Overview
Responsive is a cloud-based platform that automates and streamlines the process of responding to proposals. In this article you will learn how to use in-app features to complete a project from start to finish. For a visual guide, review the Academy course on the Foundations of Project Management.
Select the applicable tab for your edition of Responsive.
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Creating Projects
- Click the Projects icon from the left navigation pane to navigate to the Manage Projects page. Click New Project > Create a New Project.
Note: You can also create a project from an existing project that has been saved as a template. For details, see Project Templates.
- The Create Project page is displayed. Enter the project details. You can use the Table of Contents links at the top left to move quickly through the sections. The number of empty mandatory fields is displayed on the bottom left, and you can click the up and down arrows to move through them. If your organization is set up to integrate with another application, such as Salesforce, you will be able to bring in the information on this page.
When you are finished, click Create.
- Next, you will be prompted to add sections to the project.
Adding Sections and Importing Files
You can add contents to the project by one of the following methods:
Adding Sections Manually
- Click the down arrow to see the Add Sections menu. Select Add Manual Sections.
If you have already started a project, click the New Section menu at the top of the page and select Add Manual Sections.- Enter the section names in the Add Sections box, with a new section on each line.
You can establish a hierarchical structure for your content by hovering over a section and accessing the Mark as Subsectionor Mark as Section
icons.
- Click Add Authors.
- Enter name of the author who will be responding to the questions if you want to assign authors at the section level. You can also assign authors for individual questions.
Tip: The system will suggest team members as authors.
- Alternatively, click Help me choose authors. The Select Authors screen will be displayed.
- To add users, select the checkbox associated with them. Click Select.
The authors added will be displayed as shown below:
You can search for users from the Search Users text box. Click
to display filter options including Users, Email, Tags, Exclude Tags, Business Units, Role, Status, Dictionary, Job Title and Location. (You must have enabled the SME Dictionary to use this feature.)
- Next, click the down arrow for Reviewer(s) to expand it. Select the Review Process to specify how reviews with multiple reviewers should be handled—Any if the review is complete if any reviewer finishes the review, All if the review is complete if all reviewers finish the review, or Sequential if each reviewer must perform their reviews one after the other.
Click Add Reviewers or Help me choose reviewers to add reviewers the same way you added authors.
- To prevent recipients from receiving too many individual emails, you can click the Queue & Notify Later toggle so the authors will receive a notification later via the Pending Notifications Queue. If Queue & Notify Later is not enabled, authors will receive an email immediately.
- Click Add.
See the video below for a quick walkthrough of the process. Click the dot to see each step.
Adding from Section Templates
If you have added any section templates in Responsive, you can browse them and select one.
- For a new project with no existing sections, select Section Template from the Add Sections menu.
For an existing project, select the New Section menu and click Section Template.
- The Add Sections from Template page is displayed. Select the checkboxes of the templates you want to use and click NEXT.
You can set the owner of the section template as the author or reviewer, and you can choose a section currently in the project to be the parent of the imported sections. Click Import when you are finished.
The selected sections will be imported into the project.
For a visual guide to adding section templates to a project, see the video below.Upload Document
The Upload Document option enables directly uploading files to Responsive. You can upload .docx, .xlsx, .xls, and PDF files from your computer or any of the storage integrations available such as Google drive, Dropbox, Box, etc.
Upload Standard Excel Document
The application can identify standard excel documents such as SIG, CAIQ etc,. and automatically configure the contents of the document for import.
- Click Upload Document and select the standard excel file you want to import.
- The file will be automatically identified and configured. If all sheets are auto-identified, it will be imported to and a message will be displayed as shown below:
When there are unidentified sheets, it will be displayed as shown below:
You can view the unmarked sheets by clicking the drop-down icon. To review the unidentified sheets, click Review and Import.
- The import page appears, you can make any required changes and click Import to import the file to the application.
Upload Non-Standard Excel Document
In cases where files are of non-standard response template or the system cannot identify and auto-configure the Excel, you can manually configure the Excel.
Identifying Header Rows
Users can ignore the rows which will not be helpful in responding to the RFP. Click the row and select HEADER. The rows till the header rows will be excluded.
Configuring Sections
Click the section title and map with the Section from the right navigation. The title will be shown with the S indicator.
Note: If the section title is not present in the worksheet cells, worksheet name will be taken as a section title.
Users can also use Auto Identify Sections option so that the system will automatically map the title with the section. The system will auto-identify sections only when the section has a unique style.
Select the sections and click APPLY.
Configuring Sub-Sections
You can configure a Subsection by selecting the row, clicking the
icon beside Sections icon on the floating toolbar and selecting LEVEL 1 - SUB SECTION as shown:
Users can also use Auto Identify option so that the system will automatically map the title with the section. The system will auto-identify sub sections only when the sub section has a unique style.
Configuring Questions
Select the question and map with the question by selecting the QUESTION icon from the floating toolbar.
Users can also use AUTO IDENTIFY option so that the system will automatically map the title with the question. The system will auto-identify questions only when the question has a unique style.
Click APPLY.
In a similar way, users can configure Sub-questions.
Note: If there are identical questions with different answers, we consolidate those questions into one question with multiple answer types upon import
Configuring Question Numbers
Click the column which has the question numbers and click the three-stacked icon to display additional options as shown below:
Next, click the QUESTION NO icon to set the column as Question Numbers. The indicator will be shown as N.
Configuring Tags
If there are several categories/department which has questions, the category/department can be considered as tags, which helps you to filter questions.
Click the category/department column and map it as tags by clicking the three-stacked icon and selecting Tags. The whole column will be considered as tags.
Configuring Answers
Click the response column and select Answer on the floating toolbar. The system will auto-identify and display answer type suggestions based on questions in the document. These suggestions can be configured further manually.
Answer Headers you choose for a question type will reflect on the Answering Page.
You can explicitly specify rows that the headers should apply to in the Applicable to Rows column.
To change the Answer Type, click the drop-down arrow and select an option from the list.
You can set Q&A pairs to be added to the Answer Library or mark questions as required by selecting the corresponding Index and Required checkboxes.
Click Add Answer Type, to configure and add an answer type manually.
To Delete a suggested answer type, click the corresponding trash icon on the far right.
The system will automatically identify the drop-downs from the document. Click Auto-Identify Drop-downs to view/edit the fields.
Questions and Response Types
The application is capable of handling different types of questions and responses. The following sections describe the available answer types and provide details on the best fit based on use case.
Here is a preview of the sample file that is used to explain the various Answer Types.
Answer Type: Radio/Drop-down
If you respond to a question which has choices in a column. (Example: If Question A has answer choices "Yes" or "No" or "N/A", etc.) you can go ahead with radio/drop-down as an answer type.
Choose the answer type Dropdown from the dropdown list.
Add an answer options (displayed on the Answering page) and their corresponding value in a row.
To add a row, click Add Answer Option.
To remove a row, click the Trash icon.
To save the options to the answer type, click Save.
To save the Answer Type, Click Save.
To add additional options or edit the current answer options, click the Options icon.
Answer Type: Basic Rich Text
This answer type best suits responses that are expected to be brief but limited to a few words. To set a column to Basic Rich Text, select the column, then click Answer.
Select the Basic Rich Text from the dropdown in the Answer Type and click Save.
Answer Type: Full Rich Text
This answer type best suits responses that are expected to be descriptive, format rich, include attachments etc., To set a column to Full Rich Text, select the column, then click Answer.
Select the Full Rich Text from the dropdown in the Answer Type and click Save.
Answer Type: Multi-Column Radio
When the questionnaire calls for you to select one answer in a radio format from multiple columns, the appropriate answer type is a multi-column radio. For example, if question A has 3 responses in columns G, H, and I, as possible options, and the expected response is to fulfil the question requirements of any one of them.
You can define these answer types as a multi-column radio.
Select the Multi-Column Radio from the dropdown in the Answer Type.
Configure the options as required and click Save to save the options.
Click Save to save the answer type.
The answer indicator A will be shown on all three columns.
Answer Type: Date
To set a column type as Date, select the column, then click Answer.
Select the answer type as Date.
Answer Type: Multi-Column Drop Down
When the questionnaire asks that you select one answer from a row across multiple columns, the appropriate answer type is a multi-column drop-down.
For example: Shown below, question 1 has 3 possible responses in columns K, L, and M. You are being asked to provide your response in one of the columns to fulfil the question requirements.
Users can define these answer types as a multi-column drop-down in the application.
Select the answer type as Multi-Column Dropdown.
Configure the options as required and click Save to save the options.
Click Save to save the answer type.
Answer Type: Checkbox
When responding to a question which has answer choices in a different column and you can select multiple answers, you can choose checkbox as an answer type.
Configure the options as required and click Save to save the options.
Click Save to save the answer type.
Importing Questions and Answers in the Same Column
Below is an example of both questions and answers that are in the same column "B":
To import the excel questionnaire with Q&A in the same column follow steps below:
1. Import the file into the project
2. Select column B and mark as Question
3. Select the B column and click the arrow next to Answer on the floating toolbar. Then click Mark Rest as Answer.
4. A confirmation Popup is displayed
5. Check to make sure you have all the rows you need listed in the Applicable to Rows.
Note:
- You can use comma "," as a delimiter to add/specify more rows in the Applicable to Rows field
- You can also specify a range of rows. For eg: 3,5,7,9,11-19,23,25-32,35
6. Review the markings and click Import
Note: You can import few question and answer in the same column, and the rest in different columns too. While configuring each, you can specify the rows for which it has to be applied.
- In the above example, questions are configured in column A. Row number 3 is configured as Answer in Column A and row number 5 in column A is configured as Question and row number 5 in column B is configured as Answer.
- If Row number 3 under column A is configured as both Question and Answer, on export, question will be replaced by the answer.
- If Row number 2 is configured as Question and Row number 3 as Answer, both question and answer will be exported.
Once all the answer types have been configured, click Import to initiate import process.
Upload Word or PDF Document
After creating a project, follow the instructions below to import a Word or PDF file:
- Go to the project, and under the Sections tab, click Import Files.
- Select the Word document (.docx) or PDF (.pdf) file by either dragging it onto the screen or selecting it from your computer or any of the storage integrations available such as Google drive, Dropbox, Box, etc.
Once a Word file has been loaded into the application, it can be mapped (or configured) to import the content. To map a Word document for import, follow the instructions below:
- First, locate the sections within the document and highlight the text. Then, click Section from the Mark Options toolbar. Next, select Auto Identify to locate and select all sections within the document. Review the suggestions in the pop-up window, then click Apply.
Note: Auto Identify uses the style guides within the document to identify content (e.g. sections and questions). If styles are not used in the original document, we will not be able to Auto Identify content.
- Next, similar to how the sections were mapped, do the same for the questions. Locate the questions within the document and highlight the text. Then, click Question from the Mark Options toolbar. Next, select Auto Identify to locate and select all questions within the document. Confirm the selections in the pop-up window, then click Apply.
- To identify answers, select the appropriate text, then click Answer under Mark Options.
Best Practice: As an effective way to map a Word document, it is recommended that once all sections and questions have been marked, use Ignore to disregard anything that is not part of an answer, then use Mark Rest as Answer to mark all answers in the document.
- Double-check the document mapping by scrolling throughout the document. Click Save to save your progress. When finished, click Import.
For a complete list of mapping definitions, refer to the Import Mapping Options article.
Note: If there are identical questions with different answers, we consolidate those questions into one question with multiple answer types upon import.
Working with Tables in a Word Document
RPFIO can also map table content within Word documents. To learn how to configure tables in a Word document, refer to Mapping Tables in a Microsoft Word Document.
Working with Checkboxes in a Word Document
We can also handle checkboxes within Word documents. To learn how to configure checkboxes in a Word document, refer to Mapping Checkboxes in Microsoft Word Documents.
Adding Questions to a Section
Once the sections are created, you can manually add more questions to a section.
- Click on a section. Mouse over the header to display the menu icon (three stacked dots). Click it to display the menu and select + Add Questions.
- The Add questions pop-up is displayed. Enter the question and the information about it (Authors, Reviewers, etc.). You can enter more than one with the same characteristics by pressing Enter at the end of the question.
Specify the answer type information. Select Index if the label should be stored in the Content Library with the Q&A pair. Select Required if an answer must be entered for the question.
Click Advanced Settings to specify if the answer number should be generated automatically or manually.
If you have multiple questions, you may want to select Queue Email Notification so the authors and reviewers get one email with all their questions instead of getting multiple emails.
- Click Add.
Tip: You can assign authors by entering the author names or can search and add authors.
Assigning Authors and Reviewers
Once the sections are created, you can assign authors and reviewers to the section.
Assigning Authors to All the Questions in a Section
- From the Sections list, click the menu icon and click Manage Users.
- The Manage Users pane appears, open to the Authors tab. Click Add Authors.
Begin entering the name of the first author. The system will suggest a list of users that meet your criteria. You can also enter "%" to see a list of possible authors. An author can be a person or a team.
Alternatively, click Help me choose authors. You can see the available authors, their role and how many questions they have been assigned as authors and reviewers.
You can search for users from the Search Users text box. To add users, select the checkbox associated with them.
Click SUBMIT. The authors will be added.Tip: Existing authors can be removed and the section can be reassigned to other team members.
- Click in the Author Due Date field to specify a due date, then specify the time and timezone.
- Optionally you can send a message to the author(s) by entering it in the Message Authors box. Switch the toggle on, to track this message in section comments.
You can click Queue & Notify Later if you will be making multiple assignments for the same people. They will receive one email with all their notifications. Click Save to assign the author(s) and send an instant notification.
Assigning Reviewers
- From the Sections list, click the menu icon and click Manage Users.
- On the Manage Users pane, click Reviewers. Select the Review Process. Choose:
- Any if any reviewer can complete the review, even if there are multiple reviewers
- All if all reviewers must complete the review
- Sequential if all reviewers must complete the review in a specific order
Click Add Reviewers.
- Begin entering the name of the reviewer. The system will suggest valid reviews as you type. Type "%" to see a list of reviewers. Select the reviewer.
Enter any additional reviewers. If you have chosen Sequential for the Review Process, you can click and drag the handle of a reviewer to change the order.
Click in the Reviewer Due Date field to see a calendar. Click on a date to select it. Choose a time and a timezone.If you want to send a message to the reviewers, enter it. Select Track as section comments to include the message in the section comments.
When you are finished, click Save.Alternatively, click Help me choose reviewers. The Select Reviewers screen will be displayed with information about the reviewers' roles and current workload.
You can search for users from the Search Users text box. To add users, select the checkbox associated with them and then click Select.Tip: Existing reviewers can be removed and sections can be reassigned to other team members.
- Click ASSIGN AND SEND NOTIFICATION to assign reviewers and send an instant notification. Click ASSIGN AND QUEUE NOTIFICATION to assign reviewers and queue a notification. You can send the queued notification later.
See the video below for a quick walkthrough of the process. Click the dot to see each step.
Responding to Questions
Once authors are assigned and notification sent, the users assigned as authors will receive notification mail on their registered email address.
To respond to questions, you can follow the steps below:
- Click the link in the email and log in to Responsive. The assigned section will be displayed.
- Click on a question to respond to it. Recommendations are displayed on the pane on the right. To apply a recommended answer, click Apply Answer
icon (mouse over the answer to see the icon).
- You can also search for recommendations. Clicking the filter icon, enter search criteria and then click Apply.
- You can type in the answer and respond to questions, select options from menus or radio buttons, and select checkboxes.
- Click Save and Next to navigate to the next question.
- Once all questions are answered and there are no reviewers, click Complete Section. If a question has a reviewer, it will be marked with a yellow highlight.
Alert!
When there are multiple authors assigned for a section, if any of the authors tries to complete the section while others are working on their assigned questions, an alert is displayed to inform about the unanswered questions.
Once the section is completed, the status of the section changes from in progress to completed and will be displayed as shown below:
- If reviewers are assigned for the section, instead of COMPLETE SECTION, the option SUBMIT FOR REVIEW is displayed.
- Once the section is submitted for review, the status of the section changes from In Progress to Pending Review and will be displayed as shown below:
A green tick icon is displayed near the user avatar, indicating which user submitted the section for review.
- Successfully submitting for review will trigger an email notification to the reviewers.
- Click REVIEW SECTION. You will be navigated to the application.
- Click on a question.
- Once the answer is reviewed, switch the REVIEWED toggle.
- Once all questions have been reviewed, click COMPLETE REVIEW. A success message will be displayed on successfully completing the review.
- When the section is marked as complete after review, the status of the section changes from Pending Review to Completed and will be displayed as shown below:
- You can also view the green tick icon near the user avatar, indicating which user completed the section.
Alert!
- When there are multiple reviewers assigned for a section, if any of the reviewers tries to submit the section for review while others are working on their assigned questions, an alert is displayed to inform about the unanswered questions.
- If you attempt to submit the section for review, an alert message with the count of unanswered questions will be displayed.
More Actions at Question Level
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Viewing Authors, Reviewers and Guests: Avatars of the authors, reviewers and guests of the section are displayed on the top right of the question card. Multiple authors, reviewers and guests of the question are grouped with a +count and are displayed on mouse-hover.
- Clarification: You can add clarification on questions by clicking the three-dot and selecting Clarifications. You can then add the post on the Clarifications pane.
- Comments: You can add comments on questions by clicking the Comments icon associated with the question and then adding the comment in the Comments You can send message to a specific user by entering @username or to the entire team by entering @team.
- Flag for Follow-up: To enable flag, click the flag icon. For details on flag color coding, you can refer to Color Code for Flags.
- Activities: To view the activities associated with a question, click More Options icon > Activities or switch to the Activity tab on the right pane. The activities will be displayed as shown:
- Tasks: To view the tasks associated with a question, click More Options icon > Tasks. The tasks will be displayed as shown:
- Project Notes / Obligation: To view or add project notes with a question, click More Options icon > Project Notes. The Project Notes will be displayed as shown:
- Merge Tags: To view or add merge tags with a question, click More Options icon > Merge Tags. The Merge Tags section will be displayed as shown:
You can add the required tags by clicking on the respective tabs. Copy the tag name from the right-side pane and paste in the response area. Values for merge tags can be specified from View > Merge Tags.
- Save in Library: To save the responses in answer library, turn on the toggle switch associated with Save in Library.
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Attachments: To add any attachment to the response, click Attach Files
icon.
You can browse and attach files from Project Documents, Content Library, and your Computer.
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Answer Library Settings: To view/modify Answer Library Settings, click on the
icon.
The Update Answer Library Setting pop-up will be displayed. Make the required selections and click SAVE.
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Answer Library Used and Edited: If the response is applied from the Answer Library the
icon will be displayed along with the question.
- Auto-Respond: Finds the best matches from the Content Library and applies them to the questions with a click of a button.
- Audit Answers: Quickly audit the response to identify and manage duplicate responses.
- View Source File: You can view the source file by clicking View Source File.
- View on Source File: Navigates to the exact location of the selected section on the source file.
More Actions from Sections
For each section, the section author can view/modify the following:
- Properties: Clicking View Properties, will display the section properties:
- Section Comments: By clicking Section Comments you can view any section comments as well as can add new comments.
Alert!
While adding new comments, if an attempt is made to send message to a non-team member, an alert message will be displayed seeking permission to add the user to the project team.
- Section Preview: Clicking Preview Section displays a preview of the questions and responses of the selected section in a pop-up window.
- Attach Files: Section authors can attach files to the questions in the section, by clicking Edit > Attach files. The Attach Files pop-up is displayed.
You can browse and attach files from Project Documents, Library, and your computer.
- Auto-Respond: Finds the best matches from the Content Library and applies them to the questions with a click of a button.
- Audit Answers: Quickly audit the response to identify and manage duplicate responses.
- Save as Template: Sections can be saved as Templates to a collection that can be reused.
- Update Privacy: Manage the privacy settings of the section.
Exporting Responses
Once the responses are complete and sections are reviewed, the responses can be exported to a template or the source file.
To export responses, follow the steps below:
- On the Manage Sections page, click Export on the top right.
Alternately, you can select Export Responses from the Menu option.
- The Export page will be displayed. Click New Export Package to create a new package.
On the Create Export Package page, you can select the sections you want to include in the Export as well as choose the export type.
- Enter the name for the package file.
- Select the Export type. You can choose between Source/Default Excel or any of the other templates formats.
- Switch between Section View or Imported File View.
- Quickly find the section you are looking for using the search box.
- Select the sections you want to include in the package.
Exporting in Source or Default Excel
Once you've set up the sections, you can customize the export settings to meet your requirements. The Export Settings step offers the following options.
- Choose if you want to include the report.
- Choose how you'd like the attachments to be included in the export. You have the option to keep your previous preference, embed the attachments within the export document, or export them into a dedicated Attachments folder.
- Select the attachments you want to include in the export package.
- Select the responses headers you want the export to include in the exported document.
- You can export in Application Font, Source Font (Normal Style) or can select Custom Font (supported by the application). Select the required options.
If Custom Font is selected, specify the Font Family, Size, Font Color, and the Background Color.Note: You can specify the Font Color and Background Color in the following ways:
- Specifying the Hex code
- Specifying the RGB (R, G, B) values
- Clicking on the desired color
- Specifying the Hex code
- Select a preference for the response prefix.
-
To get a preview of the final document's appearance, click on Preview.
- Next, Click EXPORT. A package request is submitted and a success message is displayed as shown:
The exported package is displayed as shown. To download the file, click Download.
Tip:
The following options are available for an export package on the three-dot context menu.
- Make a Copy: Create a copy of the export package.
- View Export Configuration: View the configuration used to generate the package.
- Rename Package: Update or modify the package name.
- Delete: Remove the export package.
-
Storage Options: If you have cloud-storage integration configured, you can save the export directly to the selected storage option.
Note: Cloud-storage options are an add-on feature and must be enabled prior to use. Contact your account manager, or accountmanagers@Responsive.com, to enable it.
Exporting to Other Template Formats
To export the project in Word, PPTX or PDF format, select the appropriate option from the Export Type drop-down.
Then, click Update Export Format. An Update Export Format pop-up is displayed.
Choose if you want the export to be formatted as a Table or Paragraph. Click Update and then click Next to proceed.In this step, select a style template or upload a new one by selecting New Template. Then, click Next to proceed to the export settings.
Note: You can use the search box and filter options to quickly find the template by name, tab or business unit (if enabled).The Export Settings step offers the following options.
- Displays the selected template. Click Change to go back and choose another template.
- Choose if you want to include the report.
- Select the attachments you want to include in the export package.
- Choose how you'd like the attachments to be included in the export. You have the option to keep your previous preference, embed the attachments within the export document, or export them into a dedicated Attachments folder.
- Select the responses headers you want the export to include in the exported document.
- Click the Projects icon from the left navigation pane to navigate to the Manage Projects page. Click New Project > Create a New Project.
-
Essentials features are subscription-based and may not be available for all users. Contact your account manager, or accountmanagers@responsive.io, for more details.
Creating Projects
- Click the Projects icon from the left navigation pane to navigate to the Manage Projects page. Click New Project > Create a New Project.
Note: You can also create a project from an existing project that has been saved as a template. For details, see Project Templates.
- The Create Project page is displayed. Enter the project details. You can use the Table of Contents links at the top left to move quickly through the sections. The number of empty mandatory fields is displayed on the bottom left, and you can click the up and down arrows to move through them. If your organization is set up to integrate with another application, such as Salesforce, you will be able to bring in the information on this page.
When you are finished, click Create.
- Next, you will be prompted to add sections to the project.
Adding Sections and Importing Files
You can add contents to the project by one of the following methods:
Adding Sections Manually
- Click the down arrow to see the Add Sections menu. Select Add Manual Sections.
If you have already started a project, click the New Section menu at the top of the page and select Add Manual Sections.- Enter the section names in the Add Sections box, with a new section on each line.
You can establish a hierarchical structure for your content by hovering over a section and accessing the Mark as Subsection- Click Add Authors.
- Enter name of the author who will be responding to the questions if you want to assign authors at the section level. You can also assign authors for individual questions.
Tip: The system will suggest team members as authors.
- Alternatively, click Help me choose authors. The Select Authors screen will be displayed.
- To add users, select the checkbox associated with them. Click Select.
The authors added will be displayed as shown below:
You can search for users from the Search Users text box. Click
- Next, click the down arrow for Reviewer(s) to expand it. Select the Review Process to specify how reviews with multiple reviewers should be handled—Any if the review is complete if any reviewer finishes the review, All if the review is complete if all reviewers finish the review, or Sequential if each reviewer must perform their reviews one after the other.
Click Add Reviewers or Help me choose reviewers to add reviewers the same way you added authors.
- To prevent recipients from receiving too many individual emails, you can click the Queue & Notify Later toggle so the authors will receive a notification later via the Pending Notifications Queue. If Queue & Notify Later is not enabled, authors will receive an email immediately.
- Click Add.
See the video below for a quick walkthrough of the process. Click the dot to see each step.
Adding from Section Templates
If you have added any section templates in Responsive, you can browse them and select one.
- For a new project with no existing sections, select Section Template from the Add Sections menu.
For an existing project, select the New Section menu and click Section Template.
- The Add Sections from Template page is displayed. Select the checkboxes of the templates you want to use and click NEXT.
You can set the owner of the section template as the author or reviewer, and you can choose a section currently in the project to be the parent of the imported sections. Click Import when you are finished.
The selected sections will be imported into the project.
For a visual guide to adding section templates to a project, see the video below.Upload Document
The Upload Document option enables directly uploading files to Responsive. You can upload .docx, .xlsx, .xls, and PDF files from your computer or any of the storage integrations available such as Google drive, Dropbox, Box, etc.
Upload Standard Excel Document
The application can identify standard excel documents such as SIG, CAIQ etc,. and automatically configure the contents of the document for import.
- Click Upload Document and select the standard excel file you want to import.
- The file will be automatically identified and configured. If all sheets are auto-identified, it will be imported to and a message will be displayed as shown below:
When there are unidentified sheets, it will be displayed as shown below:
You can view the unmarked sheets by clicking the drop-down icon. To review the unidentified sheets, click Review and Import.
- The import page appears, you can make any required changes and click Import to import the file to the application.
Upload Non-Standard Excel Document
In cases where files are of non-standard response template or the system cannot identify and auto-configure the Excel, you can manually configure the Excel.
Identifying Header Rows
Users can ignore the rows which will not be helpful in responding to the RFP. Click the row and select HEADER. The rows till the header rows will be excluded.
Configuring Sections
Click the section title and map with the Section from the right navigation. The title will be shown with the S indicator.
Note: If the section title is not present in the worksheet cells, worksheet name will be taken as a section title.
Users can also use Auto Identify Sections option so that the system will automatically map the title with the section. The system will auto-identify sections only when the section has a unique style.
Select the sections and click APPLY.
Configuring Sub-Sections
You can configure a Subsection by selecting the row, clicking the
Users can also use Auto Identify option so that the system will automatically map the title with the section. The system will auto-identify sub sections only when the sub section has a unique style.
Configuring Questions
Select the question and map with the question by selecting the QUESTION icon from the floating toolbar.
Users can also use AUTO IDENTIFY option so that the system will automatically map the title with the question. The system will auto-identify questions only when the question has a unique style.
Click APPLY.
In a similar way, users can configure Sub-questions.
Note: If there are identical questions with different answers, we consolidate those questions into one question with multiple answer types upon import
Configuring Question Numbers
Click the column which has the question numbers and click the three-stacked icon to display additional options as shown below:
Next, click the QUESTION NO icon to set the column as Question Numbers. The indicator will be shown as N.
Configuring Tags
If there are several categories/department which has questions, the category/department can be considered as tags, which helps you to filter questions.
Click the category/department column and map it as tags by clicking the three-stacked icon and selecting Tags. The whole column will be considered as tags.
Configuring Answers
Click the response column and select Answer on the floating toolbar. The system will auto-identify and display answer type suggestions based on questions in the document. These suggestions can be configured further manually.
Answer Headers you choose for a question type will reflect on the Answering Page.
You can explicitly specify rows that the headers should apply to in the Applicable to Rows column.
To change the Answer Type, click the drop-down arrow and select an option from the list.
You can set Q&A pairs to be added to the Answer Library or mark questions as required by selecting the corresponding Index and Required checkboxes.
Click Add Answer Type, to configure and add an answer type manually.
To Delete a suggested answer type, click the corresponding trash icon on the far right.
The system will automatically identify the drop-downs from the document. Click Auto-Identify Drop-downs to view/edit the fields.
Questions and Response Types
The application is capable of handling different types of questions and responses. The following sections describe the available answer types and provide details on the best fit based on use case.
Here is a preview of the sample file that is used to explain the various Answer Types.
Answer Type: Radio/Drop-down
If you respond to a question which has choices in a column. (Example: If Question A has answer choices "Yes" or "No" or "N/A", etc.) you can go ahead with radio/drop-down as an answer type.
Choose the answer type Dropdown from the dropdown list.
Add an answer options (displayed on the Answering page) and their corresponding value in a row.
To add a row, click Add Answer Option.
To remove a row, click the Trash icon.
To save the options to the answer type, click Save.
To save the Answer Type, Click Save.
To add additional options or edit the current answer options, click the Options icon.
Answer Type: Basic Rich Text
This answer type best suits responses that are expected to be brief but limited to a few words. To set a column to Basic Rich Text, select the column, then click Answer.
Select the Basic Rich Text from the dropdown in the Answer Type and click Save.
Answer Type: Full Rich Text
This answer type best suits responses that are expected to be descriptive, format rich, include attachments etc., To set a column to Full Rich Text, select the column, then click Answer.
Select the Full Rich Text from the dropdown in the Answer Type and click Save.
Answer Type: Multi-Column Radio
When the questionnaire calls for you to select one answer in a radio format from multiple columns, the appropriate answer type is a multi-column radio. For example, if question A has 3 responses in columns G, H, and I, as possible options, and the expected response is to fulfil the question requirements of any one of them.
You can define these answer types as a multi-column radio.
Select the Multi-Column Radio from the dropdown in the Answer Type.
Configure the options as required and click Save to save the options.
Click Save to save the answer type.
The answer indicator A will be shown on all three columns.
Answer Type: Date
To set a column type as Date, select the column, then click Answer.
Select the answer type as Date.
Answer Type: Multi-Column Drop Down
When the questionnaire asks that you select one answer from a row across multiple columns, the appropriate answer type is a multi-column drop-down.
For example: Shown below, question 1 has 3 possible responses in columns K, L, and M. You are being asked to provide your response in one of the columns to fulfil the question requirements.
Users can define these answer types as a multi-column drop-down in the application.
Select the answer type as Multi-Column Dropdown.
Configure the options as required and click Save to save the options.
Click Save to save the answer type.
Answer Type: Checkbox
When responding to a question which has answer choices in a different column and you can select multiple answers, you can choose checkbox as an answer type.
Configure the options as required and click Save to save the options.
Click Save to save the answer type.
Importing Questions and Answers in the Same Column
Below is an example of both questions and answers that are in the same column "B":
To import the excel questionnaire with Q&A in the same column follow steps below:
1. Import the file into the project
2. Select column B and mark as Question
3. Select the B column and click the arrow next to Answer on the floating toolbar. Then click Mark Rest as Answer.
4. A confirmation Popup is displayed
5. Check to make sure you have all the rows you need listed in the Applicable to Rows.
Note:
- You can use comma "," as a delimiter to add/specify more rows in the Applicable to Rows field
- You can also specify a range of rows. For eg: 3,5,7,9,11-19,23,25-32,35
6. Review the markings and click Import
Note: You can import few question and answer in the same column, and the rest in different columns too. While configuring each, you can specify the rows for which it has to be applied.
- In the above example, questions are configured in column A. Row number 3 is configured as Answer in Column A and row number 5 in column A is configured as Question and row number 5 in column B is configured as Answer.
- If Row number 3 under column A is configured as both Question and Answer, on export, question will be replaced by the answer.
- If Row number 2 is configured as Question and Row number 3 as Answer, both question and answer will be exported.
Once all the answer types have been configured, click Import to initiate import process.
Upload Word or PDF Document
After creating a project, follow the instructions below to import a Word or PDF file:
- Go to the project, and under the Sections tab, click Import Files.
- Select the Word document (.docx) or PDF (.pdf) file by either dragging it onto the screen or selecting it from your computer or any of the storage integrations available such as Google drive, Dropbox, Box, etc.
Once a Word file has been loaded into the application, it can be mapped (or configured) to import the content. To map a Word document for import, follow the instructions below:
- First, locate the sections within the document and highlight the text. Then, click Section from the Mark Options toolbar. Next, select Auto Identify to locate and select all sections within the document. Review the suggestions in the pop-up window, then click Apply.
Note: Auto Identify uses the style guides within the document to identify content (e.g. sections and questions). If styles are not used in the original document, we will not be able to Auto Identify content.
- Next, similar to how the sections were mapped, do the same for the questions. Locate the questions within the document and highlight the text. Then, click Question from the Mark Options toolbar. Next, select Auto Identify to locate and select all questions within the document. Confirm the selections in the pop-up window, then click Apply.
- To identify answers, select the appropriate text, then click Answer under Mark Options.
Best Practice: As an effective way to map a Word document, it is recommended that once all sections and questions have been marked, use Ignore to disregard anything that is not part of an answer, then use Mark Rest as Answer to mark all answers in the document.
- Double-check the document mapping by scrolling throughout the document. Click Save to save your progress. When finished, click Import.
For a complete list of mapping definitions, refer to the Import Mapping Options article.
Note: If there are identical questions with different answers, we consolidate those questions into one question with multiple answer types upon import.
Working with Tables in a Word Document
RPFIO can also map table content within Word documents. To learn how to configure tables in a Word document, refer to Mapping Tables in a Microsoft Word Document.
Working with Checkboxes in a Word Document
We can also handle checkboxes within Word documents. To learn how to configure checkboxes in a Word document, refer to Mapping Checkboxes in Microsoft Word Documents.
Adding Questions to a Section
Once the sections are created, you can manually add more questions to a section.
- Click on a section. Mouse over the header to display the menu icon (three stacked dots). Click it to display the menu and select + Add Questions.
- The Add questions pop-up is displayed. Enter the question and the information about it (Authors, Reviewers, etc.). You can enter more than one with the same characteristics by pressing Enter at the end of the question.
Specify the answer type information. Select Index if the label should be stored in the Content Library with the Q&A pair. Select Required if an answer must be entered for the question.
Click Advanced Settings to specify if the answer number should be generated automatically or manually.
If you have multiple questions, you may want to select Queue Email Notification so the authors and reviewers get one email with all their questions instead of getting multiple emails.
- Click Add.
Tip: You can assign authors by entering the author names or can search and add authors.
Assigning Authors and Reviewers
Once the sections are created, you can assign authors and reviewers to the section.
Assigning Authors to All the Questions in a Section
- From the Sections list, click the menu icon and click Manage Users.
- The Manage Users pane appears, open to the Authors tab. Click Add Authors.
Begin entering the name of the first author. The system will suggest a list of users that meet your criteria. You can also enter "%" to see a list of possible authors. An author can be a person or a team.
Alternatively, click Help me choose authors. You can see the available authors, their role and how many questions they have been assigned as authors and reviewers.
You can search for users from the Search Users text box. To add users, select the checkbox associated with them.
Click SUBMIT. The authors will be added.Tip: Existing authors can be removed and the section can be reassigned to other team members.
- Click in the Author Due Date field to specify a due date, then specify the time and timezone.
- Optionally you can send a message to the author(s) by entering it in the Message Authors box. Switch the toggle on, to track this message in section comments.
You can click Queue & Notify Later if you will be making multiple assignments for the same people. They will receive one email with all their notifications. Click Save to assign the author(s) and send an instant notification.
Assigning Reviewers
- From the Sections list, click the menu icon and click Manage Users.
- On the Manage Users pane, click Reviewers. Select the Review Process. Choose:
- Any if any reviewer can complete the review, even if there are multiple reviewers
- All if all reviewers must complete the review
- Sequential if all reviewers must complete the review in a specific order
Click Add Reviewers.
- Begin entering the name of the reviewer. The system will suggest valid reviews as you type. Type "%" to see a list of reviewers. Select the reviewer.
Enter any additional reviewers. If you have chosen Sequential for the Review Process, you can click and drag the handle of a reviewer to change the order.
Click in the Reviewer Due Date field to see a calendar. Click on a date to select it. Choose a time and a timezone.If you want to send a message to the reviewers, enter it. Select Track as section comments to include the message in the section comments.
When you are finished, click Save.Alternatively, click Help me choose reviewers. The Select Reviewers screen will be displayed with information about the reviewers' roles and current workload.
You can search for users from the Search Users text box. To add users, select the checkbox associated with them and then click Select.Tip: Existing reviewers can be removed and sections can be reassigned to other team members.
- Click ASSIGN AND SEND NOTIFICATION to assign reviewers and send an instant notification. Click ASSIGN AND QUEUE NOTIFICATION to assign reviewers and queue a notification. You can send the queued notification later.
See the video below for a quick walkthrough of the process. Click the dot to see each step.
Responding to Questions
Once authors are assigned and notification sent, the users assigned as authors will receive notification mail on their registered email address.
To respond to questions, you can follow the steps below:
- Click the link in the email and log in to Responsive. The assigned section will be displayed.
- Click on a question to respond to it. Recommendations are displayed on the pane on the right. To apply a recommended answer, click Apply Answer
- You can also search for recommendations. Clicking the filter icon, enter search criteria and then click Apply.
- You can type in the answer and respond to questions, select options from menus or radio buttons, and select checkboxes.
- Click Save and Next to navigate to the next question.
- Once all questions are answered and there are no reviewers, click Complete Section. If a question has a reviewer, it will be marked with a yellow highlight.
Alert!
When there are multiple authors assigned for a section, if any of the authors tries to complete the section while others are working on their assigned questions, an alert is displayed to inform about the unanswered questions.
Once the section is completed, the status of the section changes from in progress to completed and will be displayed as shown below:
- If reviewers are assigned for the section, instead of COMPLETE SECTION, the option SUBMIT FOR REVIEW is displayed.
- Once the section is submitted for review, the status of the section changes from In Progress to Pending Review and will be displayed as shown below:
A green tick icon is displayed near the user avatar, indicating which user submitted the section for review.
- Successfully submitting for review will trigger an email notification to the reviewers.
- Click REVIEW SECTION. You will be navigated to the application.
- Click on a question.
- Once the answer is reviewed, switch the REVIEWED toggle.
- Once all questions have been reviewed, click COMPLETE REVIEW. A success message will be displayed on successfully completing the review.
- When the section is marked as complete after review, the status of the section changes from Pending Review to Completed and will be displayed as shown below:
- You can also view the green tick icon near the user avatar, indicating which user completed the section.
Alert!
- When there are multiple reviewers assigned for a section, if any of the reviewers tries to submit the section for review while others are working on their assigned questions, an alert is displayed to inform about the unanswered questions.
- If you attempt to submit the section for review, an alert message with the count of unanswered questions will be displayed.
More Actions at Question Level
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Viewing Authors, Reviewers and Guests: Avatars of the authors, reviewers and guests of the section are displayed on the top right of the question card. Multiple authors, reviewers and guests of the question are grouped with a +count and are displayed on mouse-hover.
- Clarification: You can add clarification on questions by clicking the three-dot and selecting Clarifications. You can then add the post on the Clarifications pane.
- Comments: You can add comments on questions by clicking the Comments icon associated with the question and then adding the comment in the Comments You can send message to a specific user by entering @username or to the entire team by entering @team.
- Flag for Follow-up: To enable flag, click the flag icon. For details on flag color coding, you can refer to Color Code for Flags.
- Activities: To view the activities associated with a question, click More Options icon > Activities or switch to the Activity tab on the right pane. The activities will be displayed as shown:
- Tasks: To view the tasks associated with a question, click More Options icon > Tasks. The tasks will be displayed as shown:
- Project Notes / Obligation: To view or add project notes with a question, click More Options icon > Project Notes. The Project Notes will be displayed as shown:
- Merge Tags: To view or add merge tags with a question, click More Options icon > Merge Tags. The Merge Tags section will be displayed as shown:
You can add the required tags by clicking on the respective tabs. Copy the tag name from the right-side pane and paste in the response area. Values for merge tags can be specified from View > Merge Tags.
- Save in Library: To save the responses in answer library, turn on the toggle switch associated with Save in Library.
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Attachments: To add any attachment to the response, click Attach Files
You can browse and attach files from Project Documents, Content Library, and your Computer.
-
Answer Library Settings: To view/modify Answer Library Settings, click on the
The Update Answer Library Setting pop-up will be displayed. Make the required selections and click SAVE.
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Answer Library Used and Edited: If the response is applied from the Answer Library the
- Auto-Respond: Finds the best matches from the Content Library and applies them to the questions with a click of a button.
- Audit Answers: Quickly audit the response to identify and manage duplicate responses.
- View Source File: You can view the source file by clicking View Source File.
- View on Source File: Navigates to the exact location of the selected section on the source file.
More Actions from Sections
For each section, the section author can view/modify the following:
- Properties: Clicking View Properties, will display the section properties:
- Section Comments: By clicking Section Comments you can view any section comments as well as can add new comments.
Alert!
While adding new comments, if an attempt is made to send message to a non-team member, an alert message will be displayed seeking permission to add the user to the project team.
- Section Preview: Clicking Preview Section displays a preview of the questions and responses of the selected section in a pop-up window.
- Attach Files: Section authors can attach files to the questions in the section, by clicking Edit > Attach files. The Attach Files pop-up is displayed.
You can browse and attach files from Project Documents, Library, and your computer.
- Auto-Respond: Finds the best matches from the Content Library and applies them to the questions with a click of a button.
- Audit Answers: Quickly audit the response to identify and manage duplicate responses.
- Save as Template: Sections can be saved as Templates to a collection that can be reused.
- Update Privacy: Manage the privacy settings of the section.
Exporting Responses
Once the responses are complete and sections are reviewed, the responses can be exported to a template or the source file.
To export responses, follow the steps below:
- On the Manage Sections page, click Export on the top right.
Alternately, you can select Export Responses from the Menu option.
- The Export page will be displayed. Click New Export Package to create a new package.
On the Create Export Package page, you can select the sections you want to include in the Export as well as choose the export type.
- Enter the name for the package file.
- Select the Export type. You can choose between Source/Default Excel or any of the other templates formats.
- Switch between Section View or Imported File View.
- Quickly find the section you are looking for using the search box.
- Select the sections you want to include in the package.
Exporting in Source or Default Excel
Once you've set up the sections, you can customize the export settings to meet your requirements. The Export Settings step offers the following options.
- Choose if you want to include the report.
- Choose how you'd like the attachments to be included in the export. You have the option to keep your previous preference, embed the attachments within the export document, or export them into a dedicated Attachments folder.
- Select the attachments you want to include in the export package.
- Select the responses headers you want the export to include in the exported document.
- You can export in Application Font, Source Font (Normal Style) or can select Custom Font (supported by the application). Select the required options.
If Custom Font is selected, specify the Font Family, Size, Font Color, and the Background Color.- Specifying the Hex code
- Specifying the RGB (R, G, B) values
- Clicking on the desired color
- Specifying the Hex code
- Select a preference for the response prefix.
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To get a preview of the final document's appearance, click on Preview.
- Next, Click EXPORT. A package request is submitted and a success message is displayed as shown:
The exported package is displayed as shown. To download the file, click Download.
Tip:
The following options are available for an export package on the three-dot context menu.
- Make a Copy: Create a copy of the export package.
- View Export Configuration: View the configuration used to generate the package.
- Rename Package: Update or modify the package name.
- Delete: Remove the export package.
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Storage Options: If you have cloud-storage integration configured, you can save the export directly to the selected storage option.
Note: Cloud-storage options are an add-on feature and must be enabled prior to use. Contact your account manager, or accountmanagers@Responsive.com, to enable it.
Exporting to Other Template Formats
To export the project in Word, PPTX or PDF format, select the appropriate option from the Export Type drop-down.
Then, click Update Export Format. An Update Export Format pop-up is displayed.
Choose if you want the export to be formatted as a Table or Paragraph. Click Update and then click Next to proceed.In this step, select a style template or upload a new one by selecting New Template. Then, click Next to proceed to the export settings.
Note: You can use the search box and filter options to quickly find the template by name, tab or business unit (if enabled).The Export Settings step offers the following options.
- Displays the selected template. Click Change to go back and choose another template.
- Choose if you want to include the report.
- Select the attachments you want to include in the export package.
- Choose how you'd like the attachments to be included in the export. You have the option to keep your previous preference, embed the attachments within the export document, or export them into a dedicated Attachments folder.
- Select the responses headers you want the export to include in the exported document.
- Click the Projects icon from the left navigation pane to navigate to the Manage Projects page. Click New Project > Create a New Project.