The document facility

A graph holds the group's shared workspace. A subset of nodes and edges within the graph represents one or more group documents. These nodes and their contents can be created and edited by using the document facility.

The document facility may be compared to any ordinary text editor though it certainly will not stand the comparison with extensive word processors like Microsoft Word or WordPerfect. However, we never intended to create an application that could be matched with any of these giants. Instead, our document editor incorporates the functionalities needed to support a co-writing group.

The document facility should differ from a common text editor in that:

• it supports a document that consists of multiple document parts, some of which are multi media document parts;
• it supports coordination between group members;
• it allows linking of annotations to document parts.

Multi media document parts

Besides textual data, The COOPerator supports the incorporation of document parts that contain different data modalities. The expressiveness of the system should gain from the addition of multiple media modalities (Meijer [1994]). On the other hand, it becomes very difficult to obtain tangible copies from multimedial document parts like sound and video fragments! Usage of such elements must therefore be restricted to computerised documents and multi media presentations. Although The COOPerator supports inclusion of other media than text, it does not offer any means of multi media interaction. Thus, graphics, sounds, and video clips should be created or recorded outside the system by using dedicated computer applications.

Coordination among group members

Coordination is supported within the document facility because it takes into account the authorisation and roles with regard to a certain document part. The COOPerator should distinguish between authors, editors, and others. The author of a document part is the person who created it, who originally wrote the text. The editor is the coordinator and chairman of the group. According to Meijer, this person takes care of the unity and the uniformity of the document. He makes sure the document parts match with regard to both content as well as presentation. The other group members (who are, off course, authors of other document parts, given that the group members act as true peer collaborators) may take on the role of critic or reviewer or may simply read the document part.

Authorisation is connected to the role-mechanism. For example, a critic is not authorised to make changes to a document part of which he is not the author. He can, however, create an alternative document part (either text or some other media form) to propagate his opinion. He may also request a change of ownership of the document part in question. The only one to pass on access rights is the author of the part. As soon as he has given up his access rights he cannot access the document part any longer. Within the system, the current owner can be reached by mail or through the annotation-mechanism.

A third instrument for coordination are the annotations. Within The COOPerator, three kinds of annotations to a document part are distinguished:

1. Public annotations which can be read by any group member.
2. Author annotations which can only be read by the person who is the current owner of the document parts.
3. Private annotations which can only be read by their author.

Whenever a discussion originates within one of the above mentioned mechanisms for communication, it may be continued using the discussion facility or in a face-to-face meeting which can be planned by using the group agenda.