---
title: "Collaborative Online Editor"
slug: "collaborative-online-editor-features-1"
updated: 2026-10-29T16:50:06Z
published: 2026-10-29T16:50:06Z
canonical: "wiki.cobblestonesoftware.com/collaborative-online-editor-features-1"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://wiki.cobblestonesoftware.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Collaborative Online Editor

**COBBLESTONE SOFTWARE**

Contract Insight — User Guide

**Collaborative Online Editor**

*Collaborative Online Editor*

**Note:** Each procedure in this guide begins at the Contract Insight homepage, so any section can be followed on its own. Custom fields are configurable, so the exact field list on a contract category record may vary between environments.

# 1. Overview

The **Collaborative Online Editor** lets you and your colleagues edit a record's document together in the browser. In the editor, a collaborative session is called a **Joint Document Process**. A session is started from the **Collaborative edit** action on any file in a record's **Files / Attachments** list (on the **Attachments & Templates** tab). Starting a session opens the document in the editor, where you can invite colleagues and outside parties to work on it with you; any colleague with edit access can join. While a session is active, the file shows an "**In a joint process**" badge in the file list, and anyone who clicks **Collaborative edit** on that file joins the existing session. Each collaborator's edits are tracked in their own color, the editor saves changes as you work, and the session finalizes as a new version of the file when it ends.

# 2. Key Elements

- **Collaborative edit** action: the fourth icon in the **Actions** column of each file row in **Files / Attachments**; it starts a new session or joins an active one.
- **In a joint process** badge: shown under the file name of any file with an active session.
- **Start a document process?** and **Join this document process?** dialogs: confirm before the editor opens, with **Cancel** and **Start and open** / **Join and open** buttons.
- Editor header: the record name and ID, the file name, avatars of the collaborators currently in the document, the **Saved** indicator, and the **Share**, **Save**, **Print**, and **Help (?)** buttons.
- Ribbon tabs: **File**, **Home**, **Insert**, **Layout**, **Review**, **View**, and **References**, with familiar word-processing tools.
- **Manage Joint Process** panel: the file name, session expiration date, process type (for example, **Edit Existing**), the process creator, **Your tracked-changes color**, **Search collaborators**, and the list of current collaborators and their permissions.
- **Review** tab: **New Comment**, **Previous** / **Next**, **Show Comments**, **Track Changes**, **Accept All** / **Reject All**, and **Protect Document**.
- **Save** menu: **Save**, **Save and Return to Record**, and **Save and End Session**.

# 3. Navigating to a Record's Files

1. From the Contract Insight homepage, hover over the **Requests/Contracts** icon in the left navigation bar.
2. Select **Contracts**.

![Requests/Contracts menu with Contracts highlighted](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/01-nav-contracts(1).jpg)

1. Locate the contract (use the **Search** box to filter the list).
2. Click **Manage** on the contract's row to open the record.

![Contracts list with the Search box and Manage button highlighted](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/02-contracts-list-manage(1).jpg)

1. On the contract record, click the **Attachments & Templates** tab.

![Contract record with the Attachments & Templates tab highlighted](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/03-record-attachments-tab(1).jpg)

The **Files / Attachments** section lists every file on the record, with row actions in the **Actions** column.

# 4. Starting or Joining a Collaborative Session

## 4a. Starting a New Session

1. Navigate to the record's **Files / Attachments** list (see Section 3) and locate the file you want to edit.
2. Click the **Collaborative edit** icon in the file's **Actions** column. Files that already have an active session show the **In a joint process** badge under the file name; to work on one of those, see Section 4b.

![Files / Attachments list with the Collaborative edit icon and In a joint process badges highlighted](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/04-files-collaborative-edit(1).jpg)

1. In the **Start a document process?** dialog, review the file name and message, then click **Start and open**. Click **Cancel** to close the dialog without starting a session.

![Start a document process dialog with Cancel and Start and open highlighted](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/05-start-document-process.jpg)

The document opens in the Collaborative Online Editor in a new browser tab, and the file is marked **In a joint process** in the file list.

## 4b. Joining an Existing Session

1. In the record's **Files / Attachments** list, locate a file showing the **In a joint process** badge.
2. Click the file's **Collaborative edit** icon.
3. In the **Join this document process?** dialog, click **Join and open**.

![Join this document process dialog with Cancel and Join and open highlighted](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/06-join-document-process.jpg)

**Note:** When you join, you work alongside the colleagues already editing the document and see their changes as they make them.

# 5. Working in the Collaborative Online Editor

## 5a. Editor Layout

The editor header identifies the record (with its ID) and the file being edited. Collaborator avatars show who is currently in the document, and the **Saved** indicator confirms that your changes have been saved. Use the ribbon tabs below the header to format and edit the document.

![Collaborative Online Editor header controls and ribbon tabs highlighted](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/07-editor-overview.jpg)

- **Share**: opens the **Manage Joint Process** panel (see Section 5b). The arrow next to it also offers **Collab Management**.
- **Save**: saves your changes; the arrow next to it opens more save options (see Section 5d).
- **Print**: prints the document.
- **Help (?)**: opens help for the editor.

## 5b. Managing Collaborators and Your Tracked-Changes Color

1. Click **Share** in the editor header to open the **Manage Joint Process** panel.
2. Review the session details: the file name, the **Expires** date, the process type, and the **Process Creator**.
3. Under **Your tracked-changes color**, keep **Auto** or select a color. Your edits are highlighted in this color for other collaborators.
4. Use **Search collaborators** to find a colleague and invite them to the document. Current collaborators are listed below the search box with their role and permissions.
5. Click the **X** to close the panel and return to the document.

![Manage Joint Process panel with Share, tracked-changes color, Search collaborators, and collaborator list highlighted](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/08-manage-joint-process.jpg)

## 5c. Comments and Tracked Changes

1. Click the **Review** tab on the ribbon.
2. Use **New Comment** to add a comment at the cursor, and **Previous**, **Next**, or **Show Comments** to move through existing comments.
3. Use **Track Changes** to review collaborators' edits, then **Accept All** or **Reject All** to resolve them. **Protect Document** restricts editing of the document.

![Review ribbon with New Comment, Show Comments, Track Changes, Accept All and Reject All highlighted](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/09-review-ribbon.jpg)

**Note:** Review buttons are enabled only when they apply; for example, **Accept All** and **Reject All** stay grayed out until the document contains tracked changes.

## 5d. Saving and Ending the Session

1. Click the arrow next to **Save** in the editor header.
2. Select one of the following:
  - **Save**: saves your changes and keeps the document open.
  - **Save and Return to Record**: saves your changes and returns you to the contract record.
  - **Save and End Session**: saves your changes and ends the joint process, finalizing the document as a new version of the file.

![Save menu with Save, Save and Return to Record, and Save and End Session highlighted](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/10-save-menu.jpg)

**Note:** Use **Save and End Session** only when all collaborators have finished; ending the session closes the joint process for the file.

# 6. Quick Reference Summary

| Task | How to Complete It |
| --- | --- |
| Open a record's files | Requests/Contracts → Contracts → Manage → Attachments & Templates tab. |
| Start a collaborative session | Files / Attachments → Collaborative edit icon → Start and open. |
| Join an active session | File with the In a joint process badge → Collaborative edit icon → Join and open. |
| Invite collaborators | Editor → Share → Search collaborators. |
| Change your tracked-changes color | Editor → Share → Your tracked-changes color. |
| Add a comment or review changes | Editor → Review tab → New Comment, Track Changes, Accept All / Reject All. |
| Save and return to the record | Editor → Save arrow → Save and Return to Record. |
| End the session | Editor → Save arrow → Save and End Session. |