Creating a document

Modified on Mon, 2 Sep at 12:05 PM

Learn how to start, create, and finish your first document in Work Author.

Contents

Introduction
Starting a new document
Using the document creator
- Navigate your document
Intro to questions
- Question actions
Answering questions
- Using the rich text editor
Skipping a question
Completing your document
Downloading a document to PDF
Publishing your document

Introduction

Creating documents in Work Author is designed to be easy. This article will walk you through everything you need to know to create your first document.

Starting a new document

From your dashboard:

1. Click the “+ New” button in the top right.

Note: If your organisation has assessments enabled, select “New Document” in the next dropdown.

2. In the Create Document window, select your template by clicking “Use”.

3. Name your document.	4. Select “Create document” to start your document.

Note: By default, your document will not be linked to an existing one. To learn how to link to an existing document, click here.

Using the document creator

Now that you’ve started a new document, you’ll enter the document creator. The screen is split into two parts.

To create your document, you will answer questions on the left side. Your responses will then appear in the document on the right side.

Note: Your work auto-saves, so you can leave and come back without losing progress.

Navigate your document

You will see questions one at a time. As you answer each question, the next one will appear. When you finish all questions in a section, you’ll move to the next section.

On the left side of the screen, you can navigate through questions and sections:

Next question: Skip or answer the current question.
Previous question: Click on a question to reopen it.

Tip: You can also click on a previous answer in the document to return directly to the question.

Next section: Skip or answer all questions to unlock it.
Previous/unlocked section: Use the section navigation arrows at the top.

On the right side of the screen, you can scroll to view your document.

You can also click on the section title to view all sections of your document and click on each title to navigate to the section that you want to visit.

Intro to questions

To quickly see the status of each question, check the progress indicator on its left:

Indicator	Status
	Answered
	Opened but not answered, skipped, or shared
	Skipped or shared

On the right of each question, you can see if there are comments and who it has been shared with.

Tip: Hover over a collaborator’s initials to see their full name

Question actions

Use the toolbar underneath each question to quickly:

Icon	Action	Purpose
	View question history	See a timeline of who’s answered, updated, or shared a question.
	View guidance	See extra information about a question or answer.
	View guidance video	See extra video information about a question or a process.
	Share question	Share a question directly with someone in or outside of your organisation.
	View comments	Comment on a question or respond to other comments in a thread.

Note: Not all actions are available for every question. You will only see icons for actions you can take.

Answering questions

To answer a question:

1. Type or select your answer.

2. Press ‘OK’ to save it and add it to the document.

For more information on answering guided scoping questions, see here.

Using the rich text editor

Some questions need longer text answers and will ask you to “Open Editor.”

Clicking this opens a window where you can easily format your answer with lists, headings, or tables. You might see a partly pre-filled answer to complete, such as a table or introductory sentence.

Tip: To add or delete a column or row in a table, click, hold, and drag your mouse across a row or column. A popup will show options to insert next to or delete.

Skipping a question

If you’re not ready to answer a question, you can skip it and come back later by clicking the skip button under it.

Some questions can’t be skipped. You can always return to and change your answers later if you’re unsure.

Completing your document

If you’re not ready to answer a question, you can skip it and come back later by clicking the skip button under it.

Note: You must answer all skipped questions before you can complete your document. The system will take you to any skipped questions after you’ve gone through all of them.

Completing your document makes it read-only, which means you will not be able to make any more changes.

If you’re ready, click “Complete.” To keep editing, click “Continue Editing.”

Completing your document later

If you’re now ready to complete your document after clicking “Continue Editing”:

Click the Complete icon at the top right of your document.

2. In the pop-up message, click “Complete.”

Tip: You can still view the document settings and properties on a completed document by hovering over the three dots at the top right of your document.

Downloading a document to PDF

To save a completed document as a PDF:

1. Click the Download PDF icon at the top right of your document.

2. Your PDF will download straight to the downloads folder on your computer.

Publishing your document

If your organisation has connected workflows like Docusign for completed documents, they will appear in the Publish Document section above your document:

Click Publish on a workflow to start it: