Cozimo is a web application designed for professionals who collaborate on projects involving the review of digital media. It provides you with a secure and private online environment for managing project review cycles. Cozimo's unique annotation tool allows you to review and annotate your digital images with colleagues and clients, either together in live, real-time conferences, or individually at the convenience of each project participant.
As a web based application, Cozimo requires no specialized software installations. It works on virtually all operating systems and web browsers. This means that you, your colleagues, consultants, clients, and anyone else involved in your projects can collaborate effectively from anywhere an internet connection is available.

A Project Workgroup represents the group of people you want to work with on some real-world project or task that you are managing. Only the people in a particular workgroup have the ability to access and review the content associated with the project. When you create a new project workgroup you have complete control over the membership. You can add or remove people from the workgroup at any time throughout the course of a project.

When you first logon to Cozimo you will see a listing of all the workgroups you are a member of listed along the left side of the screen. This list includes both the workgroups you have created and are managing yourself as well as the workgroups of others that you may be collaborating with. Under each workgroup is a listing of all the current Collaboration Folders that contain the digital content that has been posted for review and collaboration. In the center of the screen, you can see an overview of the most recent activity and messages that have been relating to all the collaboration folders listed.

To create a new Project Workgroup:

1. Click Home.
2. Click the Manage Workgroups tab.
3. Click Add New Workgroup.
4. Provide a name (required) and description (optional) for the new project workgroup and click Save.

There are two ways for you to add people to a project workgroup. If you want to work with someone who has never worked with you on Cozimo before, you can send them an invitation to join your workgroup and they can then accept or decline to work with you. If they are new to Cozimo, they first have to register in order to accept your invitation (there is no charge for them to do so). If they have previously registered with Cozimo, they can accept the invitation by simply providing their Cozimo username and password.

If you are already working with someone in another project workgroup, then you do not have to send them an invitation to join. You can add them by simply selecting them from the list of your current collaborators.

You can distinguish the roles of people in your workgroup as being either that of a "Staff" member of your organization or an external "Collaborator". This role is important as messages and files can be designated "For Staff Only". Staff members also have the ability to add and remove people from the workgroup.

To add a member to a project workgroup:

There are a number of ways for you to add people to a workgroup. If you are already working with someone in another workgroup they will automatically be added to your contact list in Cozimo and you can simply select them from your list to add them to any other workgroup. If you want to add new people you can either create accounts for them or invite them and let them create their own accounts.

Note: only the manager and staff members of a workgroup can add people to it.

1. Click Home.
2. Click the Manage Workgroups tab. Alternatively manage the workgroup by clicking the Workgroup tab of any Collaboration Folder associated with it.
3. Click Add or invite people for the workgroup to which you want to add people.
4. If the person you want to add is already a member of another workgroup in which you participate, you can simply select them from the list that is displayed (If a contact is already a member of the workgroup they will not be selectable).
5. To send the person an invitation to join the workgroup, enter the email address of the person in the Invite A New Member section. This step is necessary for people you have not worked with previously on Cozimo. Note that there is no charge for anyone to register.
6. If you would like to review and modify the wording of the invitation before sending it, select Show me what the invitation looks like, review and modify the text displayed.
7. Click Send Invitation. The person you have invited must accept the invitation to participate in the workgroup. The person will be able to accept your invitation by either logging in with their existing Cozimo account or — if they are new to Cozimo — creating one. (Note that there is no charge for anyone to register). Once they have done so, you will be notified by e-mail automatically.
8. You can add a person to a workgroup immediately by creating an accouny for them. Click Create a new account and then fill out the information requested. The new user will receive an e-mail with the login information and will immediately be able to log in and access the workgroup folders. You can also use the Bulk Account Setup option to create multiple accounts at once by uploading a CSV file (additional information on formatting the CSV file is provided on the page).

The person you have invited must accept the invitation to participate in your workgroup. Once they have done so, you will be notified by e-mail automatically.

To delete a member from one of your workgroups:

Note: Only the manager and staff members of a workgroup can delete people from it.

1. Click Home.
2. Click the Manage Workgroups tab. Alternatively, manage the workgroup by clicking the Workgroup tab of any Collaboration Folder associated with it.
3. Click the View Members pulldown for the workgroup from which you want to delete a member.
4. Click Remove From Workgroup in the info box of the specific member you want to delete.

To remove yourself from another person's workgroup:

Note: You can only remove yourself from workgroups that you are not the manager of.

1. Click Home.
2. Click the Manage Workgroups tab. Alternatively, manage the workgroup by clicking the Workgroup tab of any Collaboration Folder associated with it.
3. Click the View Members pulldown for the workgroup from which you want to remove yourself.
4. Click Remove Me from this Workgroup. The workgroup listing (and all the collaboration folders associated with it) will be removed from your list of workgroups.

To change the role of a member in a project:

Note: You can only change the designation of people in workgroups that you manage.

1. Click Home.
2. Click the Manage Workgroups tab. Alternatively, manage the workgroup by clicking the Workgroup tab of any Collaboration Folder associated with it.
3. Click the View Members pulldown for the workgroup you want to modify.
4. Set whether the person is a Staff or a Collaborator in the info box of the person you want modify.

To delete a workgroup:

Note: When you delete a workgroup you irrevocably delete all associated collaboration folders.

1. Click Home.
2. Click the Manage Workgroups tab.
3. Click Delete Workgroup and confirm.

Collaboration folders are used to organize the content you want to share and collaborate on with people in your project workgroups. Typically, a collaboration folder contains one or more related items that you want reviewed together. Each collaboration folder contains both the content items (i.e. images and PDF files) and a history of all notes, annotations and messages that have been made about those items.

To create a new collaboration folder:

1. Click Home.
2. Click Create New Collaboration Folder.
3. Enter a name (required) and description (optional) for the new folder.
4. Select the workgroup with which you would like to share the folder, or provide a name to create a new workgroup. When you first create a workgroup you are the manager and the only member. However, you can add more people to it after you create the folder by clicking on the Workgroup tab of the new folder.
5. Click Create Folder. You are immediately redirected to the File tab of the new folder so that you can upload the files you want to share.

To change the name or description of a collaboration folder:

1. Click the Settings tab of the collaboration folder.
2. Enter a new name and/or description for the new folder.
3. Click Save.

To add files to a collaboration folder:

Note: While it is possible to upload any type of file to share with project collaborators, only certain types of files can be viewed and annotated online. These include most image files (.jpg, .tiff, .png, .tga), video files in most encodings (.mov, .avi, .flv, .wmv), audio files (.mp3) and PDF files. PDF files maintain all vectorized information which means that PDFs are resolution independent — you can zoom in close without losing fidelity. This makes it an ideal format to use for graphic layout and CAD drawings.

1. Click the File tab of the collaboration folder to which you want to add content.
2. Click Add Files.
3. You can then provide a name and description for the item being uploaded. If you do not provide a name, the name of the file being uploaded is used by default. Click Upload to initiate the upload and return or Upload and Add Another File to repeat the process.
4. After you upload your files, there are three different ways to view the content in the File tab. To see the content as an array of thumbnails, click Gallery. To see the content in a sortable table, click List. To see the content as an expanded list that shows both thumbnails and additional information regarding the item, click Details.

To delete a Collaboration Folder:

Note: Only the Manager of a Collaboration Folder can delete it.

1. Click the Settings tab of the collaboration folder.
2. Click Delete this Folder.
3. Confirm the deletion. Note that the folder and all its contents are permanently removed from the system — it does not go to Trash.

Once the items have been created, a number of actions are available to edit and manage them. Only the person who creates an item and those designated as staff can operate on the item. Staff members can operate on all items in a folder. Most actions can be applied directly to an item by selecting an action from the View Actions dropdown menu, next to the item itself.

Note: If you see a lock icon instead of a checkbox, it means that someone else created the item and you do not have permission to modify it.

To change the name or description of an item:

1. Click View Actions.
2. Click Edit.
3. Change the name and description of the item.
4. Click Save.

To copy, move, and paste an item:

1. Click View Actions.
2. Click Cut to move the items from their current folder or Copy to make a copy of the items. Note that both the item and any associated annotations are moved and copied.
3. Click the collaboration folder in which you would like to place the items.
4. Click Paste to add the items to the current location. Note that Paste only appears if there are items in the buffer to be pasted.

To delete an item:

1. Click View Actions.
2. Click Move to Trash. The items you have selected are moved to your Trash folder. Deleted items are still counted as part of your overall storage allocation. You must explicitly delete them from the Trash folder to remove them from your system.

To change the presentation order of items in the collaboration folder:

1. In Detail view, click and drag anywhere in the row of an item. Drag the item to where you want it to go.

Note: In List view, sorting the list by a particular column does not change the presentation order.

Item accessibility determines who has permission to see it. Every item can be set so that it can be seen by either everyone in the workgroup or only by those who are designated as Staff. Items that are accessible to Staff will not be displayed in the content views of external workgroup members. This is useful when, for example, you want to upload and prepare content in advance of a presentation — you can hide it from external collaborators until you are ready to start your presentation.

To change the accessibility of an item:

1. Click View Actions.
2. Under Change Access set the desired access level for the item(s) — Workgroup or Staff.

Once you have uploaded your content, you are ready to start collaborating. In Cozimo, there are two distinct methods you can use to collaborate. With the first method, people view and annotate content on their own time, leaving comments and annotations to be reviewed by you and other workgroup members at your convenience. The annotations of each workgroup member are displayed on individual "layers" that can be turned on and off so that you can easily distinguish the feedback from multiple collaborators. With the second method, you conduct a live online meeting with any number of people to review content together in real-time. During a live review, any annotations and drawings made by one person are immediately seen by all other online members. This greatly facilitates the collaboration process because specific features of the content are easily pointed out during the conversation. The same annotation tools are used for both methods of collaboration.

To annotate an item:

1. In the File tab, click the thumbnail to open the item in the Collaborate tab. Only items that show an image thumbnail (not plain icons) open for collaboration (other file types can only be downloaded for sharing).
2. To open the first item in the folder for collaboration, click the Collaborate tab itself.
3. To maximize the screen area available for viewing the item you opened, click View Fullscreen.
4. Click Tools to open a floating palette containing all the available collaboration tools. To activate a tool, click the icon or press the hotkey as indicated below:
   • To draw a freehand line, click the Pencil icon or press the b key. Click-drag to draw a freeform line on the image.
   • To draw shapes, click a Shape icon to select the desired shape (line, arrow, double arrow, circle and rectangle). Click and drag the mouse over the image.
   • To add text, click the T icon or press the t key. Click on the content where you'd like to start adding text.
   • To set the color, thickness or opacity of lines, shapes and text, click Colors, Size, or Opacity and select the desired characteristics.
   • To pan the image, click the Hand icon or press the h key, and then drag the mouse over the image to move it to the desired position.
   • To zoom in on the image, click the Magnifying Glass + icon or press the z key, and then click the image to zoom in, or drag a box around the region you want zoom in to. You can also press the up arrow or down arrow keys to immediately zoom the image in or out, use shift up/down to zoom faster. To set the image zoom so that it fits within the available screen space, click the Zoom To Fit icon or press the Home key. To set the image to its actual pixel size, click the 1:1 icon or press the Shift+Home key.
   • To pick a color from the image to use for drawing and text, click the Eyedropper icon or press the c key. Drag the mouse on the image to view the colors in the currently select color palette swatch and click the mouse to select the desired color. Press the esc key or click outside of the image to cancel the color selection.
   • To leave a note on the image, click the Note icon or press the n key. The mouse cursor will change to a "pin" that you can position on the specific region of the image that your note refers to. Click to place the pin and open a note. For reference, the pin shows a number that automatically increments. Type your message in the input field at the bottom of the note and then click Enter (or press the enter key) to post it with the current time stamp. Other collaborators can leave replies or additional comments on the note if desired. Notes can be minimized (click the pin) or moved (drag the header) so that they do not block the image underneath. To open a minimized note, click the pin.
   • To leave a general or private comment about the item, you can post a message as described in the Messages section in this help file.
   • To delete lines or shapes that you have drawn, click the Eraser icon or press the e key. Move the mouse over the line you want to delete until it is highlighted, and then click the mouse to delete it. You can also drag a box around a number of lines and shapes to delete them all at once (they have to be completely enclosed in the box to be deleted).
   • To delete all the annotations that you have made in the current session, click Clear Session. To delete all your annotations on the image, click Clear All. You can only delete annotations that you have created.
   • To print the currently visible screen, press Shift-P. In the resulting printout the contents of all the notes will be shown underneath the current image (only the visible pins and any drawing annotations will be shown on the image itself).
5. To control the visibility of annotations left by individual reviewers, click the Collaborators pulldown to display a menu showing a list of all members of the workgroup. Members who have made annotations will have View or Hide displayed next to their names. Toggle View and Hide to control the visibility of their annotations.
6. To navigate to the next or previous item in the collaboration folder, click the arrows located on the title bar across from the image name.

An important productivity feature of Cozimo is the ability to conduct live real-time presentations and reviews of the content you are developing. Whether you are talking with one person or several, being able to simultaneously talk and draw together on the content greatly facilitates communication and improves design collaboration.

To undertake a live collaboration presentation and review:

1. Upload the content you want to review into a collaboration folder and place the items in the order you wish to present them. If you want to hide the items from external collaborators until the time of the presentation, set the accessibility of all the items to "Staff only".
2. Click the item you want to start your presentation with to open it in the Collaborate tab.
3. Click Send Message and send a message to the people you want to collaborate with indicating when you want to meet. A link to the item will be included in the e-mailed message, making it easy for people to go directly to where you want to start your review. Note that if you are hiding items until the time of the presentation, you may want to inform people in your message that the link will not permit access until the time indicated.
4. When you are ready to start your online review, open the item you want to start with and click the Collaborators pulldown to see the list of workgroup members. Any people who are currently online and looking at the same image as you will be displayed above the line in the list.
5. There are a number of ways you can communicate during an online review. Telephone calls and teleconferencing is likely to be your most common approach. You can also communicate by Instant Messaging using Cozimo's integrated chat feature. Click Chat to open a discussion window on the item being discussed. As you navigate to other items in the course of your review, the chat window will remain active. The content of the chat, however, is stored with the open item when the entry is made so that the context of the discussion is maintained.
6. If your online review involves more than one item, you can use the navigation arrows to navigate through all the items that have been set up in the folder.
7. To take control of the navigation for all online participants and ensure that everyone is looking at the same item at the same time, click Presenter Mode. When Presenter Mode is active, the name of the current presenter is displayed. If someone views another item in the same folder, they will automatically join the meeting in progress and be directed to the correct item. Any conference participant can use Presenter Mode and direct the navigation. To take control of a presentation a participant may click on the name of the current presenter. Only one person at a time can have control.
8. Because everyone may be working from different sized screens and browsers, zoom and pan are not centrally controlled when presentation mode is active. To draw attention to a particular part of an image, click the Region of Interest icon in the tool palette and then drag out a box over the area you want to focus on. Press Shift-R to zoom in on the region of interest. Click on the image to turn off the region of interest display.

To manage the review and collaboration workflow, use the integrated messaging system. With this system, you conduct all communications relating to the review and management of the content you post, and you can maintain a complete record of the review process. You can notify people of new content that has been posted for review or when new annotations have been made. You can schedule meeting times, request and provide approvals for items, or simply make general comments about the project or specific items therein. By using Cozimo's messaging functionality, you can facilitate collaboration by ensuring that all the people you collaborate with can access and read messages online that are relevant to their participation.

When a message is posted in Cozimo, it can also be e-mailed to workgroup participants. If the message pertains to a particular item, a link to that item will be included in the e-mail making it easy for the recipient to go directly to the item. Internal or private messages may be directed to "Staff Only" in which case only those workgroup members designated as Staff, and the person sending the message, are able to access and read it online.

To view messages:

1. Click the Message tab of the collaboration folder.
2. All the messages that have been posted relating to the collaboration folder are displayed in chronological order so that you can see the most recent messages first.
3. You can filter the display of messages to only show messages relating to a particular item in the folder. Click the Show pulldown menu to select the item of interest from the list displayed. If you are viewing a particular item in the Collaborate tab, you can click View Messages to see the messages relating to that item only.

To send messages:

1. Click the Message tab of the collaboration folder, and then click Post Message.
2. Use the Reference pulldown menu to select the item that the message you are posting refers to. A link to the selected item is included in the posted and e-mailed message. Note that if you click Post Message from the Collaborate tab while viewing a particular item, the item is automatically set in the Reference pulldown for the message.
3. Enter the subject and text of the message.
4. Set whether you want the posted message to be viewed online by all workgroup members of by staff only (i.e. an internal or private message).
5. Select the e-mail recipients. If the message is accessible to staff only, you will not be able to e-mail it to non-staff members.

You can modify account settings. To change your account settings, click Settings, located at the top right of the page, and then open the appropriate menu for the changes you want to make. Make sure you click Save after making any changes. Account settings are described in the following sections.

Change Password

Enter and confirm a new password for your account.

Personal Profile

Enter your full name and email address. You can also provide additional contact information to facilitate collaboration with other members of the projects that you participate in. This information is displayed in the Workgroup tab of all the Collaboration Folders with which you are associated.

If you subscribe to the Plus level plan, there are a number of ways you can co-brand Cozimo to provide a more personalized experience to your clients and colleagues.

To create a custom login page:

1. Click on Account Settings then click on Update your account and subscription details.
2. Upgrade to the Plus plan or higher.
3. A login page domain will automatically be created using the username of your account. For example, if your username is AcmeDesign your login page URL will be http://AcmeDesign.cozimo.com .
4. You can add a logo to this page by clicking on Account Settings and then Update your Personal Profile. Under Custom Login Page Logo upload an image file up to 200x200 pixels resolution.

To add a custom logo to the workspace:

1. Click on Account Settings then click on Update your Personal Profile.
2. Under Custom Workspace Logo upload an image that you would like to display in the upper left corner (it will replace the Cozimo logo). The image size should be maximum 175x56 pixels.

To add a logo to a specific workgroup

1. Click on Home and then click on Manage Workgroups.
2. For the workgroup that you would like to brand, click on Edit Workgroup.
3. Under Custom Logo upload an image that you would like to display in the upper left corner of the interface (it will replace the Cozimo logo whenever anyone visits a folder related to that workgroup). The image size should be maximum 175x56 pixels.