Group, click . When the Select Groups dialog box appears, select the desired Group and click OK.
6. To change the email address of an invitee, select the entry and click. When the Modify E-mail Address dialog box appears, enter the new email address and click OK.
7. To remove an invitee, select the entry and click.
8. Enter a Message to add to the invitations, if desired.
9. Click OK. Email invitations will be sent to all the invitees from the Studio server.

Denying an Existing Attendee Access

Sometimes it is necessary to deny a specific user access to a Session. Commonly this is because the user has been added to the Attendee list by virtue of belonging to a Group that was used to add Attendees to the Session when the user should not have access to this particular Session. Other times it is desirable to deny continued access to a Session to a user that was previously allowed access.

To deny an existing Attendee access to a Session, do any one of the following:

• Join the Session, then right-click the name in the Attendees list and select Deny.

• Join the Session, then click Attendee Access in the Attendees list. When the Attendee Access dialog box appears, select the name in the list and click Deny.

  

• Join the Session, then click Session Settings. When the Session Settings dialog box appears, click the Attendees tab, then select the desired name and click Deny.

An Attendee can be allowed back into the Session after they have been denied access. Simply follow one of the steps above and click Allow instead of Deny.

Restricting Access to an Existing Session

You can choose to restrict access to an existing Session to invitees only if you did not choose this option when creating the Session. This will allow access to only people you specify in the Attendees list on the Attendees tab or Attendee Access dialog box. Do any one of the following to turn on this option for an existing Session:

• Join the Session, then click Attendee Access in the Attendees list. When the Attendee Access dialog box appears, check Restrict Attendees by E-mail Address and click OK.
• Join the Session, then click Session Settings. When the Session Settings dialog box appears, click the Attendees tab, then check Restrict Attendees by E-mail Address and click OK.

Once you have turned this option on, it is recommended that you confirm that all Attendees you wish to include is the Session are allowed in the Session, either by inviting them or by adding them to the Attendees list.

Managing Documents

Documents can be added when a Session is started, but the Host can also add and delete documents during the Session.

Adding a File

Session attendees with the Add Documents permission can add files to the Session.

Adding a PDF with a Legend to a Session will cause the Legend to appear as a Snapshot for as long as it is in the Session. Once the PDF is taken out of the Session, however, the Legend will resume normal functionality and will automatically update to represent changes made to the PDF while it was in the Session.

1. Join the Session.
2. Click Add File in the Documents section of the Studio tab.

3. Navigate to and select the desired file or files and click Open.

   Note: In order to upload or download a file in Studio, the system clock of the local machine must be set up correctly so that it is in sync (within 15 minutes) with UTC, otherwise any attempt to upload or download a file in Studio will result in an error. Update the system clock of the local machine so that it is correct for the time zone specified in its Date and Time settings and try the upload or download again.

Deleting a File

There are two ways to delete a file from a Session:

• Join the Session, then right-click on the name in the Documents section of the Studio tab and select Delete.
• Join the Session, then click Delete at the right of the document name in the Documents section of the Studio tab. This icon will appear when the mouse is moved over the document's name.

Replacing A File

While a Session Attendee can choose to follow another attendee, a Session Host can request that all Attendees of a Session follow them at the same time.  This ability is only available to Session Hosts and can only be used when the Host is joined by two or more attendees. To invoke the request, do one of the following:

• Join the Session, then click the Follow icon at the right your own name in the Attendees list of the Studio tab (as if you were trying to follow yourself).
• Join the Session, then type "follow me" (without the quotes) in the chat field at the bottom of the Studio tab.

A request to follow the Session Host will be sent to all Session attendees, enabling multiple Attendees to follow the Host at the same time. Attendees must accept the request to start following the Host.

At any point during the course of a Session you can generate a Session Report and save it to your computer. You will also have the opportunity to create such a report when you finish the Session.

To create a Session Report:

1. Join the Session.

2. Click Report in the Record section of the Studio tab. The Session Report dialog box appears.

   

3. Select the Type of report that you would like to create:
• Record Summary creates a PDF file containing the contents of the Record section of the Studio tab.
• PDF Package Report creates a PDF package containing the Record Summary and all of the documents in the session.

• Combine File s Report creates a single PDF that contains the Record Summary and all of the documents in the session.

  Note: The PDF Package Report and Combine Files Report contain hyperlinks in the Record Summary that link to the corresponding markup in the document – just like you are still within the session. This lets you review the Record and then jump to the markup in the document.

4. Enter a Title for the PDF file or package that will be created.
5. Enter a heading for any Notes you wish to include in the report and add the notes in the field immediately below.
6. Select the Page Size and orientation (Portrait or Landscape).
7. Select any or all of the following options:
   • Include Attendees List will include a list of the Attendees in the Report Summary.
   • Include Documents List will include a list of the Documents in the Report Summary.
   • Include Filtered Record Items will include all Records in the Summary, even if they are not currently displayed because they have been filtered.
8. Select the Columns from the Session's Records tab that should be included in the report. Choices include: Date, Time, Document and Page.
9. Click OK to create the Report.

Finishing a Session ends the Session and removes its documents from the Studio server. You have the opportunity to create a Session Report and save Session documents, as desired.

To finish a Session:

1. Join the Session and ensure that nobody is in the Session working on any Session documents.

2. Click Finish on the Studio tab. The Finish Session dialog box appears.

   

3. To include the markups of specific Attendees in the Session documents that you choose to save, select those Attendees in the Include Markups list.
4. Choose one of the Save Options:
• Save (Overwrite Existing) saves the files back to the locations from which they were originally uploaded to the Session and overwrite any files with the same name that are currently there. This essentially replaces the original files with the ones from the Session. Do not choose this option if you need to preserve the original files and have not made backups already.
• Save In Folder saves the Session documents in a specified folder. To change the default folder location, click and navigate to the desired folder.
  • Select Session Folder to create a subfolder with the Session name in the specified location.
• Do not save files discards the Session documents without saving them.
5. Select Close files after finishing to automatically close any Session files that are currently open in Revu when the Session is finished, otherwise they will stay open.
6. Select Generate Report to generate a Session Report before finishing the Session. To specify the Session Report settings, click Settings and the Session Report dialog box will appear. See Session Report for more information about Session Report settings.
   • The Session Report is saved in the folder specified in the field below. To change the default folder location, click and navigate to the desired folder.

7. Click OK to finish the Session.

   Note: The Session and all of its files are permanently removed from the Studio server when the Session is finished. This cannot be undone.