Bonfire’s Solicitation Builder allows procurement professionals to streamline project creation through the use of powerful tools to store, manage, and collaborate on documents and approvals - all inside Bonfire.

One of the most challenging parts of putting together an RFP is getting stakeholders involved in the build process without creating chaos; like how different document versions from multiple editors get stored in different locations, not to mention painful approvals processes that take place through endless email chains.

With Bonfire’s Solicitation Builder there is no longer a need to spend hours digging through folders on a computer or searching through a shared drive on a network for files. All RFx documents can be created, edited, and stored in one secure location. This solves a critical challenge with companies needing to establish and maintain a single source of truth. 

Additionally, organizing documents has never been easier. Users have the ability to give files a more deserving description and tag them to a specific department. There are two main components to the solicitation builder: the File Library and the In-App Document Editor (Drafting).

 

Access Permissions

It is important to note what access each user role has within Bonfire to view, create and/or edit within the Solicitation Builder. Organization administrators are able to control access to everything by granting viewing or editing privileges as needed.

	Organization Level Files			Department Level Files
Roles	Create	View	Edit	Create	View	Edit
Organization Administrator	✓	✓	✓
Drafting: Organization Manager	✓	✓	✓
Drafting: Organization Observer	x	✓	x
Drafting: Department Manager				✓	✓	✓
Drafting: Department Observer				x	✓	x

 

NOTE: Users with view-only access will not be able to see comments or track changes.

 

File Library

• Feature Summary
• Getting Started
• Upload a File
• Selecting and Viewing Files
• Add Files to Project Templates

In-App Document Editor (Drafting)

• Feature Summary
• Getting Started
• Editing and Formatting Features
• Saving Your Work

Project Drafts

• Add Internal Files to Project Drafts from your File Library
• Editing Internal Files within Project Drafts
• Publishing Internal Files to Public Files in Project Drafts
• Converting Internal Files to PDF in Project Drafts

File Library 

Feature Summary

The File Library boasts many features and functions. To start, it acts as a central repository for Templates/Master Files, which can help users reduce dependency on Sharepoint, Google Suite, and other network drives. It also provides the power to configure access controls like who can edit and view files. 

Template/Master files can be organized, access controlled and sorted by departments. Since the library is integrated with Project Templates, users can easily add these files to them. Users can import Word files, add a short description or additional details to the files, then any changes made to the master files with the In-App Document Editor are automatically transitioned to the Project Templates so that there are no more manual updates. This automatic update helps procurement teams to be compliant and save time in the process! And to keep track of edits, users can access a report that tracks timestamps of document updates. This allows companies to keep a comprehensive history of every change with zero effort. Need to work offline? No worries! Templates can be exported for any edits that need to be made while disconnected from a network.

 

Getting Started

The File Library is the central repository for uploaded documentation and functions as a searchable table to quickly find any document. Its purpose serves to eliminate the need for sharing documents via email or within shared network drives. It also makes it easier than ever to build a project all in one place and keep it moving! Ready to get started? 

 

To begin, log into your Bonfire portal and navigate to File Library at the top of your page:

 

NOTE: If you do not see the File Library tab, please contact your organization administrator in order to grant you the necessary User Roles.

 

Once in the File Library, users can locate files based on the title, description, department or the owner by using the Search field. As well, the File Library table contains headers that display the most important details associated with a file and allow a user the ability to sort files to obtain a personalized view. The headers are as follows:

• File Name

• Description: A short description of the file which can be added while uploading or can be modified after

• Departments: One file can belong to a single department, multiple departments or all departments

• Owner: Who uploaded the file

• Created On: The date the file was uploaded to the library

• Last Updated: Date and timestamp of the last edit of the file

 

Upload a File

The first step in building your File Library is to begin uploading files! Simply click on the button labeled Upload a File:

You are now presented with the option to drag and drop files into the outlined area, or you can select browse files which will allow you to select the file(s) from your computer. You may upload multiple files at once to save you time! Users can upload and store the following extensions: .csv, .pdf, .xls, .xlsx, .ppt, .pptx, .bmp, .gif, .jpeg, .jpg, .jpe, .png, .tiff, .tif, .txt, .text, .rtf, .doc, .docx, .dot, .dotx, .word, .dwg, .dwf, .dxf, .mp3, .wav, .avi, .mov, .mp4, .mpeg, .wmv, .zip

NOTE: Only files with a .doc or .docx extension can be edited within the In-App Document Editor. The maximum file size is 1GB, with no limit on the number of files you can store.

Once you have added at least one file, you can then select Add Details to edit the file name, tag it to a department, and as an optional step, you can give the file a description to easily identify its contents:

If you need to remove a file, simply click the trash can icon. To completely cancel everything that has been performed so far, click the Cancel button at the top. Otherwise if you are ready to upload, click Upload:

The file(s) will now be added to your File Library where additional actions can be taken such as viewing the file, performing single or bulk actions like deleting or downloading, viewing file history, editing the file (only if it is a .doc or .docx), viewing the file details, and linking it to a template!

 

Selecting and Viewing Files

Within the File Library table are checkboxes along the left hand side which allow users to select one or more files to complete single or bulk operations. To quickly select all files at once, simply click on the checkbox at the very top:

When selecting a file or multiple files, the Bulk Actions menu will become available to use and the selected file(s) can be deleted or downloaded all at once:

At the bottom of your page you’ll find navigation options to increase the number of files shown per page in the drop down menu available. You can choose from 10, 25, 50 or 100 files to be displayed at once. You can also toggle between pages with the First, Prev, Next and Last options to the right:

If you’d like to view the file without downloading it, simply click on it in the file list:

NOTE: The document viewer should only be used as a reference and documents should be downloaded to ensure 100% accuracy of the content. As well, certain documents cannot be opened within the viewer, such as Excel files, and will need to be downloaded.

 

This will open a new tab in your browser and you can navigate to different pages within the document, make use of the zoom tool, and even rotate the page to better view any diagrams or drawings.

On the far right side of the table, there are further functions available. Located under the Actions menu, users have the following options to choose from:

• Open in Editor (only if the file is a .doc or .docx) will open the Word file in a built-in editor. This option will not be available for files that are non-editable (such as PDF).
• Edit Details will allow you to edit basic details of the file, such as the file name and description.
• Delete will remove the file from the File Library.
• Download will allow you to save the file to your computer.

The Details button will take you to a new page where you can access the File History and the details of the associated project template(s) under the Linked Templates option:

​File History will display the description, the date and time it was uploaded, and who uploaded the file. As well, it will track all of the history edits made to the file, including any notes the user added when saving their changes.

The Linked Templates option will show you the Project Templates within your Projects module that the file is currently associated with.

 

Add Files to Project Templates from your File Library

To add files from the File Library to a project template, you’ll need to navigate to your Projects module at the top of your page, and then click on Project Templates in the left navigation menu:

Next, find the template that you wish to add files from your File Library to by selecting it in the list that populates. Once in the template, go to the Files section on the left hand side and click on the option Add from Library:

Clicking on this button will display the uploaded department files from your File Library.

You can then add files to the template from this list by selecting them with the checkbox and then choosing Add Files at the top. The original description of the files will carry over and any edits or updates that happen to these files from within the In-App Document Editor will come over as well! This automation creates a seamless update to all files in any template they are associated with, eliminating any chances of error and saving valuable time in the process.

 

In-App Document Editor (Drafting)

Feature Summary

Take the aggravation out of document writing with the In-App Document Editor! Users have the ability to type, edit and format everything - from one page notices to multipart RFPs - all in one drafting area. Make use of common tools such as headers and footers to include important details, labels and brand elements in your documents. Maintain your organization’s standards of professionalism, even with large groups of document collaborators, with the spell check function. Find and replace text for quick and easy updates. Insert images wherever you need them just as you would in a typical word processor. 

Documents can be sent for approval from your project or project template with the Approvals feature and their status is tracked. Buyers are notified immediately when a request is approved, declined, requires more information or becomes late. For more information on this feature, please see our article on Approvals.

At this time, only one user is able to work on updates in a document within the editor. However, if the document is linked to a project template, any edits are automatically updated to the template file version as well. Work smarter - not harder!

 

Getting Started

To begin, log into your Bonfire portal and navigate to File Library at the top of your page:

NOTE: If you do not see the File Library tab, please contact your organization administrator in order to grant you the necessary User Roles.

Once in your File Library, locate the Word file you wish to edit and open the Actions menu to the right of the file:

Select the Open in Editor option which will guide you to a new tab within your browser in order to have full screen access to the In-App Document Editor functionality.

NOTE: If you do not see the Open in Editor option under the Actions menu, this means the file is not a .doc or .docx and cannot be edited in the In-App Document Editor.

 

Editing and Formatting Features

After your document opens, you’ll notice quite a few features available along the top of your document that are similar to what you would see in a typical word processing program. Moving from left to right, the following features are accessible:

• Undo & Redo - Quickly and easily undo or redo actions.
• Image - You can add images from your computer and adjust the width, height and aspect ratio.
• Table - Insert a table by specifying the number of columns and rows, format the table style and the text alignment.
• Link - While adding hyperlinks, users can specify the text to display, the address and the ScreenTip text.
• Table of Contents - Create a table of contents to allow users to quickly navigate to specific pages in the document.
• Header  - Insert a header with adjustable options appearing on the right hand side of your screen.
• Footer  - Insert a footer with adjustable options appearing on the right hand side of your screen.
• Page Setup - Define margins, paper size and layout.
• Page Number  - Ability to number the pages in the document (recommended to use this feature with the header or footer function).
• Break - Insert a page or section break.
• Insert Footnote - Add an in-text citation at the bottom of your page.
• Insert Endnote - Add an in-text citation at the end of your document.
• Find - Quickly find and/or replace text within your document.
• Comments - Select this icon to add comments to the document. Comments can be edited, deleted, replied to and resolved by clicking on the three dots menu option.
• Track Changes - To take advantage of this feature, simply click on the button to activate it and begin to edit, add and/or remove content from the document. Upon doing so, a small modal will pop-up displaying useful information and functions such as the name of the user making changes, an option to filter users, timestamps, the information that has changed (deleted or inserted tag), an option to filter by deleted or inserted text, the number of changes, the option to accept and reject the change, a small three dot menu to quickly accept or reject all changes, and a further navigation option to go through the updates. To close the track changes modal, click on the X in the right hand corner of the window.

To the very right of your screen you’ll notice a section with the label “TEXT”. This is the text formatting functionality of the editor and you are able to change the text font, size, alignment, color and more!

At the bottom of your screen you’ll find additional features such as the page number that you are currently on, a drop-down menu to enable or disable the spell check, the ability to view the document with borders or as a web page, and page zoom functions.

 

Saving Your Work

Users have two options to save the content and changes they have made in the editor:

Auto Save: The editor is working in the background to save the changes made by the user. Auto saving will occur once every 5 minutes.

Manual Save: Users have an additional option to manually save the document by simply clicking on the Save button at the top right corner of the editor.

And that’s all there is to know about the Bonfire Solicitation Builder! 

NOTE: Should you encounter any challenges with editing your document, please contact our Bonfire Support Team at support@gobonfire.com with the original document so we can work to resolve the issue.

 

Project Drafts

 

Adding Internal Files within Project Drafts from your File Library

Users are able to add files directly from their File Library.

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Simply select the files you wish to add, and click "Add Files":

 

Editing Internal Files within Project Drafts

Project Drafts created from Project Templates will already have the latest and approved document templates, ensuring compliance. However these files will not be linked to the template in a Project Draft, so updates to these files will not update files within Project Templates nor the File Library - changes to these files will remain within the Project Draft itself. 

To open these files within the In-App Document Editor, navigate to a project that is still in its draft stage and click on Files on the left hand side. Ensure that there is at least one editable file (.doc or .docx) uploaded to either the internal or public files section. Once you have located the Word file that you wish to edit, simply open the Actions menu associated with that file and select Open in Editor:

 

Publishing Internal Files to Public Files in Project Drafts

Users are able to move documents from Internal Files to Public Files. This eliminates the need to download the file from the Internal Files section, and upload it to the Public Files area. 

To move a file, ensure you are in your Project Draft, then Files > Internal Files use the Actions drop down menu for the file that you wish to move, then select Copy to Public Files:

When this is selected, a new window will open allowing you to confirm the type of documentation, and the ability to convert the file to PDF:

 

Converting Internal Files to PDF in Project Drafts

Users are able to convert Internal Files to PDF within Project Drafts.

To convert a file to PDF, navigate to the Project Draft, then to Files > Internal Files and use the Actions drop down menu for the file you wish to convert and select Convert File to PDF: