For a general introduction to Comms see the BIMXtra Comms System.

User Roles

Users get access to the BIMXtra Project > Comms menu with the Project Comms role.  They can create new Comms with the Add Comms role, while they can be Sent Comms with the Receive Comms role. 

Access to Comms is configured through Comms Distribution Groups and Comms Types providing a level of control over who can send which types of Comms to whom.

Comms functions that are controlled by UserCompany are only active for those users who also have a Project Comms role.

Comms Manager (Function)

Users configured with the Comms Manager User role can also be added to have an overview of each of the Comms types as it's Comms Manager .  This gives them the ability to see and take part in all Comms of the Type they are Comms Manager of, with the exception that they do not see any Private messages for any Comms.

Comms Managers can also access the ZipExport function in order to download self-referencing offline archives of comms.

Close Comms (Function)

Users can be configured with the Close Comms role for a Comm Type , in which case they can close it.  This is in addition to the normal users who can close a Comm IE The Originator and the Project Superuser.

Comms Types Configuration

Project > Comms > Configuration is used to define the Types, or names, of Comms available on the project.  The Comm Type configuration includes details of:

• Any Category sub classifications for the type,
• The default number of days to set for the High, Medium and Low priority comms Due Dates,
• Who can access the Comm and thus create or respond to it, as defined in the Distribution Groups,
• Who can be a Recipient of the Comm, as defined in the Distribution Groups,
• Who can see all Comms of the Type, as Comms Manager, regardless of their role in each of the comms themselves.  This relates to the rules around Comms visibility, and is provided as a monitoring function for each Comm Type,
• Who can Close comms of the Type.  This is in addition to the normal users who can close a comm and is provided as an administrative function for each of the Comm Types,
• Who is sent the Comm upon creation by default, if any,
• Which DMS Codes are seen in the File Attachments table,
• Whether the Comm Type allows Public and Private messages. 

Add Comms Type

Add a new Comms Type and edit it immediately  

Save Layout

Save the configuration of the current columns on the page. Columns can be turned off with a Right Click over the column headers. 

Status

The Active status of the Comms type

Reference

A short code by which the Comms Type is known

Friendly Name

A description by which the Comms Type is known

Due Days

Sets the number of days from the creation time of a comm that become the default due date for High, Medium and Low priority comms of that type. 

The default Due Date can be changed further from this default during Comm creation but it can't be changed once the comm has been submitted.

Category

The Comm Categories defined for use for the Comm Type.  The Category is an optional field that can be edited at any time that the comm is open.  Only the Originator and Comm Manager can edit the Category.

Distribution Groups (Comms Type)

The Comms Distribution Groups that are configured for use on the Comm Type.  It is usual to have several distribution groups active on a single comm type in order to build up required accessibility rules to project users.

Available To

Shows the list of users who currently have access to the Comm Type as a result of the current Distribution Group setting.

Comms Manager (Comms Type)

If a user has the Comms Manager role then they can be selected as Comms Manager and have visibility over all Comms of that type.  This is in addition to the normal rules of Comms Visibility and is provided as a monitoring function for each of the Comms Types.

Comms Managers can respond and reassign comms in the normal way.  They can also access the ZipExport function in order to download self-referencing offline archives of comms.

Comms Managers only see Public messages of a Comm Type and do not see any Private messages that they have not been explicitly included in.  In other words Private messages are always only ever seen by those people included in them.

Close Comms (Comms Type)

Configures users to be able to close Comms of that Type.  This is is addition to the normal rules of Comms Closure and is provided as an administrative function for each of the Comms Types.

Mandatory First Assign

When Comms are created they are sent by default, with no ability to change, to the Mandatory 1st Assign user.  The recipient user will then be able to respond and reassign the Comm as required and as determined by the Distribution Groups.  Therefore this is provided as a monitoring and coordinating function for each of the Comms Types.

DMS Codes

Select the custom DMS Codes to show in the Comm File Attachment Table.  DMS Codes must be:

1. Turned ON in the project Configuration
2. Enabled in each user's roles for the project.  Superusers see all DMS Codes regardless of their user role configuration.
3. Selected to be displayed in the Comm Type via this configuration.

Allow Private Responses

Allows Private responses to be sent for the Comm Type.  Private messages are also controlled by the Distribution Groups of the Comms Type.

Edit (Comms Type)

Edit the Comms Type configuration.

Active (Comms Type)

Whether the Comms Type is active or not.  De-Activated Comms Types are not available in the Comms List page and therefore new Comms can't be created and existing ones can't be responded to. 

Action

An alternative way to Activate or Deactive a Comms Type

Comms Distribution Groups

Project > Comms > Distribution Groups are used to control which users, based on on their User Company, can send Comms to which other users, selected explicitly. A single distribution group defines both:

• The people who can Receive a Comm in the group.  These are the Comms configuration#Users.
• The people who can send a Comm in the group.  These are the users with a Comms role, in the Companies the Distribution Group is made Available To.

Multiple distribution groups then control the whole range of users authorised to Send and Receive each of the configured Comms Types.

The All Users Distribution Group is a system default which includes all project users with a Comms role for both Recipients and Available To.

Add New Record

Add a new Comms Distribution Group and edit it immediately.

Distribution Groups

Generates a report of distribution groups containing detail of which users are assigned to each group

Show All

Show all Distribution Groups in the page listing, including de-activated ones.

Active (Distribution Groups)

Whether the Distribution Group is active or not.  Only active distribution groups are available when creating and responding to Comms.  Therefore this is an easy way to control access to comms to chunks of users based on the groups definition.

User Count

The number of users in the Distribution group.  Hover over the icon to show the list of user names.

Edit (Distribution Group)

Enter into Edit mode for a selected Distribution Group.  Automatic system groups can't be edited.

Description

The Description of the Distribution Group, visible to users selecting it while creating and responding to Comms.

Users

The Users who can be Sent or cc'd a Comm as authorised by the group.

Available To

The Companies, whose users the group is made available to while creating and responding to Comms, and that can thus send or cc to the groups Recipients.

History

 Provides an audit log of all changes to the Distribution group.