--- title: "Viewing Public Solicitations" slug: "viewing-public-solicitations-1" updated: 2026-10-29T17:05:25Z published: 2026-10-29T17:05:25Z canonical: "wiki.cobblestonesoftware.com/viewing-public-solicitations-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. # Viewing Public Solicitations **COBBLESTONE SOFTWARE** Contract Insight — User Guide **Viewing Public Solicitations** *Module: Vendor/Client Gateway › Users: Public Searches › Viewing Public Solicitations* **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 Whether a solicitation can be viewed publicly on the Vendor/Client Gateway is controlled by the solicitation's own **Invitation Type** field. **Public** solicitations can be viewed and responded to by any bidder, **Invite Only** solicitations are limited to invited or assigned bidders, and **Not Published** solicitations don't appear on the Gateway. Each solicitation also has a system-created **GatewayURL** field that links to the portal's public solicitation search page. What Gateway visitors see on a solicitation is set by administrators in **Administration → Vendor/Client Gateway (VCG) → Settings**, including **Allow Viewing of Interested Parties** (Off in this environment, so the list of respondents isn't shown) and **Allow Solicitations Calendar Buttons** (On, so calendar download buttons appear on solicitation records). # 2. Key Elements - **Sourcing → Solicitations:** the list of all solicitation records, with an **Invitation Type** column, a **Search** box, and a **Manage** button on each row. - **Invitation Type** (solicitation, Details section): Not Published (not on the Gateway), Public (any bidder can view and participate), or Invite Only (only invited/assigned bidders can participate). This field is required. - **GatewayURL (System Created)** (solicitation, Details section): the portal or gateway link for the solicitation, pointing to the public solicitation search page. - **Bid Open/Release Date** and **Bid Close Date** (Dates/Timeline section): when the solicitation is available for responses and when it closes to respondents. - **Administration → Vendor/Client Gateway (VCG) → Settings:** **Allow Solicitations Calendar Buttons** (enables calendar download buttons on solicitation records) and **Allow Viewing of Interested Parties** (lets Vendor/Client users see the list of interested parties/respondents on the solicitation details). - **Enable Bid Alerts** (VCG Settings): lets public and logged-in users set up bid alerts on the Gateway. This setting is managed by CobbleStone; contact support to change it. # 3. Navigating to Solicitations 1. From the Contract Insight homepage, click the **Sourcing** icon in the left navigation bar. 2. Select **Solicitations**. ![Sourcing menu with Solicitations highlighted](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/01-sourcing-menu.jpg) 1. The **Solicitations** list opens. Check the **Invitation Type** column to see which solicitations are Public, Invite Only, or Not Published. 2. Use the **Search** box to find a specific solicitation, then click **Manage** on its row to open the record. ![Solicitations list with Search, Manage and Invitation Type highlighted](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/02-solicitation-list.jpg) # 4. Making a Solicitation Publicly Visible ## 4a. Checking the Invitation Type and GatewayURL 1. Open the solicitation (see Section 3). The record opens on the **Record Details** tab. 2. In the **Details** section, find **Invitation Type**. A value of **Public** means any bidder can view the solicitation on the Gateway. 3. Find **GatewayURL (System Created)**. Click the link icon next to the URL to open the portal's public solicitation search page in a new tab. ![Solicitation Details with Invitation Type and GatewayURL highlighted](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/03-solicitation-fields.jpg) ## 4b. Changing the Invitation Type 1. Hover over **Invitation Type** and click the pencil icon to edit the field. 2. Select **Public**, **Invite Only**, or **Not Published** from the drop-down. 3. Click the check mark next to the field label to save, or the **×** to cancel. ![Invitation Type drop-down with save and cancel highlighted](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/04-invitation-type-edit.jpg) **Tip:** Review the **Bid Open/Release Date** and **Bid Close Date** in the **Dates/Timeline** section as well, since they set when the solicitation is open for responses. # 5. Configuring What Gateway Visitors See (Administrators) ## 5a. Opening the Vendor/Client Gateway Settings 1. From the Contract Insight homepage, click the **Administration** icon at the bottom of the left navigation bar. 2. Scroll to **Gateways & Portals** and click **Vendor/Client Gateway (VCG)**. ![Administration page with Vendor/Client Gateway (VCG) highlighted](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/05-admin-vcg.jpg) ## 5b. Solicitation Display Settings 1. On the **Settings** tab, review the **Access** group. 2. Turn **Allow Solicitations Calendar Buttons** on to show calendar download buttons on solicitation records, or off to hide them. 3. Turn **Allow Viewing of Interested Parties** on to let Vendor/Client users see the list of interested parties/respondents on a solicitation, or leave it off to keep that list hidden. 4. Click **Save changes** to apply your changes, or **Discard** to undo them. ![VCG Settings with solicitation display toggles and Save changes highlighted](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/06-vcg-settings.jpg) **Note:** The portal-side browsing screen (searching, filtering, sorting, and downloading public solicitation details) is covered in this guide's **Vendor/Client Gateway** module.