Writing.Com 101

Group Edit for Items

Writing.Com provides the ability for members of Groups to easily work together by allowing those members the opportunity to edit items that belong to the Group's members. You may give members of Groups to which you belong the ability to edit items of your choosing at any time while creating your item or editing it later, or you may remove that access once a specific task has been completed. You can set the Group Edit Access drop menu to the Writing.Com Group to which you wish to grant access. Note: The Group Edit area will NOT be displayed within your item creation and edit screens unless you are a member of a group.

To further restrict access to members of the chosen Group, set the Group Edit Level to the minimum group membership level for those whom you wish to be able to edit the item. Group members with a group membership level lower than the chosen level will NOT have access to edit the item. Members of the group with a level equal to or greater than this setting will be able to edit most parts of the item, EXCEPT for the Group Edit Level setting and the item's folder location. For a description of the edit levels available, see Access Levels Within Groups.

IMPORTANT: CAUTION!
There is no locking function that prevents two members from editing an item at the same time. One edit may override another if they are performed at the same time. Use this function with CAUTION!

It might help to set up a place where those with group edit can notify the others that they are currently using group edit and on what item or entry, and when they are finished.

Group Edit Access and Various Item Types:
Edit access will allow applicable members to edit any item's cover, title, content rating, brief description, genres, keywords, content ratings and the item body. Group members with Group Edit access can use certain additional features of Book items, Message Forum items, In & Out items, and Survey items.

Books:
They can edit any entries within the book that they can access in any manner. They can create new entries. Please note, however, that group members will only be able to delete entries they created themselves. For more information, see the Detailed Example section below.

Message Forums:
They can use the Manage Forum tool, Post Count Summary, but cannot use the Manage Forum tool, Purge Forum. They can see and use some tools in the post tool bar at the top of an individual post and/or thread; however, only the forum owner may Edit any post and Delete posts:
  They can Suspend and UnSuspend posts (except their own). Once a post has been suspended, only those members with edit access will be able to see the contents of the original post.
  They can Lock and Unlock threads.
  They can Pin and Unpin posts. Only the first post of a thread can be pinned, and pinning is limited to three posts. The Pin/Unpin option does not show for posts that cannot be pinned.

In & Outs:
They can delete submissions from the In & Out. If a notification email is sent, the person who did the delete will be listed as the sender, rather than the item owner. They can use the Export Data and Purge tools. Purge sends a confirmation email to the item owner.

Survey Forms:
They have complete control over listing, viewing and deleting responses.

Detailed Example: Book Items and Group Edit
Group Edit members see the same Item Tool menu and Entry Tool menu as the Book owner. However, only some of the options work for members with Group Edit.

Item Tools Menu

Edit Item: Members with Group Edit can use this, but in the Edit Item page they do not see and cannot change the Location menu or the Group Edit Access and Group Edit Level settings in the Advanced section.
The semi-automated Notebook posts about edits on a plain Save is worded as if the member with Group Edit is the owner of the Book, and is posted in the Notebook of the member with Group Edit.
Members with Group Edit can use the RCS section in the edit page to add a note about what they changed in their edit, to be stored with the Revision History edit.

Request a Review: Members with Group Edit can use this link to the site page at Community/Request a Review.
However, members with Group Edit cannot request a review of the Book item or of entries within the Book item, even if they own the entry.

Add an Entry: Members with Group Edit can add new entries. Entries are owned by the member who adds them.
If a Custom TOC is not used, members with Group Edit are shown the Group Edit: Add an Entry button with the Book search bar above the entry listing, and again below the copyright notice at the bottom of the Book page.

Notes about Entries
The semi-automated post to the Notebook on a plain Save operation is worded as if the entry owner owns the Book item, and is posted to the entry owner's Notebook.
The entry/Book item does not show the entry owner as the author of the entry, and the copyright notice names the Book owner.
The l-entry tag shows the entry owner instead of the Book owner.
If an entry is private, the entry owner and the Book owner can see the entry in the entry listing, when paging through with Previous/Next, and listed in the Manage Book page. Other members with Group Edit cannot see the private entry in those places.
The entry will appear in the entry owner's entry Completer menu.
Notification emails for reviews sent to this entry are sent only to the Book owner.
Notifications for ratings-only made from this entry page are sent only to the Book owner.

Notes about Comments on Entries
Notifications for blog comments sent to this entry are sent only to the Book owner.
Private blog comments sent to this entry are not visible to the entry owner in the Comments area under the entry (unless the entry owner made the private comment). [The Recent Comments listing does not include private blog comments.]
If the entry owner comments publicly to that entry, they can set the option to be notified as usual of any non-private blog comments that are made after theirs.
If the entry owner is tagged in a public comment to that entry, they will be notified of the tag as usual.
Notifications of a Like on an entry are sent to the entry owner.
Tagging notifications list the entry owner as the source of a tag in that entry, no matter who actually causes the tag.

Manage Book Members with Group Edit can view and use the Manage Book page.
Caution: Only the entries for which they have regular access are shown on the page.
Members with Group Edit cannot use the Manage Photo page. The Manage Photos link does not appear on the Manage Book page for members with Group Edit.

Export as HTML: Members with Group Edit can use this.

Revision History: Members with Group Edit who do not have a Premium+ membership of their own do not see this option. Members with Group Edit who have a Premium+ membership of their own can use this.
Members with Group Edit can use the RCS section in the edit page to add a note about what they changed in their edit, to be stored with the Revision History edit.

View Reviews: Members with Group Edit cannot use this.
Members with Group Edit can see public reviews of the item within the last 31 days on the Public Reviews page, the same as anyone else.

Edit Logs: Members with Group Edit can use this to view the list of Edit Logs for this item and the edit log entries on that listing.
Clicking the << Back to full Edit List link takes them to their own main edit log page, instead of the Book owner's main edit log page.
The View edit logs by Item ID # text box works only if the item ID number belongs to the member with Group Edit or is for an item they have Group Edit for.

Statistics: Members with Group Edit cannot use this.

Transfer Item: Members with Group Edit cannot use this.

Delete Item: Members with Group Edit cannot use this.

Entry Tool Menu

Edit Entry: Members with Group Edit can use this.
Members with Group Edit can edit any entry in the Book item that they can access. [For a Private entry they cannot see otherwise, link+Passkey access works.]
In the entry listing, members with Group Edit do not see entries created by other people that are set to Private, and cannot access those Private entries. They do see their own Private entries.
The number of entries in the Book as shown in the Book header includes Private entries.
The semi-automated post to the Notebook on a plain Save operation is worded as if the member with Group Edit owns the Book item, and is posted to the Notebook of the member with Group Edit.

Beta: Using Group Edit to add Photos to a Book item is a Beta feature. Terms, rules and policies regarding this Beta feature are subject to change. We apologize for any bugs or oddities.
Add Photos: Members with Group Edit can use this, whether they have a Premium membership of their own or not. A photo is owned by the member who uploads it.
A member with Group Edit can upload a photo to an entry which that member owns, and display it in that entry with a photo tag.
A member with Group Edit can edit an entry created by someone else who uploaded a photo to it, and displayed that photo with a photo tag.
A member with Group Edit who does not have a Premium membership of their own, does not have access to the My Photos area in their own account to keep track of their uploaded photos.
Photos uploaded by a member with Group Edit are listed in that member's photo Completer menu.
Members with Group Edit do not see the Manage Photo button on the Manage Book page, and cannot use the Manage Photo page.
If you have questions about this Beta feature, please post in "Technical Support Forum" 

Notes about Photo Light Boxes
The photo owner sees the photo ID and photo management tools in the light box for that photo. The Edit button can be used to add a title and description, which are visible to the owner of the photo in the light box (after a reload). The Delete and Left/Right rotate buttons also work.
A member with Group Edit can use a photo light box belonging to a Book item to page through photos that have been uploaded in that Book, but will only see the photo ID number, owner information, and manage tools for their own photos.
Photo light boxes allow comments whether the Book item is set to allow Blog Comments or not. Notifications for comments made in a photo light box are sent to the Book owner. Public comments made in a photo light box are visible to the photo owner; private comments are not visible to the photo owner, even if they made the Private comment themselves. The photo owner sees the Remove button on only their own public comments.
The Like notifications on a photo in a photo light box go to the photo owner (even if you Liked your own photo).
Like notifications on a public comment in a photo light box go to the commenter (even if you Liked your own comment). [No notification is sent for a Like on a private comment.]
Deleting an entry does not delete any photos that were uploaded to that entry. Photos can be deleted from the photo light box. Deleting a photo immediately and permanently deletes the photo. A deleted photo cannot be retrieved.

Delete Entry: Members with Group Edit can use this only for entries they created themselves.
Deleting an entry immediately and permanently deletes the entry. A deleted entry cannot be retrieved.

Spell Check: Members with Group Edit can use this.

Export to HTML: Members with Group Edit can use this.

Word Count: Members with Group Edit can use this.


Frequently Asked Questions

How do I edit an item that I should have access to edit?
If you have Group Edit access for an item, you should be able to see the gear icon at the upper right of that item. Click the gear icon to open the Item Tools menu, and click on Edit Item. This will open up a new window with the edit page of that particular item.

An alternate method is available: Copy the six- or seven-digit item ID number of the item you wish to edit, and in the left navigation menu, click on My Account/Group Memberships. At the top and at the bottom of the page, there is a form for group edit access. Paste the item ID number into the box provided and press Edit. This will open up a new window with the edit page of that particular item.

How does a Trinket lock affect members with Group Edit?
A Trinket lock on an item will prevent members with Group Edit from viewing the item unless they have that Trinket. Members with Group Edit can still edit the item with the alternate access method (discussed above) as long as they don't use the Save & View option to save the edit. Note: There is no alternate access method for editing Book entries.

Recommended Reading

1. Group
2. Create/Edit a Group
3. Group Management
4. Group Leaders and Members
5. Access Levels Within Groups
6. Group Only Items
7. Transfer a Group To Another Member
8. Creative Group Ideas
9. Free and Paid Membership Benefits