Collaborative Manuscripts

HospitiumRIS provides a powerful collaborative manuscript editing system built on TipTap, enabling researchers to work together in real-time on academic documents.

Overview

The manuscript editor combines the functionality of professional word processors with real-time collaboration features designed specifically for academic writing.

Key Capabilities

  • Rich text editing with academic formatting
  • Real-time multi-user collaboration
  • Track changes with accept/reject workflow
  • Version history with restore capability
  • Inline comments and threaded discussions
  • Citation management with multiple formats
  • Auto-save and conflict resolution

Creating a Manuscript

New Manuscript

  1. Navigate to Publications → Collaborate
  2. Click New Manuscript
  3. Fill in manuscript details:
    • Title - Manuscript title
    • Type - Article, Review, Conference Paper, etc.
    • Field - Research field or domain
    • Description - Brief summary

Manuscript Types

Type Description
Research Article Original research findings
Review Paper Literature review or meta-analysis
Conference Paper Conference proceedings
Technical Report Technical documentation
Grant Proposal Funding application
Thesis/Dissertation Academic degree work

The Editor Interface

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 📄 Manuscript Title                              👥 3 Online    │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ [B] [I] [U] [S] | [H1] [H2] [H3] | [🔗] [📷] | [📚 Cite]       │
├───────────────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────┤
│                                       │                         │
│                                       │    💬 Comments (5)      │
│         Document Editor               │    ──────────────       │
│                                       │    [Comment thread 1]   │
│         (TipTap Rich Text)            │    [Comment thread 2]   │
│                                       │                         │
│                                       │    📝 Track Changes     │
│                                       │    ──────────────       │
│                                       │    [Pending changes]    │
│                                       │                         │
├───────────────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────┤
│ Word Count: 2,450 | Last saved: 2 minutes ago | Version: 12    │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Toolbar Features

Tool Shortcut Description
Bold Ctrl+B Bold text
Italic Ctrl+I Italic text
Underline Ctrl+U Underline text
Strikethrough Ctrl+Shift+S Strikethrough
Heading 1 Ctrl+Alt+1 Main heading
Heading 2 Ctrl+Alt+2 Sub-heading
Heading 3 Ctrl+Alt+3 Section heading
Link Ctrl+K Insert hyperlink
Image - Insert image
Table - Insert table
Citation - Insert citation
Highlight - Highlight text

Text Alignment

  • Left align
  • Center align
  • Right align
  • Justify

Lists

  • Bullet lists
  • Numbered lists
  • Task lists (checkboxes)

Real-Time Collaboration

Presence Awareness

See who's currently editing:

  • Online collaborators shown in header
  • Colored cursors indicate editor positions
  • Names displayed at cursor locations

Conflict Resolution

When multiple users edit simultaneously:

  1. Changes are merged in real-time
  2. Conflicting edits are flagged
  3. Users can review and resolve conflicts
  4. History preserves all versions

Collaboration Roles

Role Edit Comment Invite Delete
Owner ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
Admin ✅ ✅ ✅ ❌
Editor ✅ ✅ ❌ ❌
Contributor Suggest ✅ ❌ ❌
Reviewer ❌ ✅ ❌ ❌

Track Changes

Enabling Track Changes

  1. Click Track Changes toggle in toolbar
  2. All subsequent edits are tracked
  3. Changes appear with author attribution

Change Types

Type Appearance Description
Insert Green underline New text added
Delete Red strikethrough Text removed
Format Blue highlight Formatting changed

Reviewing Changes

For each tracked change:

  • Accept - Apply the change permanently
  • Reject - Discard the change
  • View Author - See who made the change
  • View Timestamp - When the change was made

Bulk Actions

  • Accept all changes
  • Reject all changes
  • Accept changes by author
  • Filter changes by type

Version History

Automatic Versioning

Versions are created automatically:

  • Every 50 changes
  • Before major edits
  • On manual save
  • Before session ends

Manual Versions

Create milestone versions:

  1. Click Save Version
  2. Add version description
  3. Version is saved with timestamp

Version Types

Type Description
Auto Automatic periodic saves
Manual User-created checkpoints
Milestone Significant project milestones

Comparing Versions

  1. Open version history panel
  2. Select two versions
  3. View side-by-side comparison
  4. Changes highlighted between versions

Restoring Versions

  1. Select the version to restore
  2. Click Restore
  3. Confirm restoration
  4. Current state becomes new version

Comments & Discussions

Adding Comments

  1. Select text to comment on
  2. Click Add Comment or use context menu
  3. Type your comment
  4. Submit

Comment Types

Type Use Case
Comment General feedback
Suggestion Proposed changes
Question Clarification needed

Comment Features

  • Threaded Replies - Nested discussions
  • @Mentions - Notify specific collaborators
  • Resolve - Mark as addressed
  • Delete - Remove comment

Comment Workflow

Comment Created → Discussion → Resolved/Deleted
       ↓              ↓
   Notify Author   Replies Added

Citation Management

Inserting Citations

  1. Place cursor at citation point
  2. Click Insert Citation
  3. Search your publication library
  4. Select publication(s)
  5. Citation inserted with reference

Citation Sources

Import citations from:

  • Personal publication library
  • PubMed search
  • DOI lookup
  • BibTeX import
  • Manual entry

Citation Styles

Supported formats:

  • APA (7th Edition)
  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • Harvard
  • IEEE
  • Vancouver

Bibliography Generation

  • Auto-generated from citations
  • Sorted alphabetically or by appearance
  • Formatted per style guide
  • Updates dynamically

Inviting Collaborators

Invitation Methods

  1. ORCID Search
    • Search by name or ORCID iD
    • View researcher profile
    • Send invitation with role
  2. Email Invitation
    • Enter email address
    • System sends invitation link
    • Works for non-registered users
  3. System Users
    • Search registered users
    • Quick invitation with role selection

Invitation Process

Send Invitation → Email Notification → Accept/Decline → Access Granted
                        ↓
                  Expiration (7 days)

Managing Collaborators

  • View all collaborators
  • Change roles
  • Remove access
  • Resend invitations

Export Options

Document Formats

Format Description
HTML Web-ready format
PDF Print-ready document
DOCX Microsoft Word
LaTeX Academic typesetting
Markdown Plain text markup

Export Settings

  • Include comments
  • Include track changes
  • Include version history
  • Bibliography format

Keyboard Shortcuts

Text Formatting

Shortcut Action
Ctrl+B Bold
Ctrl+I Italic
Ctrl+U Underline
Ctrl+Shift+S Strikethrough
Ctrl+Shift+H Highlight

Document Actions

Shortcut Action
Ctrl+S Save
Ctrl+Z Undo
Ctrl+Y Redo
Ctrl+A Select all
Ctrl+F Find
Shortcut Action
Ctrl+Home Go to beginning
Ctrl+End Go to end
Ctrl+G Go to page

Best Practices

Collaborative Writing

  1. Establish writing conventions early
  2. Use track changes for major revisions
  3. Comment rather than overwrite
  4. Create milestone versions regularly
  5. Resolve comments promptly

Document Structure

  1. Use headings consistently
  2. Apply styles rather than manual formatting
  3. Keep paragraphs focused
  4. Use lists for clarity

Citation Management

  1. Add citations as you write
  2. Verify citation accuracy
  3. Keep library organized
  4. Choose style early

Version Control

  1. Create versions at logical points
  2. Add descriptive version notes
  3. Don't fear experimentation - you can restore
  4. Review history before final submission
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