Collaboration View: Configuration Guide

This article provides an overview of the configuration process for the Collaboration View. For an overview of the feature, refer to the following article: Collaboration View.

Configure Collaboration View [Admin]

The configuration process for the Collaboration View incorporates setting up a designated Salesforce Public Site and then completing the Collaboration View utility in Tools and Settings in TaskRay.

Collaboration View requires one TaskRay license, which is included in your subscription. Additionally, make sure that the Collaboration View is something that your entire organization is comfortable with enabling from a security standpoint. Considering that this feature allows granting read only access to projects via a link, it is important that the link is shared only with trusted recipients.

Collaboration View - Configuration Permissions

The following additive permission set is required to manage Collaboration View settings:

• TaskRay - Admin Access

Configuration Overview

Below are the high-level steps for configuring this feature:

1. Register Salesforce Site Domain (through Setup)
2. Create a New Salesforce Site (through Setup)
3. Complete Collaboration View Setup Utility (through TaskRay Tools and Settings).
4. Optional Configurations
   • Upload a Company Logo and Set the Banner Color
   • Set Default Columns to Display Task Information
   • Set Available and Default Views
   • Manage Field-Level Permissions
   • Enable Validation Rule to Restrict the Ability to Share Projects
   • Designate Certain Tasks as Internal Only
   • Team Member Icons

Additionally, there are a few optional configurations that might apply to your specific use case. Once the feature is fully configured, you could further customize it by editing field permissions, defining the default columns visible in the link, designating certain tasks as internal only, or enabling a validation rule to restrict the ability to share projects. Details on the optional configurations can be found in this article: TaskRay Collaboration View Additional Settings.

Steps to Configure

Step 1: Register Salesforce Site Domain [Admin]

The first thing that you will need to do for setting up Salesforce Sites is register a Salesforce domain. If you have already done this, you can skip to the next section of this article.

1. From Setup, navigate to User Interface | Sites and Domains | Sites.
2. In the box at the bottom of the page, enter a domain name and click on Check Availability. If it is not available, enter a new domain name.
3. If it is available, select the I have read and accepted the Salesforce Sites Terms of Use checkbox.
4. Click on Register My Salesforce Site Domain.

Step 2: Create a New Salesforce Site [Admin]

After your domain is deployed, the next thing that you need to do is create a new Salesforce Public Site for sharing TaskRay projects.

1. If you are not already on that page: from Setup, navigate to User Interface | Sites and Domains | Sites.
2. In the Sites section at the bottom of the page, click New.
3. Enter a Site Label (i.e. "TaskRay Collaboration View").
4. The Site Name should automatically generate based on the label that you enter.
5. [Optional] Enter a Site Description.
6. If necessary, change the Site Contact.
7. Enter Default Web Address (i.e. projectstatus).
8. Select Active Site Home Page by clicking on the lookup icon next to the field. In the window that comes up, select trtaskboard.
9. Make sure that the Require Secure Connections (HTTPS) checkbox is checked.
10. Click Save.
11. On the Site Details page, click Activate.

Step 3: Collaboration View Setup Utility [Admin]

The following steps can be completed directly in the TaskRay app. 

TaskRay offers a Collaboration View Setup Utility to simplify this process and guide an administrator through the process of deploying the Collaboration View feature. This utility can be accessed in TaskRay Tools and Settings once you complete registration and creation of the Salesforce Site.

To access the Collaboration View Setup Utility, navigate to the TaskRay app in your Salesforce org and open the Tools and Settings menu. Tools and Settings can be accessed from the TaskRay toolbar by clicking on the Gear icon in the upper right corner. 

Within Tools and Settings, under Admin, click on the Collaboration View tab to open the utility.

This utility will walk you through the steps to configure the Collaboration View feature and it will consist of the following steps:

1. Register a Domain Name and Public Site

This section correlates with Step 1 (Register Salesforce Site Domain) and Step 2 (Create New Salesforce Site) outlined in the sections above. Set the Site Setup Complete? toggle to True if those steps have been completed.

If you still need to configure site settings, click on the Open Site Setup button and refer to the following sections of this article: Register Salesforce Site Domain [Admin] and Create New Salesforce Site [Admin].

2. Select Public Site for Collaboration View

Using the dropdown, select the site that you would like to use for the Collaboration View (e.g. the site configured in the previous steps). When selected, click on Apply Selection.

3. Assign a TaskRay Permission Set and License

Click Assign to automatically assign the TaskRay External - Read Only Access Permission Set and a TaskRay License to the Public Site Guest User.

4. Create Sharing Rules for the Public Site

Click on Create Sharing Rules to create Sharing Rules that grant the Collaboration View Site Guest user read-only access to the TaskRay Project, TaskRay Task, and TaskRay Checklist objects.

5. Update TaskRay Project Page Layouts

To start using the Collaboration View, you will need to add a set of fields to the TaskRay Project Page layout.

The Enable in Collaboration View field is necessary to enable/disable projects to be shared in the Collaboration View. The Collaboration View Link field is used to generate the link that can be shared with external stakeholders. Additionally, you can add the Collaboration View Notes field if you'd like to add project notes for external viewers to see.

Adding fields to the layout is done through Salesforce Setup:

1. From Setup, navigate to Object Manager.
2. Select TaskRay Project.
3. Click Page Layouts.
4. Select the page layout where you'd like to add the fields.
5. Move the following fields onto the page layout.
   • Enable in Collaboration View
   • Collaboration View Link
   • Collaboration View Notes
6. Click Save.

When you are done, back in the Collaboration View Utility in Tools and Settings, set the Complete? toggle to True.

Optional Collaboration View Configurations

Now that the Collaboration View is set up, you can easily customize it for your organization's needs. These steps are optional but are a great way to personalize the Collaboration View experience for your organization.

Upload a Company Logo and Set the Banner Color

Your customers may not be familiar with TaskRay since it's an internal tool used to manage projects. This option allows you to white-label the Collaboration View so customers can recognize your organization. By default, the dashboard will use the TaskRay logo and color.

To manage these settings, navigate to Tools and Settings within the TaskRay app and open the Collaboration View Setup Utility tab. Scroll down to the Collaboration View Optional Configuration section:

• To upload a logo, click Upload File and open the file with your company logo.
• To change the banner color, use the color selector to pick a color. Alternatively, you can enter the Hex # or RGB values. The no color option will reset to the default TaskRay colors. Once your color is set, click Done. 

Once completed, you can view your changes by making a project viewable in the Collaboration View and viewing the link.

Set Default Columns to Display Task Information

One of the default interfaces in the Collaboration View visualizes the project plan on a Gantt-like timeline. The interface allows adding columns to expose task field information on the board. It is possible to designate columns to be exposed in the Collaboration View by default. 

1. To manage these settings, navigate to Tools and Settings within the TaskRay app and open the Collaboration View Setup Utility tab. Scroll down to the Public Dashboard Optional Configuration section.
2. To add additional columns, click Select Fields to Display.
3. In the modal, select fields in the Available Task Fields and click the right arrow to move them to Selected Task Fields
   
   Tip: You can hold down the Control or Command button on your keyboard to select multiple fields to move at once.
   
   
4. Use the up and down arrows to change the order of the Selected Task Fields. This controls the order in which the columns are displayed on the board.
   
5. Click Apply.

Set Available and Default Views

The Collaboration View provides two interfaces. You have the option of keeping both of them enabled or hiding either one if needed. If both are enabled, you can designate one of them to be the default.

The interfaces are:

1. Project Plan: Displays a Gantt chart of the Project Plan along with any Task fields added as columns.
2. To-Do: Displays list of tasks assigned to external stakeholders. This view should only be used in conjunction with External Task Ownership. If there are no tasks assigned to external owners, this view will not display any task data.

To select which views to display and set the default:

1. Navigate to Tools and Settings within the TaskRay app and open the Collaboration View Setup Utility tab. Scroll down to the Public Dashboard Optional Configuration section.
2. Click Select Default & Available Views
3. Use the left and right arrows to move views between Available Views and Selected Views
4. Use the up and down arrows to order the selected view. The top view will be the default view external stakeholders see when they open the dashboard. 

[Optional] Manage Field-Level Permissions [Admin]

If you wish to configure field-level security on different TaskRay Objects within the Collaboration View, you can do so using a permission set group.

By default, the permission set that is assigned to the Collaboration View Site Guest User is TaskRay External - Read Only Access. If you need to restrict access to any of the TaskRay Project, Task Group, or Task fields, then you will need to make a custom permission set group and apply muting permissions to restrict access. At a high level, the proper setup for the permission set group is as follows:

• Permission Sets in Group: TaskRay External - Read Only Access
• Muting Permission Set in Group: create a muting permission set and restrict access on applicable fields.

Furthermore, if you are looking to open up access to additional fields on TaskRay objects (such as custom fields relevant to external users), then you can create a custom permission set and open up read-only access on those fields. The custom permission set can also be added to the permission set group.

Once the permission set group is created, you can assign it to the Collaboration View Site Guest user in place of the TaskRay External - Read Only Access permission set. To do this:

1. From Setup, navigate to User Interface | Sites and Domains | Sites.
2. Open the Collaboration View Site.
3. Click on Public Access Settings.
4. Click on View Users and then slick on Site Guest User.
5. On the user page, scroll to the Permission Set Group Assignments section and click on Edit Assignments. Select the new permission set group and Save.
6. Back on the user page, scroll to the Permission Set Assignments section and click on Del next to TaskRay External - Read Only Access permission set. Note: this step applies only if the standard permission set was previously assigned.

[Optional] Enable Validation Rule to Restrict the Ability to Share Projects [Admin]

By default, any user with access to the project can make a project viewable in the Collaboration View and generate the link for that project. However, TaskRay comes with one inactive validation rule that you can enable to restrict this ability to project owners. If you would like to have this restriction for an added layer of security, follow the steps below.

1. From Setup, navigate to: Objects and Fields | Object Manager.
2. Click on TaskRay Project.
3. Under Validation Rules, click on External_Sharing_Restricted_to_Owner.
4. Click Edit.
5. Check the Active checkbox.

With the validation rule enabled, any time a user who is not the project owner tries to check the Viewable in Collaboration View checkbox the following error will appear:

[Optional] Designate Certain Tasks as Internal Only

By default, all tasks on a shared project will be visible in the Collaboration View.

That said, you can designate certain tasks to be hidden from external view, as well as change the default using the Internal Only Tasks functionality. 

Team Member Icons

If team member/task owner icons aren't showing up when viewing a project in Collaboration View, that means that those team members have not checked the Show my photo on publicly accessible pages in their profiles.

If you want to see team member icons in Collaboration View, every team member would need to follow these steps:

1. In Salesforce, click on the User icon in the top right corner of the page and then click on the User icon again in the dropdown.
   
2. On the user profile page, click on the User icon and select Update Photo.
   
3. In the Update Photo dialog, check the Show my photo on publicly accessible pages. 
4. Click Save.

That's it!

This should complete the setup for the Collaboration View feature. Next, in order to share projects externally, you will need to mark the applicable projects as Viewable in Collaboration View. Instructions on how to do this can be found in this article: Collaboration View: Internal User Guide.