How To Work with Annotations

Annotation tools are available in the Review Tab in the Viewer user interface to give your users the ability to create annotations or markups on documents. This requires the pages specified in the settings xml to work correctly:

The settingsenterprise.xml file defines the various URL paths needed for annotations to work. These URLs are requested from the Flash viewer during certain operations.

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<settings> <conversionFileURL>../pcc.ashx/FlashViewer/Convert</conversionFileURL> <getTotalPagesURL>../pcc.ashx/FlashViewer/GetActualPageCount</getTotalPagesURL> <getFastPagesURL>../pcc.ashx/FlashViewer/GetEstimatedPageCount</getFastPagesURL> <annotationsFilesURL>../pcc.ashx/FlashViewer/ListMarkup</annotationsFilesURL> <annotationsOpenURL>../pcc.ashx/FlashViewer/OpenMarkup</annotationsOpenURL> <annotationsSaveURL>../pcc.ashx/FlashViewer/SaveMarkup</annotationsSaveURL>> <licenseURL>../pcc.ashx/License/ClientViewer</licenseURL> </settings>

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<settings>
<conversionFileURL>../pcc.ashx/FlashViewer/Convert</conversionFileURL>
<getTotalPagesURL>../pcc.ashx/FlashViewer/GetActualPageCount</getTotalPagesURL>
<getFastPagesURL>../pcc.ashx/FlashViewer/GetEstimatedPageCount</getFastPagesURL>
<annotationsFilesURL>../pcc.ashx/FlashViewer/ListMarkup</annotationsFilesURL>
<annotationsOpenURL>../pcc.ashx/FlashViewer/OpenMarkup</annotationsOpenURL>
<annotationsSaveURL>../pcc.ashx/FlashViewer/SaveMarkup</annotationsSaveURL>>
<licenseURL>../pcc.ashx/License/ClientViewer</licenseURL>
</settings>

conversionFileURL

This is the URL to the HTTP handler that performs the page conversion and returns the binary for viewing. The HTTP handler at the web tier simply forwards this request to PCCIS and returns the response to the viewer.

This should already be set up as a part of Prizm Content Connect Plus installation.

getFastPagesURL

This is the URL to the HTTP handler that calculates the fast page count in the document and returns it. The HTTP handler at the web tier simple forwards this request to PCCIS and returns the response to the viewer.

This should already be set up as a part of Prizm Content Connect Plus installation.

getTotalPagesURL

This is the URL to the HTTP handler that calculates the total pages in the document and returns it. The HTTP handler at the web tier simple forwards this request to PCCIS and returns the response to the viewer.

This should already be set up as a part of Prizm Content Connect Plus installation.

annotationsFilesURL

This is the URL to the HTTP handler on the web that the viewer will call to list existing annotations when a user clicks on "load markups" button.

Arguments Passed (POST):

documentname

Name of the document specified as a flash variable.

Return Values:

xml – xml containing list of annotations related to the document.

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<annotationFiles> <annotation name="documenttest-test 1.xml" label="test 1" id="1"/> <annotation name="documenttest-test 2.xml" label="test 1" id="2"/> <annotation name="documenttest-test 3.xml" label="test 1" id="3"/> </annotationFiles>

name	Name of the annotation file.
label	Label of the annotation file, which is shown to the user and could be the name of file itself.
id	Id of the annotation file, which could be anything numeric.

annotationsOpenURL

This is the URL to the HTTP handler on the web tier that the viewer calls when a user clicks on an annotation label from the list of annotations received from annotationsFilesURL.

Arguments Passed (POST):

documentname	Name of the document specified as a flash variable.
annotationName	Name of the annotation file as returned by xml from annotationsFilesURL.
annotationId	Id of the annotation file as returned by xml from annotationsFilesURL.
annotationLabel	Label of the annotation file as returned by xml from annotationsFilesURL.

Return Values:

Annotation XML file in binary format.

annotationsSaveURL

This is the URL to the HTTP handler on the web tier that the viewer will call when a user clicks on “Save” button to save annotations.

Arguments Passed:

documentname	Name of the document specified as a flash variable.
annotations	The annotation related data in xml form. POST format.
annotationName	The name of the annotation. POST format.

Return Values:

xml specifying the file was saved successfully.

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<root> <saveAnnotationResponse saved='1'/> </root>

formUser

As of PCC v7.1, you can use the "formUser" flashvar in conjunction with annotations in order to track who created annotations or redactions and when they were created. A single user's name can be entered as a value for "formUser", for example, formUser:'Dave'. The value of formUser, as well as the local time of annotation/redaction creation will be added to all annotations and redactions, and displayed via mouseover tooltips.

Tooltips

Tooltips are small pop-up dialogs that appear when mousing over objects that present contextual information. By default, annotation and redaction tooltips are disabled. To enable tooltips, you must add the "annotationTooltipsEnabled" flashvar and set its value to "yes". For example, annotationTooltipsEnabled: 'yes'.

If no formUser data is provided or is left blank, tooltips will not be enabled for annotations/redactions created by the user, even if the annotationTooltipsEnabled flashvar is set to 'yes'.

The creation date of the annotation/redaction object is also shown and will, by default, show the local time of creation. By adding the "showOffsetFromGMT" flashvar and setting its value to "yes", users will see the local time and its offset from GMT, giving the user information about when, in absolute time, the object was created. For example, showOffsetFromGMT: 'yes'.

Example

A tooltip displaying a time with no offset from GMT:

Example

A tooltip displaying a time with offset from GMT: