Within Activ’s File Manager, ‘Live Editing’ refers to the ability to update files without downloading them to your machine. When this feature is used, the applicable file will automatically be Locked (effectively checking it out, and preventing other users from modifying its contents), and you will be able to open a copy of the file directly from your system. Activ will maintain a secure connection to the file for the duration that it is open, and any saves you make will be pushed back to your system. These saves will be committed to a virtual draft of the file, allowing you to:
- make the necessary changes without affecting the current live version;
- spread your edits over multiple sessions (i.e. close and then re-open the draft) without saving your WIP to your device; and
- discard your changes, if you decide that you no longer wish to modify the file, or make an error and wish to start over.
Only System Administrators (see Admins: Manage Another User’s Live Editing Checkouts) and the user who has Checked Out the file will be able to view its current draft, but the live version will be available to all users as normal. In addition, once your edits are Checked In (i.e. Published), Activ will allow you to enter new version comments as normal and to upload your virtual draft to the appropriate file as a new file version. This file version will then behave in the same way as any normal upload, allowing it to be managed and previewed/downloaded as normal.
Please note that, to ensure the smoothest experience with our Live Editing feature, we recommend that you add the Activ platform to your device’s Trusted Sites. You can find guidance on how to do so within this help article.
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Requirements and Limitations
Due to the nature of the functionality, Activ’s Live Editing feature is only available for Microsoft Office files: it cannot be used to update other file types. In addition, to use the feature, you must:
- have the appropriate application installed on the device you wish to use for editing;
- have a valid Microsoft Licence for the application; and
- have a copy of the file uploaded to Activ (i.e. you cannot use Live Editing to create and upload an entirely new file).
Live Editing has been tested for all core Microsoft programmes, and is compatible with:
- Microsoft Word;
- Microsoft Excel;
- Microsoft PowerPoint; and
- Most Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files created using MS 1997 or newer (note that files created using pre-2007 versions of MS will not be compatible with Activ’s Automatic Document Stamping. All other Live Edited files will be stamped as normal when they are submitted as a new file version).
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Session Timeouts
Unless your system is using a very high Timeout Setting (e.g. 60+ mins), it is likely that your Activ login session will timeout whilst you are using the Live Editing feature. This is particularly likely if you have a significant number of edits to make, if the file is long, or if you are interrupted whilst you are working on the file. As the Timeout Setting exists to protect your system from unauthorised access, and having an Activ file open does not necessarily mean that you are still at your desk, use of the Live Editing feature is not counted as ‘Session Activity’ within Activ. Instead, your Activ session will be considered idle whilst you are editing the file (unless you are also periodically refreshing Activ within your browser), and will timeout as normal.
Should your session timeout whilst you are using the Live Editing feature, Activ will:
- maintain the secure link between your file and your system, as long as editing was enabled for the file before the session timed out;
- continue committing any saves you make to your virtual draft, using the secure link; and
- refresh your Activ page when you return to it, and prompt you to log back into your system.
Note that Activ should successfully commit your Live Editing changes even if you do not log back into your system after the timeout. However, we cannot guarantee that all changes will have committed successfully if you have had the file open for an extended period after the timeout occurred and were not regularly saving the file during that period. As such, it is strongly recommended that you:
- save regularly to maintain the connection with Activ and minimise potential data loss; and
- save and close your file if you expect to be away from your desk for a longer period of time.
Live Edited files should also always be saved and closed before you finish for the day: do not leave Activ Live Edited files open overnight, as Activ is unlikely to maintain its connection with the file for this period.
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Lost Internet Connections
Although Live Edited files are opened directly in the appropriate Microsoft Office application so that you can modify their contents, the functionality requires you to be connected to the internet so that Activ can maintain the link between the file and your system. However, in some cases you may find that you lose your internet connection whilst you are editing your file: for example because of network issues, or because you are using a hotspot or patchy connection. Should this occur, your file will remain open on your device and you will be able to continue modifying its contents, but the link to Activ will be disrupted and you will temporarily be unable to save your changes back to your virtual draft.
Should you attempt to save your Live Edited file whilst you are disconnected from the internet, your Microsoft Office application will either:
- save your data in the background, and display an ‘upload pending’ message in the top right corner of the application (alongside the normal save icon); or
- automatically display a banner along the top of the screen stating that your connection has been disrupted.
You may also encounter the warning banner after reconnecting to the internet, if your Activ session timed out whilst you were disconnected.
In both cases, (as long as you have already enabled editing) the file that you are working on should retain its Live Editing ‘ID’ even whilst you are disconnected, and where possible the Activ platform will still maintain its side of the link. In addition, this link will retain the corresponding Live Editing ‘ID’, meaning that, as long as Activ’s side of the link is still available and you have not closed the file, it will be possible to re-establish your connection with Activ’s virtual draft. If your file is displaying the ‘Upload Pending’ message and your Activ session has not yet timed out, then the link will (where possible) automatically re-establish itself as soon as your internet connection is restored, allowing you to continue working without interruption. However, if you have been presented with the warning banner then you will need to restore your link manually using the following steps:
- ensure that you are reconnected to the internet;
- log back into your Activ system; and
- re-save your file.
In rare cases, you may find that it is no longer possible to re-establish the link between your file and the virtual draft you were working on: usually because the link itself has expired, or because you are unable to reconnect to the internet before you finish for the day/need to leave your desk. Should this occur, you will need to save a copy of the file to your device to ensure that your changes are not lost. Note that files that have been saved to your device will no longer be linked to Activ, but that you can later either:
- discard your virtual draft and upload your device’s copy as a new version instead; or
- re-open your virtual draft at a later date, and manually copy your changes across from the copy you saved to your device.
