Document-level assignments are ideal when you want to invite coworkers to collaborate with you around a document in MS Word, PowerPoint or Excel format, whether it's to contribute directly to the document's contents or for review and approval purposes.
You can create one or more assignments inside the document, calling out exactly which part of the document you are assigning, or you can choose to assign an entire Pursuit document to a co-worker. In this article, we'll explain both scenarios.
In this article, we'll explain:
IMPORTANT: Creating a document assignment does not automatically grant access to the document, so make sure that it is saved in a shared location, and that the people you want to collaborate with have access to it.
1. How to assign part of a document
When assigning parts of a document, whether it's a proposal section or a question in an RFP, you will need to have the QorusDocs Add-ins installed.
You should also know that assignments inside documents are supported for any document that has been saved to a shared location - it does not necessarily have to be a document that you're working on within the context of a Pursuit.
Next, we'll cover where you can create assignments inside Word, PowerPoint, and Excel documents, before going through the steps of actually creating the assignment.
Where you can create an assignment in Word
In Word, you can create assignments in the following locations within your document:
In a blank space:
The spot where you create an assignment in Word gets surrounded by a grey container known as a content control, a bit like this:
When assignees click on an assignment in the QorusDocs Add-in, they will be taken straight to the location in the document where the assignment content control is found, and that is where they would generally be expected to respond to the assignment. So, you'll want to make sure that you place your cursor in the right place in the document before you create the assignment – like in the space below a question where you want an answer to go.
Around one or more selected parts of the document:
When you select a portion of a Word document to create an assignment, your selection will be surrounded by the assignment content control container:
If you have a portion of a document that you’d like a co-worker to review, select that part first and then create your assignment.
Where you can create an assignment in Excel
In Excel, you can create assignments in one cell at a time.
For example, you can select a blank cell next to or below a question, where the response should go:
Alternatively, you could select a cell that already contains text.
What you won’t be able to do however is click inside a cell and select only some of the text it contains to assign it. If you’d like the assignee to focus on something specific within a cell, you can draw your co-worker's attention to this by using the assignment comments.
Where you can create an assignment in PowerPoint
In PowerPoint, you can create assignments at slide-level, meaning you can assign one or more slides at a time with each assignment:
As with Excel document-level assignments, if there’s a specific portion of a slide that requires attention, you can use the assignment comments to point that out to the co-worker's you’re collaborating with. You can learn more about PowerPoint Assignments here.
Creating the 'In-Document' assignment
Once you've selected the cell, part of the document or slide(s) you’d like to assign, you can click the 'Assign' tab in the top nav of the QorusDocs Add-in and then click the 'Create Assignment' button.
A new window will pop up in the Assign pane where you can fill out the Assignment details.
Under ‘Assigned Users’, type the first few letters of the name of the person you'd like to create the assignment for, and then select their name from the drop-down menu that appears.
You can create assignments for up to 10 different people. As you add users to an assignment, you'll see their names under 'Assigned Users'.
Next, give the assignment you're creating a name:
This is optional but very helpful to those who receive assignments from you and so we recommend that you provide instructions in the 'Instructions' text box. It comes with a toolbar that allows you to add formatting to your instructions. These are included in the assignment email notification the assignee(s) will receive when they are notified of their new assignment.
Then, click on the calendar icon to set a due date. QorusDocs will track the completion of the assignment against that due date for reporting purposes and make it easy to see whether the assignment is overdue.
QorusDocs will also send out a reminder to Assignees when there’s 24 hours left before the due date and the assignment has not yet received a response (‘marked as done’ or ‘rejected’).
Once you’ve filled in all the details, simply click on ‘Create’.
And that's it! You've created your first in-document assignment.
You should be able to view the new assignment and its status in the Assign pane:
People you've created assignments for, or assignees, will receive email notifications, and will be able to access the document with the link provided in the email. Their assignments will appear in their Assignments list in the QorusDocs Hub and the Assign pane in their Add-in. As the person creating assignments, or the assignment “owner”, you'll be informed of any change in the status of the assignment.
To learn more about the experience for assignees, and how to action an assignment, please click here.
2. How to assign a whole Pursuit document
You can assign an entire document from the Pursuit Contents tab while working in Hub Central using your web browser, or while working in MS Office with the QorusDocs Add-ins.
While the examples below illustrate how to do this from the Pursuit workspace in Hub Central, the steps are the same for the QorusDocs Add-ins. You just need to be in a Pursuit and viewing the Contents tab while in the Add-ins.
Here's how to assign an entire document:
- Navigate to the Pursuit's Contents tab and locate the document you wish to assign.
- Click the ellipse button (…) next to the document to open the 'more' menu.
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Select Assign from the menu options.
- In the assignment creation window that appears next, complete the required fields:
- Select the assignee(s)
- Add any instructions (optional but recommended)
- Set the due date (optional)
- Click 'Create' to create the assignment.
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A success message will appear in the top-right corner of the screen, confirming that the assignment has been successfully created.
Similarly to 'in-document' assignments, assignment recipients will be notified via email of their new assignment and will be able to view the assignment within their list of assignments in Hub Central and in the Add-ins.
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