Configuring the document collaboration layer

Prerequisites

Before you start configuring document collaboration in specific conversation templates, you must activate it. If you don’t, the settings for document collaboration aren’t available in the settings of your conversation templates.

You can activate document collaboration in the GLOBAL or ACCOUNT scope with the configuration property com.unblu.messenger.documentCoBrowsingEnabled.

Next, enable file sharing with the configuration property com.unblu.messenger.fileSharingEnabled, or participants won’t be able to upload files for document collaboration.

You must also enable the following configuration properties on each conversation template you want to allow document collaboration for:

com.unblu.conversation.feature.documentCoBrowsingEnabled: Enable document collaboration in the conversation template.
com.unblu.conversation.file.allowFileCobrowsing: Participant types allowed to launch a document collaboration session from the menu that appears when they hover over a file uploaded in a chat. If a participant’s type isn’t listed, they can participate in document collaboration sessions but not launch them for a particular document.

General configuration options

For information on general configuration options, refer to the section General configuration options of the article Configuring and manipulating collaboration layers.

Document collaboration configuration properties

Unblu offers two different document collaboration varieties:

Native document collaboration—the default variety—uses the Apryse WebViewer to render documents in the browser.
Server-based document collaboration uses the Rendering Service to render documents on the server and transmit it in a video stream over the WebRTC API.

You select which variety you want to use with the configuration property com.unblu.documentcobrowsing.technology.

The specific configuration properties of each variety are discussed in the sections below.

Native document collaboration

To configure native document collaboration, review the following conversation template configuration properties:

com.unblu.conversation.collaboration.document.allowCreatingEditingAnnotations: Specifies which conversation participants can create and edit annotations. Participant who aren’t listed here don’t have the UI elements to annotate a document.

It isn’t possible to specify which particular annotation tools participants may or may not use.
com.unblu.conversation.collaboration.document.allowCreatingEditingSignatures: Specifies which conversation participants can create and edit signatures. Participant who aren’t listed here don’t have the UI elements to sign a document.
com.unblu.conversation.collaboration.document.allowEditingAnnotationsOfOtherUsers: Specifies which participants may edit annotations created by other participants.

Participants who may edit annotations can also edit other participants' comments on annotations.
com.unblu.conversation.collaboration.action.allowRemoteControlInDocumentCobrowsing: Participants types allowed to use remote control. In the context of native document collaboration, remote control refers to all the controls in the collaboration layer.
com.unblu.conversation.collaboration.approval.approveRemoteControlDocument: Participant types for whom the assigned agent must approve the use of remote control.
com.unblu.conversation.collaboration.document.allowPrintDocument: Participants allowed to print the document.
com.unblu.conversation.collaboration.document.allowSaveDocument: Participants allowed to save the document to the conversation.

The following configuration properties define the width and height of the native document collaboration content in the collaboration layer, including the tool bar and side panels:

You can also configure the look and feel of the native document collaboration UI. Refer to Native document collaboration theming.

Native document collaboration doesn’t support the collaboration tools mark mode and scroll lock. It provides its own equivalent tools.

Server-based document collaboration

This section only deals with configuration properties that affect how users may leverage document collaboration. For information on configuring the Rendering Service, refer to the article Configuring the Unblu Rendering Service.

Review the following configuration properties in your conversation templates to configure document collaboration according to your needs:

com.unblu.conversation.collaboration.approval.approveActivateDocument determines whether the context person must approve launching a document collaboration layer.
com.unblu.conversation.collaboration.action.allowMarkInDocumentCobrowsing: Specify which participant types may use mark mode during document collaboration.
com.unblu.conversation.collaboration.approval.approveMarkDocument: Types of participant whose use of mark mode requires the assigned agent’s approval.
com.unblu.conversation.collaboration.action.allowRemoteControlInDocumentCobrowsing: Participants types allowed to use remote control.
com.unblu.conversation.collaboration.approval.approveRemoteControlDocument: List of participant types for whom the assigned agent must approve the use of remote control.
com.unblu.conversation.collaboration.action.allowStopDocumentCobrowsing: The participant types who may stop a document collaboration session.

Like universal co-browsing, document collaboration takes place in a Chromium browser running in headless mode. Participants can thus co-browse files formats supported by Chromium, such as PDF files or images.

Using server-based document collaboration with files of a type other than PDF relies on third-party services and involves uploading the files to the servers of those third parties. For more information, refer to the data security section of the Rendering Service deployment documentation and the section on supported file types in the introduction to Collaboration layers.

Document storage options

Most conversation data are stored in a relational database. Depending on how heavily you use document collaboration, this may not be a suitable solution for you. Fortunately, you can configure Unblu to use Amazon S3 or a compatible service like min.io as a document storage. For more information, refer to Setting up a dedicated document storage.