Criterion's cloud features enable users to collaborate securely and in a structured manner when creating digital critical editions. This section covers:

• Account management
• Document sharing and invitation management
• Notifications and email management
• Integrated chat system

	Note: All operations performed directly from desktop application, in compliance with GDPR Regulation (Art. 17 – “right to be forgotten”).

Share critical edition documents with other Criterion users via integrated cloud system. Collaboration is controlled, tracked, and secure: collaborators can download and view document in read-only mode, without ability to modify original content.

Prerequisites:

• User must be authenticated (Sign In completed)
• Device must be online (active Internet connection)
• Document must be saved as .critx file on disk (not unsaved “virtual” document)

1. Open the .critx document to share
2. Access sharing function:
  - Windows/Linux: File > Invite Collaborators
  - macOS: Criterion > Invite Collaborators
3. "Share Document" form opens showing:
  - Name/surname of owner (current user)
  - Collaborator search field
  - "Recipients" area for selected collaborators
  - Invitation message field (max 255 chars, mandatory)

Search collaborators: Type to filter by Name/Surname, Institution, or Keywords (e.g., “TEI”, “palaeography”, “Latin”). Results: max 10 at a time with infinite scrolling.

To send invitation:

1. Select one or more collaborators from list → added to "Recipients" area
2. Write custom message (mandatory)
3. Click Send:
  - Email sent + in-app notification for each collaborator
  - Invitation status becomes Pending
  - Validity: 14 days (expires automatically → status Expired)

Access:

• Windows/Linux: File > Shared Documents
• macOS: Criterion > Shared Documents

Interface presents two tabs:

Displays all documents owned and shared with other users.

For each document:

Collaboration Statuses:

Actions per Document

	Note: Active Document Highlighting: document currently open in editor visually highlighted. Upload actions enabled only for active document.

• Share: Reopens form to add new collaborators
• Upload: Uploads new version (only if document active in editor and saved). New version automatically shared with all collaborators not in Revoked status.
• Delete: Permanently terminates sharing with all collaborators (irreversible)

Actions per Collaborator (conditioned by status):

Displays all documents for which user has received an invitation.

For each document:

	Note: Visual Highlighting: if Date of Download < Date of Last Sharing, entire row highlighted in green → indicates new version available but not yet downloaded.

Advanced Filtering:

• “File” field: partial search on filename
• “Owner” field: partial search on owner name
• “Invitation Status” dropdown: filter by status
• “Search by collaborator” field: search across all collaborators of all documents
• Filters combinable, applied in real-time
• Results counter visible
• Message “No shared files match current filters” if no results

Acceptance:

1. In "Shared with me" tab, click Accept on Pending invitation
2. Status becomes Accepted
3. Click Download → choose local folder → document downloaded and opened in Criterion in read-only mode
4. Email notification sent to owner: "[Collaborator Name] accepted your invitation..."

	Note: One-time Download: each document can be downloaded only once per version. For new versions, owner must perform new Upload and collaborator receives “Download New Version” notification.

Decline:

1. Click Decline on Pending invitation
2. Status becomes Declined
3. Collaborator loses all access to document
4. Email notification sent to owner: "[Collaborator Name] declined your invitation..."

A collaborator can download and view a document only if:

• They have accepted invitation (Accepted)
• Owner has not revoked access (not Revoked)
• Document has not been deleted by owner

If access revoked after download:

• Logged-in user: file opens in read-only mode, no interactive features
• Not logged-in user: local file opens in read-only mode, no cloud synchronization

Criterion notifies users in real-time of all relevant events related to collaboration on shared documents. Notifications displayed via bell icon (🔔) and, for critical events, also sent by email.

1. Click 🔔 (bell icon) in top-right toolbar
2. Icon shows red numeric badge with count of unread notifications
3. Upon opening panel, all notifications automatically marked as "read"

Each notification includes:

• Colored icon: distinctive for event type (✅ green for acceptance, 🚫 red for revocation)
• Title: e.g., “Shared with you”, “Collaboration accepted”
• Description with:
  • Name/surname of user who performed action
  • Role (Owner/Collaborator)
  • Name of document involved
  • Date and time (user's local timezone)
• Timestamp: formatted consistently with Criterion interface

Notification panel offers filtering and searching tools:

Real-time Search:

• “Search by user name” field at top
• Results update instantly as you type
• Searches name/surname of user who generated event

Filter by Action Type:

• “Action Type” dropdown
• Options: Send invitation, Resend invitation, Revoke access, Share new version, Delete document, Accept invitation, Decline invitation, Download, etc.

Filter by Time Range:

• “Date” dropdown
• Options: All time (default), Today, Yesterday, Last 7 Days, Last 30 Days

Additional Features:

• Results counter shows number of notifications matching active filters
• “Clear Filters” button restores full list
• Empty state message: “No notifications found” if no matches

Collaborators on a shared document can discuss textual variants, editorial decisions, and annotations directly within editing environment, without leaving Criterion. Each document has dedicated, isolated chat thread with persistent history and synchronization.

	Note: Chat only available for documents shared with at least one other collaborator who has accepted invitation and downloaded/opened document within Criterion. New collaborators see only messages exchanged since they joined.

Access paths:

• Main menu: File > Open Chat
• Toolbar: click 💬 (chat icon)

Dedicated Thread per Document:

• Each shared document has isolated chat thread
• Impossible to access chat of other documents without opening them in Criterion

Participants:

• Only users with access to document (owner + collaborators with Accepted status) can send/receive messages
• Participant list visible in chat panel with full name of each collaborator

Message Structure:

Each message displays:

• Sender name (or initials if unavailable): “Maria Bianchi”
• Message text: “I noticed this variant might be more appropriate.”
• Timestamp (local time): “Dec 18, 10:02 AM”
• For messages with text reference: quote icon + slightly colored background

• Input field at bottom of chat panel
• Enter → sends message
• Shift+Enter → new line (if multi-line input supported)

• Users can delete only their own messages
• Deleted message → replaced by placeholder: “Message deleted by sender”
• Action irreversible for all participants

Search bar with real-time filters on:

• Message text
• Text forwarded from document
• Submission date
• Sender

Exclusive feature to start discussions on specific passages:

1. Select text in Main Text or any apparatus box (Critical, Page Notes, Section Notes, Margin Notes)
2. Activate forwarding via:
  - Bubble toolbar (after text selection)
  - Context menu (right-click) → Forward to chat
3. System automatically generates pre-filled message with quoted excerpt of selected text (truncated if long)

	Note: Since bidirectional navigation not implemented (text ↔ chat), to locate passage cited in chat, use Edit > Find to manually search for text in document (search only, no replace – collaborators work in read-only mode).

• Offline: Messages sent are queued locally and synchronized automatically when connection restored (for cloud documents only)
• Persistence: Chat history saved incrementally; no data loss in case of crash or forced closure
• Backup: Chat metadata follows same access control, encryption, and backup policies as main document

1. Chat > Download
2. Available formats: Plain text (.txt)
3. Exported content: Complete timestamps, sender names, quoted text references (if any), document title and metadata