How To: Work with Groups

Overview

Groups are a new hub for collaboration. Our group framework provides a flexible, dynamic environment for users to engage in novel ways both with teammates and customers.

Within a group, users have the ability to share and collaborate on designs and discussion boards, store relevant files, and more.

There are public, closed, and secret groups. Creating and joining public and closed groups is free with any account, while secret groups require an Innovator level or higher subscription.

Group Search

From the 'Groups' tab, click 'Browse Groups' to see all public and closed groups. You can use the search bar to find relevant groups based on your interests. You can filter by group type: either Public, Closed, or Any.

Group Types

There are three types of groups: public, closed, and secret.

A Public group is a publicly viewable area to collaborate with other users on a topic or theme. Anybody can join, but outsiders can only participate in Discussions if they are logged in.

A Closed group is a publicly viewable area to collaborate with other users on a topic or theme. Users can request to join, but outsiders can not actively participate.

A Secret group requires an Innovator level or higher subscription and the group as well as its contents, cannot be seen by the public.

Joining a Group

To join a Public group, navigate to the group's homepage and click the 'Join Group' button. You will be immediately added to the group and have access to all group contents.

For a Closed group, the homepage will have a 'Request to Join' button. An admin will receive a notification to address your request, and then you will have full access to the group.

A Secret group requires an invitation from the group's admin to join.

Creating a Group

A user must be logged in to create a group. Select the ‘Create Group’ button under the Groups tab to get started. Select if you want your group to be Public or Closed (or _Secret _if you have an Innovator or higher subscription), and then give your group a Title on the next page to create your group.

You can also add a logo,relevant tags, and a description of your group to get it started. All of this can also be changed later, except for your group’s type.

User Roles in a Group

There are two possible roles for a user in a group: Administrator and Member.

A group Administrator has the ability to manage member status of any user in the group. Admins also address membership requests for a Closed group and are the only ones who can send invitations to join a Secret group.

A group Member has access to view, edit, and add to all group content. A group member cannot modify membership for themselves or others in a group.

Adding Group Content

Adding content to a group can be done on the group’s main page. Click the ‘Create Content’ button under your group’s logo and then select the type of content you would like to add.

Add an Existing Design to Group

You can add any existing design you own into one of your groups. When viewing the schematic in the Designer, on the right panel you will see a dropdown for ‘Group.’ Select the group where your design should be located, and it will be moved to the group. This will appear on the group timeline as well as in the group's designs collection. Note that this does not make a copy of the design for the group, the design will be directly placed in the group.

Sub-groups

Groups can also contain sub-groups when hierarchy makes sense for team or content clarity. A group admin can go to their group, click ‘Create Content,’ and create a sub-group from there.

Announcements

Announcements are a great way to communicate with your group. Announcements are content you can create in a group that will be displayed on the group homepage. You can set a timer for time-sensitive announcements.

Discussions

Group discussions work the same as the site-level forum under the 'Discuss' tab. Use this space to facilitate conversation and interaction relevant to the group's topic and members.

Timeline

The group timeline is where you can stay up-to-date with all group activity. Design creation and updates, announcement and forum comments, and any file activity will all be logged so you can know what’s happened right from the group home page.

Files

File upload allows you to store and share relevant documents within your group. Group files can be previewed in the group or downloaded.