The collaborative entries feature allows entrants to invite other users to help complete an entry. Collaborators can view, edit, or submit the entry depending on the permissions granted. This guide explains how to enable collaboration, invite collaborators, manage permissions, and transfer entry ownership.
Collaborative editing behaviour
When collaborators work on an entry:
- Multiple users can edit the entry at the same time
- Only one user can edit a field at a time
- Fields being edited appear greyed out to others
- A message displays showing who is editing the field
The field lock is released when:
- The user clicks out of the field
- There is 20–30 seconds of inactivity
Updates appear in real time, so collaborators do not need to refresh the page.
Enable collaborative entries
- In the Manage workspace, go to Settings > Entries > Form settings
- Open the 'Advanced' tab
- Select the Allow collaboration between multiple users checkbox
- Click Save
Configure the collaborator notification
When a collaborator is invited, Award Force can send a notification email or SMS.
- In the Manage workspace, go to Settings > Communications > Notifications
- Click the Collaborator invited notification
- Edit the email subject and message body if required
- Ensure the {message} merge field remains in the notification
- Click Save
To learn more about notifications see Ultimate guide to notifications.
Add collaborators to an entry
Collaborators can be invited after the entry has been created.
- In the entry form, click the + icon near the top of the page
- Enter the email address of the collaborator—multiple collaborators can be added at once by separating email addresses with commas, new lines, semi-colons, or colons.
- Select the appropriate permission level
- View: can view the entry but cannot make changes
- View + edit: can edit entry fields but cannot submit
- View + edit + submit: can edit the entry and submit it
- Add an optional message if required
- Click Send invite
Transfer entry ownership
Entries can only have one owner. Ownership can be transferred by a manager or the current owner.
Managers
- In the Manage workspace, navigate to Entries
- Open the entry
- Hover over the entrant name and click Edit
- Search for the new owner
- Select the user and click Save
The user must already exist in the account.
Entrants
- In the Enter workspace, open your desired entry
- Add the new owner as a collaborator
- Click Collaborators at the top of the entry
- In the pop-up, click the ellipsis (three dots) next to the collaborator
- Choose Make owner
- Confirm the change
Editing collaborator permissions
- In the Enter workspace, open your desired entry
- Click Collaborators
- Open the permissions drop-down next to the collaborator
- Select the new permission level
Remove a collaborator
- Open the entry in the Enter workspace
- Click Collaborators
- Click the ellipsis (three dots) next to the collaborator
- Select Remove collaborator
Once removed, the collaborator can no longer access the entry.
Customise your user profile
Add a profile photo
- Click your name in the top-right corner
- Select Profile
- Upload or drag-and-drop an image
- Resize, scale, and edit the photo as desired in the editor
- Click the checkmark to confirm
- Click Save
Profile images must be 1MB or smaller.
Select a profile highlight colour
- Click your name in the top-right corner
- Select Profile
- Click the circular avatar icon
- Choose a colour from the swatches or use the picker
- Click Save
Good to know
- Collaboration applies to all categories in the entry form and cannot be enabled per category.
- Only the entry owner can copy, delete, or change the category of an entry.
- Existing Award Force users will be added immediately when invited as collaborators.
- New collaborators must complete registration and will receive the default program role.
- The {message} merge field inserts the optional note written by the entrant in the collaborator notification.
FAQs
Can fields be assigned to specific collaborators?
No. All collaborators can access the full entry form. If only certain fields should be accessible to third parties, use review flow instead.
Can multiple people edit at the same time?
Yes. Multiple collaborators can edit the same entry simultaneously, but not the same field.
Can deleted files be recovered?
No. Files deleted from an entry cannot be restored.
How many owners can an entry have?
Entries can only have one owner at a time.
Can collaborators be removed?
Yes. Once removed, the collaborator loses all access to the entry.
Is there a maximum number of collaborators?
No. Entry owners can add as many collaborators as required.
Can managers set a collaborator limit?
No. Program managers cannot currently define minimum or maximum collaborator limits.
Do collaborators receive updates when changes are made?
Not currently. Collaborators are not notified when edits occur.
Can collaborators message each other within the entry?
No. Collaboration does not currently support in-platform messaging.
Can SSO be used with collaborative entries?
Yes. Programs using SSO authentication also support collaborators logging in via SSO; see 3rd party authentication.
Can managers submit entries on behalf of entrants?
Yes. Program managers can edit or submit entries on behalf of entrants if required; see Edit or submit an entry on behalf of an entrant.
Can collaborators see when a program manager views the entry?
No. Collaborators can only see when other collaborators are editing the entry.