Slatebox uses Comet technology. What is that, and why do I care?
Comet technology is a way to "push" events from a central server to all listening
clients. Instead of having the client ask repeatedly if somone moved a node or changed
something on the slate, the server knows when there is an update and pushes this
change to all the users. That way, whether you have 1 or 100 collaborators on a
given slate, everyone will see the same thing.
How many users can collaborate on a slate at one time?
There is no limit.
Exactly what kinds of things are broadcast as "collaboration events" to users?
These events will cause collaboration:
- Changing the drop panel's (the canvas behind the nodes) background color or image,
or its border
- Any of the indivdual node properties:
- Shape (circle, rectangle)
- Background color or background image
- Border width or color
- Connecting line width, color, or curviness
- Text
- Any existing node position
- Any newly added nodes along with their position
- Whenever the background canvas is dragged. (Provided the Slate is in 'presentation'
mode.)
How do I invite new collaborators to join me?
By default, the FREE version of Slatebox opens all of your slates up as public and
anyone can collaborate with you on any of your slates. This is by design. With the
PRO version of Slatebox, you can grant individual access to other Slatebox users
via a control panel, as well as broadcast your slates via password protection on
your profile page.
How will I know other Slatebox users are online with me?
Any online collaborator will appear in the lower-right hand corner of your slate.
Every collaborator will have a unique color, and any of their updates on the slate
will include this color whenever they update the slate.
What is the "presentation mode" during collaboration?
Because a slate's background canvas is very large, a lot of nodes can be dropped
on a single canvas to represent a lot of different information. Presentation mode
ensures that the slate canvas moves to show the same view for all the collaborators.
This can be very helpful for teacher-student presentations, but less helpful when
there are multiple collaborators working on the same slate, each building different
sections. FREE Slatebox accounts are wired to always have presentation mode on.
Users with Slatebox PRO accounts have the option of turning this off, which allows
simultaneous users to work on the same slate without viewing the same portion of
the slate at the same time. Every collaborator will have a unique color, and any
of their updates on the slate will include this color whenever they update the slate.
Will collaboration work if I embed a slate on my own website?
Yes. Slates embedded on your site are wired into the same collaboration engine
that you see when you're working off of your Slatebox account. However, because
the embedded slate will just be the canvas with the accompanying tools, users on
your site will not be able to add, remove, or change existing nodes. If granted,
they will be able to move existing nodes around. Otherwise, they will see all the
collaboration happening, which will include the full range of added, deleted, or
changed nodes.
Does collaboration work the same in all browsers?
Yes. Even Internet Explorer. (insert sigh here).
