Q&A page
The Q&A page displays the list of questions along with further information on when the questions were asked, ID, priority, status and the related site.
For a user who can respond to questions, the organisation of the user who asked the question and the group(s) they belong to will also be revealed. Any questions or answers that a user has not looked at will be shown in bold text.
To view more details about a question and take any action on that question that is available to the user, click on the question itself. Additional details will be revealed in a new pane that opens to the right.
Whenever details of a question are shown in the detail pane to the right, the Expand button can be used to expand the width of the detail pane to make it easier to view and respond. The button will then change to Close to return the pane to its normal size.
Every question will have a Q&A ID that is unique across all questions in the same site, but it may be duplicated in other sites, as the numbering will typically start at 1 in each site. This ID can be exported in reports.
The ID is only available to those answering questions, not to those asking questions.
Use the View option at the top of the page to change how the questions are listed.
A user can search for a question by entering the required characters in the Search field.
Asking Questions
A user who has Ask Question or Submit Question rights can ask a question in one of two ways:
- From the Q&A module, using the Ask Question button.
- From the Files module, by accessing the file or folder action menu and selecting the Ask Question option.
In both cases, the Ask Question form is virtually identical, except when it is initiated from the Q&A module, the scope of the question can be about the entire site, not just a specific file or folder:
In order to ask a question, a user will be required to complete the following steps:
- In the Related to site field select the site or file that the question relates to.
If the question is asked directly from the Q&A module, using the Ask a Question option, the user can browse and change the selected content.
If the user is accessing the Ask a question option from the Files menu they would have already selected the file or folder.
To change this the user should click Cancel in the Ask question box:
The selected scope may limit another user’s right to see the question. For example, if the question is about a file and a user with Submit-Question rights (or Reply-to-Questions rights) does not have view access to that file, then that user will not see the question listed in the Q&A module (or receive any email alerts about it), even if the question has been disclosed, and cannot approve it.
This limitation is useful if the question is disclosed and another organisation can access the site but has not been granted access to the file or folder which prompted the question.
- Select a topic. There will always be at least one topic, and the default topic will be selected by default. The topics, are created and managed by the Site Administrator
- Enter any questions
- Optionally select a priority. The default priority is Medium but the user can also choose Low or High
- Add any attachments by clicking on the Browse button or dragging a file from Windows Explorer into the Ask question window. When attaching a file from the Files module, if the user does not have access to the file it will not appear when the question is viewed
No security restrictions are applied to an attachment - anyone with access to the question can access the file.
- Click Submit
Drafts
The asking user can also save the question as a draft using the Save draft button:
This will be marked with a status of Draft in the list of questions table only for that user and other users in the same organisation to see:
Click the question to see details about the draft question, including who drafted the question. From here the user can delete the question, edit and finalise it, and send it on for approval (if approval is necessary):
Another user in the same organisation with Ask-Question or Submit-Questions rights can read the draft question, but may not edit or approve it.
Approval Required
If a user is limited to Ask-Question rights, the form for creating a question will contain a note: This question will be sent for approval.
The question will need to first be approved and submitted by another user. The status of the question will be Sent for Approval.
Once the question has been sent for approval, the user asking the question cannot delete, withdraw or modify the question. If the asking user has Submit-Question rights, their question will be automatically deemed approved and submitted to the answering party.
Approving and Submitting Questions
A question that is asked by a user limited to Ask-Question rights will be made available to users in the same organisation with Submit-Question rights.
Like any other user, an approving user will not be aware of the question if it relates to a file or folder that user cannot access. Therefore, all users in the same organisation with Q&A rights should by in the same security group and have access to the same files and folders.
These approving users will receive an email notification about the question if they have been granted Q&A email rights, with a link to the question.
A user with Submit-Questions rights can view all of the details of the question, edit the question and submit the question to be answered ('Approve').
Once the question has been submitted, the user will see this prompt:
The status of the question will change to Pending in the list of questions:
Any question that should not be approved can simply be ignored by the approving user.
If the person who originally drafted the question had only Ask-Question rights, that user will not receive an email notification that the question has been approved.
Answering and Disclosing Questions
A user with Reply-to-Question rights (or a Site Administrator) who has been given Q&A Email rights will receive an email notifying them that the question needs a reply:
The replying user can view all questions that have been submitted, which will have a status of Pending, including details like who asked the question and when it was submitted, and take one of the following actions:
- Draft a reply
- Submit a reply
The responding user selects the question and, at the bottom of the page, clicks on the Reply button. Then the responding user enters a reply. Optionally, the responding user may:
- Select one or more files in the Files module that support the answer, using the Attach file button. If another user with access to the question does not have access to any of these files, those files will not appear to that user when they view the answer.
- Attach one or more files from the user’s computer that support the question, also using the Attach file button. No security restrictions will be applied to these files and anyone with access to the answer can download these files.
Any user with the right to reply to questions can reply to any question and can access a draft response drafted by any other user, and finalize and submit that response.
A question cannot receive another answer if it has been disclosed or if it has an unanswered comment. Once answered, any user in the same organisation as the user who asked that question and who has access to the Q&A module will be able to view the response.
Once the answer has been provided, an email will be sent to the user who first asked the question, assuming the user had been granted Q&A Email rights, as well as to other users in the asking organisation with approval rights:
Disclosing Answers
Once a reply has been provided, any user with reply rights can choose to disclose that question and all of its responses to some or all of the organisations with access to the site, although only users with access to the Q&A module will see the disclosed questions. Disclosure of the question can be withdrawn later.
Once a question has been disclosed, its status will be changed to Disclosed and the filters can be used to identify disclosed questions. Also, for disclosed questions, no new responses or comments can be added unless the disclosure is withdrawn.
Disclosing the question will not reveal who asked the question originally, to any user who has only asking or approving rights. If the purpose of disclosure is solely to allow other users in the same organisation as the user who asked the question to see the answer, then disclosure is not necessary, as those users will automatically see the question.
Commenting on answers
Once a question has been answered, the user who originally asked the question (not necessarily the user who approved and submitted it) will have the right to add a comment on the answer, as a follow-up. A Comment button will appear in the answer detail section. In turn, a user with reply rights can reply to that comment.
Commenting and replies follow the same workflow as questions and answers and will trigger the same types of email notifications. For example, a user with the right to ask questions but not submit them will need to have any comments approved first. Comments and their replies can be saved as drafts before being finalised. The forms for creating a comment or reply are the same as the forms for creating a question or answer, respectively. However, the comment and reply will be limited to the same scope (the entire site or a specific file or folder) as the original question.
Any number of comments and replies may be added to the original question and answer.
Once a question and answer have been disclosed, comments cannot be added (unless the disclosure is withdrawn).
As long as a comment remains unanswered (whether the comment status is draft, awaiting approval or awaiting a response), the question cannot be disclosed.
When a question with comments is disclosed, all comments and replies will be disclosed as well.
Deleting Questions and Answers
Only a System Administrator may delete a question (and all of its responses and comments).
Miscellaneous Features
Sorting
The list of questions can be sorted on any column. Click the arrows next to a column title.
Printing
The detail of any question can be printed.
Export
A user can export to Excel the list of questions that appear on the page. If the user has applied a filter, then the filtered questions will be exported to a file called "QA Inbox Report.xlsx":
Import Answers
Answers to questions can be submitted in bulk by exporting an 'Import template', filling the rows and then importing the file.
Export an Import template:
Enter answers to questions in the Excel file.
Save and Import the revised file:
- To import answers as submitted, select Submit answer.
- Press Next to review and complete the answer import.
Click View preview to check any warnings and to see if any revisions to the file are needed before importing the file.
