request for feedback on 3.0 features

[Anonymous]

Although these features are not definite, e.g. testing could cause us
to pull a feature, here is the candidate feature set for ProjectPoint 3.0.
In the interest of remaining in touch with our customers, I welcome any
feedback on this list. I am not promising that I can do anything about it,
but any dialog is better than no dialog.

Automatic Notification
ProjectPoint has always given users the ability to collaborate by
sending email messages as part of uploading files. ProjectPoint 2.2 extended
this concept by allowing users to email other site members as part of adding
discussion comments or saving markup files. ProjectPoint 3.0 goes even
further by allowing a user to "subscribe to" a project, folder, or file. By
subscribing to an item in ProjectPoint, a user receives an email identifying
any change to the item even if the user who made the change neglects to
notify others via email. Email notifications can be immediate (sent within a
10 minute window) or daily (once per day at a specified time).


Update Permission
ProjectPoint has always had the following permission levels: No
Access, List, View. Review, Edit, and Admin. A user with Review access can
save markups but not change existing documents. A user with Edit access can
create, modify, and delete existing documents as well as markup documents.
Many customers expressed a desire for something in between. Hence, with
ProjectPoint 3.0, a user with Update access can create or modify existing
documents but not delete them. The user with Update access can also save
markups. On a folder the Update permission means the user can view file
names and subfolder names; add links; or rename links in that folder. The
user cannot add new files to the folder when he only has Update permission.
On a file the Update permission means the user can view the file, add
discussions and markups for the file, rename the file, or create a new
version of the file. He is not allowed to delete the file. So now
ProjectPoint has the following permission levels: No Access, List, View,
Review, Update, Edit, and Admin. A future ProjectPoint deployment may
include other permissions, e.g. Deposit (write only).


Indexed Full Content Search
ProjectPoint 3.0 features a new "full content search" capability that
is based on the same technology used by Internet search engines. The result
is that Office documents, AutoCAD drawings, and other files can be searched
in a matter of seconds. The ability to quickly return search results is
based on a precomputed index that is updated each time a file is uploaded to
ProjectPoint. There is a small latency between when a file is uploaded and
when it appears as part of the search results, but the overall time for
searching has been dramatically reduced. ProjectPoint 2.2 and earlier
versions were only able to search text files. ProjectPoint 3.0 has the
ability to find text strings in: Microsoft DOS batch files (BAT), Microsoft
Office files (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), Autodesk Drawing Web Format files
(DWF), Autodesk AutoCAD Drawings (DWG), Autodesk AutoCAD Drawing eXchange
files (DXF), Microsoft Outlook Express email files (EML), Microsoft Project
files (MPP), Adobe Portable Document Format files (PDF), Microsoft Rich Text
Format files (RTF), and Microsoft DOS ASCII text files (TXT).


Grace Period for Conversion
ProjectPoint consists of a server portion which is hosted by Autodesk
in various data centers and a client application that is installed on each
user's machine. Often it is necessary for all users to install a new
ProjectPoint client to be compatible with server changes that were made as
part of a new deployment. The timing of the ProjectPoint upgrades can affect
customers differently. For some users, the new client installation is
painless and can occur at any time. For others, project deadlines make a
given weekend an inopportune time to upgrade. With ProjectPoint 3.0, all
sites will be scheduled to upgrade on a soon-to-be-announced date; however,
in recognition that this date may not be convenient for all sites, site
administrators may select one week earlier or one week later in accordance
with their own project schedules. Although this provides some flexibility in
terms of when site members start using ProjectPoint 3.0, it does mean that
there will be a 3 week window where some sites are using ProjectPoint 2.2
and others are using 3.0, Users who visit multiple sites need to take this
into account. A ProjectPoint 2.2 client is required to visit a ProjectPoint
2.2 site. A ProjectPoint 3.0 client is required to visit a ProjectPoint 3.0
site.


Other Languages (Coming Soon)
ProjectPoint 2.1 expanded the ProjectPoint user interface from English
to Japanese. ProjectPoint 3.0 will be available in English, Japanese,
German, and Korean.


Improved Security
ProjectPoint compresses files before uploading and decompresses them
after downloading. This results in shorter uploading and downloading times
because the files are smaller. ProjectPoint accomplishes this using an
industry standard compression/decompression library. ProjectPoint 3.0 has
upgraded to an improved version of this library which guards against "buffer
overflow hacking" that you may have read about in Internet security
articles. Though ProjectPoint data has never been compromised using this
technique, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure in this regard.


Latest Technology
Many customers have been curious as to what technology works behind
the scenes to make ProjectPoint possible. They have also asked if
ProjectPoint will be continuously updated to keep it current. ProjectPoint
3.0 is based on Windows 2000 servers running IIS 5 including all of the
latest security patches. Microsoft SQL Server 2000 provides database
management and is also running the latest service pack. In fact, the
ProjectPoint 3.0 architecture was recently improved to provide an even more
secure database management system.


Additional Services Available
With the deployment of ProjectPoint 3.0 comes the opportunity to
subscribe to additional services. ProjectPoint 3.0 provides the platform for
Construction Manager Forms and Streamline integration. To learn more about
these additional services, you can contact us at bcs.sales@autodesk.com and
bcs.support@autodesk.com. Our customers in Japan may also use
bcs.japan.support@autodesk.com.


Name, Name, What's in a Name?
Although the ProjectPoint application has always been called
ProjectPoint, many customers refer to it as Buzzsaw in reference to its
Buzzsaw.com origins. In addition, ProjectPoint is now also being used by the
Autodesk Mechanical Group to provide the Streamline service. So from here on
out, ProjectPoint will refer to the application. Buzzsaw will refer to the
set of services aimed at the building industry. Subtle changes in marketing
materials and ProjectPoint messages will evolve in this direction over time.