A checklist for choosing the right online proofing solution

Content Types
Given the wide range of marketing channels in use today, your online proofing system should support media types across design files, static content, website pages and rich media such as audio and visual files. This allows for multi-channel campaigns to be reviewed simultaneously within the same system, avoiding time-sinking context switching between apps.

Supported? 

Images - JPG, PNGs, BMP, TIFF, AI, PSD etc.

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Documents - PDF, DOC, DOCX, XLS/XLST, PPT/PPTX, etc.

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Live websites, Website snapshots - review in any resolution

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Rich Media - HTML5, Animated GIFs

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Video & Audio

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Proofs accurately represent the original - see our blog post here for how to use the Altona Test Suite for your own testing.

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Handles large file uploads & loads quickly for reviewers

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Other formats not listed above - ___, ___, ___, ___, ___

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Comments & Annotations
The ability to provide precise feedback via markups to content is an absolute requirement for an online proofing solution. Comments and replies should be easy to make and markups should be as simple and straightforward as using PowerPoint or Google Sheets.

Real-time comment threads

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Several markup tools to provide accurate feedback

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Select multiple parts of text on a proof and annotate

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Attach files to comments

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Private (internal) comments that only certain reviewers can view

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@mentions to send a notification directly to another reviewer

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Label comments and filter by label(s)

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Resolve comments and filter by resolution status

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Filter comments by page, reviewer, stage, etc.

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Recover deleted comments

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Responsive design to support mobile review and approval

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Version Management & Proof Comparison
Version management and comparison is a critical feature set in any enterprise online proofing solution.  Not only does it help verify that requested changes were made and progress is being made, but it's also vital to any compliance sign off required.

Create and access prior versions easily

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Automatically give reviewers access to all versions

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Compare any two versions side by side

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Automatically have changes highlighted between versions

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Minor versions support for internal review cycles

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Automated Workflow
To both ensure consistency of review cycles and for large scale online proofing deployments with complex, multi-stage review processes, an automated workflow is essential to making sure the right team members are included in the process, at the right time, with the proper roles.  

Create custom workflows based on your review processes

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Save and reuse workflow templates

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Set deadlines by workflow stage

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Lock stages and proofs when decisions have been made

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Set deadlines by workflow stage

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Able to add reviewers to multiple stages on the same proof

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Make a specific reviewer the primary decision maker

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Hide proofs from the dashboard until a reviewer’s stage starts

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Notifications & Reminders
Given the urgency of most creative projects, real-time notifications should be available to update you on project collaboration efforts, statuses, comments and more. Additionally, flexibility should be provided to tailor notification preferences, as well as extend notifications to other applications (see "Integrations").

Notify reviewers when a new version is ready for review by email and in the app

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Automatically send reminders before, on and after the deadline

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Only notify reviewers when their stage starts

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Ability to suppress notifications at stage and proof level

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Customize email notifications

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Dashboards & Reporting

See all your proofs, statuses and track their progress easily

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Easily drill down to track the progress by stage and reviewer

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Dynamically filter proofs by any field

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Create, save and share custom views

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Export your proof data for easy reporting

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Folders to organize proofs by projects, clients, etc.

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Account Management
Enterprise-ready online proofing solutions should offer the consistency of group-level permissions, as well as the flexibility of individual permissions for specific reviewers. This allows clients, partners, and vendors to contribute as named group members or as guests.

Sign-up and manage multiple accounts using a single log-in

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Branding using logos, favicons, colors

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Choose your own subdomain or customize the domain

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Manage multiple brands across accounts

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Custom properties to capture and filter on extended proof information

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Integrations
Enterprise-ready online proofing solutions should offer integrations with other cloud-based tools and systems, either via ready-to-run extensions, or via simple programming interfaces, such as public APIs.

Publicly available API

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Integrates with your existing technology stack

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Cloud storage integrations

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Security & Reliability
When considering the intellectual property in your (and your client's) creative work, security standards should guarantee that all proofs, comments, and associated files are secure and private.  

Configure Single Sign-on

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Vendor is SOC 2 compliant

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Securely share proofs with users and guests

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Control sharing settings to only internal and trusted users

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Disaster Recovery is part of the vendor’s infrastructure

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Qualys SSL Labs Score

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