General Settings

Configure fundamental preferences that affect how Cothon displays information and behaves across the platform. These settings establish your baseline experience.

Language & Localization

Interface Language

Choose the language for Cothon's user interface, menus, and system messages.

Supported Languages

What Changes With Language

When you change interface language:

• Updated: Menus, buttons, labels, error messages, help text
• Preserved: User-generated content, document text, comments
• Auto-translated: AI-generated suggestions adapt to selected language
• Format changes: Date/time formats adjust to locale conventions

Regional Preferences

Fine-tune regional settings beyond language.

Number Formats

Set in Settings > General > Regional > Number Format.

Currency Display

Configure how monetary values appear:

• Currency: CAD, USD, EUR, GBP
• Position: $1,234 or 1,234 $
• Precision: 0, 2, or 4 decimal places
• Symbol: $ or CAD or C$

Example configurations:

• Canadian: $1,234.56 CAD
• US: $1,234.56 USD
• European: 1.234,56 €
• International: CAD 1,234.56

Measurement Units

Choose display units for technical specifications:

Spelling & Grammar

Configure spell-check preferences:

• English (Canada): colour, centre, honour
• English (US): color, center, honor
• French (Canada): Canadian French conventions
• French (France): European French conventions

Applied in:

• Document editor
• Comment fields
• Proposal generation
• AI-generated content

Date & Time Settings

Timezone Configuration

Your timezone affects deadlines, notifications, and activity timestamps.

Setting Your Timezone

Common Canadian Timezones

Daylight Saving Time

Cothon automatically adjusts for daylight saving time:

• Spring forward: Clocks advance 1 hour
• Fall back: Clocks retreat 1 hour
• Notifications: You'll be reminded of upcoming changes
• Deadlines: Adjusted automatically to maintain absolute time

Date Format

Choose how dates display throughout Cothon.

Date Format Options

Relative Dates

Enable relative date display for recent items:

• Enabled: "2 hours ago", "yesterday", "last week"
• Disabled: Always show absolute dates

Toggle in Settings > General > Date & Time > Relative Dates.

Where Dates Appear

Date formats apply to:

• Opportunity deadlines
• Analysis timestamps
• Document upload dates
• Comment timestamps
• Activity feed
• Notification history
• Export filenames

Time Format

Choose 12-hour or 24-hour time display.

Week Start Day

Configure which day starts the week:

• Sunday: North American standard
• Monday: International standard (ISO 8601)
• Saturday: Some regional preferences

Affects:

• Calendar views
• Weekly reports
• Date pickers
• Deadline planning

Default Views & Layouts

Configure how content displays by default.

List View Defaults

Set default view mode for lists of items (opportunities, analyses, proposals).

View Mode Options

Set in Settings > General > Default Views > List Mode.

Items Per Page

Control pagination:

• 10 items: Fast loading, frequent pagination
• 25 items (recommended): Balanced
• 50 items: Less pagination, slower loading
• 100 items: Maximum, may impact performance
• Infinite scroll: Load more as you scroll

Default Sort Order

Configure default sorting for each content type.

Opportunities

Analyses

Proposals

Document Editor Defaults

Configure default settings for the document editor.

Editor Preferences

Default Template

Choose which template loads for new documents:

• Blank: Empty document
• Last used: Your most recent template
• Specific template: Always use a designated template
• Prompt: Ask each time

Set in Settings > General > Editor > Default Template.

Dashboard Configuration

Customize your default dashboard view.

Widget Defaults

Configure which widgets appear on your dashboard by default:

• Recent Analyses: Show last N analyses
• Upcoming Deadlines: Alert window (7, 14, 30 days)
• Pipeline Status: Show counts by status
• Activity Feed: Number of recent items
• Quick Actions: Show/hide
• Analytics Summary: Metrics to display

Dashboard Layout

Search & Filter Defaults

Configure default search behavior and filter presets.

Search Settings

Search Scope

Choose what's included in searches by default:

• All content: Everything you can access
• My content: Only your analyses and proposals
• Team content: Your team's work
• Current project: Active project only

Search Behavior

Search History

• Save searches: Automatically save recent searches
• Suggest searches: Show previous searches as you type
• History limit: 10, 25, 50, or unlimited
• Clear history: Remove all saved searches

Filter Presets

Save commonly used filter combinations for quick access.

Creating Filter Presets

Example Filter Presets

For Opportunities:

1. Federal IT Opportunities

   • Department: ISED, PSPC, SSC
   • Value: > $100,000
   • Category: Information Technology
   • Deadline: Next 30 days

2. Quick Wins

   • Value: $50K - $250K
   • Complexity: Low to Medium
   • Deadline: 14-45 days
   • Score: > 70%

3. Strategic Pursuits

   • Value: > $1M
   • Duration: > 12 months
   • Score: > 80%
   • Competitors: Known

For Analyses:

1. Needs Review

   • Status: Draft, In Progress
   • Score: < 60%
   • Modified: Last 7 days

2. Active Pipeline

   • Status: Go Decision
   • Deadline: Next 60 days
   • Sort: By deadline

3. Won Opportunities

   • Status: Won
   • Created: Last 6 months
   • For lessons learned review

Accessibility Preferences

Configure accessibility features for better usability.

Screen Reader Optimization

Enable optimizations for screen readers:

• Verbose descriptions: Detailed ARIA labels
• Skip links: Jump to main content
• Keyboard shortcuts: Announce available shortcuts
• Focus announcements: Announce focus changes

Keyboard Navigation

Visual Adjustments

Color Blindness Modes

Adjust colors for different types of color blindness:

• Protanopia (red-blind): Red-green adjustments
• Deuteranopia (green-blind): Green-red adjustments
• Tritanopia (blue-blind): Blue-yellow adjustments
• Monochromacy: High-contrast grayscale

Enable in Settings > General > Accessibility > Color Mode.

Performance Preferences

Optimize Cothon's performance for your device and network.

Image Quality

Balance visual quality with loading speed:

Preloading Behavior

Control how aggressively Cothon preloads content:

• Aggressive: Load likely next pages
• Moderate: Load on hover/focus
• Conservative: Load only when requested
• Off: No preloading

Cache Settings

Clearing Cache

Clear cached data to free space or resolve issues:

1. Go to Settings > General > Performance
2. Click Clear Cache
3. Choose what to clear:
   • Images: Thumbnails and previews
   • Documents: PDF and DOCX previews
   • API responses: Cached data
   • All: Complete cache clear
4. Confirm clearance

Offline Mode

Configure offline functionality:

• Enable offline: Allow offline access to cached content
• Auto-sync: Sync changes when back online
• Offline storage: Amount of storage for offline data (500 MB - 5 GB)
• Priority content: Which content to make available offline

Automation & Defaults

Automate repetitive tasks and set smart defaults.

Auto-Actions

Configure automatic actions for common scenarios:

On New Opportunity

When a new matching opportunity appears:

• Auto-save: Automatically add to saved opportunities
• Auto-analyze: Run preliminary analysis
• Notify team: Alert specific team members
• Add to pipeline: Place in specific pipeline stage

On Analysis Complete

When an analysis finishes processing:

• Auto-share: Share with specific team members
• Auto-tag: Apply tags based on score/content
• Auto-folder: Move to specific folder
• Create task: Generate follow-up tasks

On Proposal Generation

When generating a proposal:

• Apply template: Use specific template
• Include sections: Auto-include standard sections
• Notify reviewers: Alert designated reviewers
• Set deadline: Automatically set review deadline

Smart Defaults

Cothon learns from your behavior to set smart defaults:

• Preferred templates: Most-used templates appear first
• Common filters: Frequently used filters suggested
• Typical actions: Next action predicted
• Team patterns: Learn from team behavior

Enable in Settings > General > Automation > Smart Defaults.

Import & Export Settings

Configure how data is imported and exported.

Export Defaults

Set default formats and options for exports:

Document Exports

Data Exports

Import Preferences

Configure import behavior:

• Duplicate handling: Skip, overwrite, or rename
• Validation level: Strict, moderate, or permissive
• Error handling: Abort or continue on errors
• Auto-mapping: Automatically map fields
• Preview before import: Review data before importing

Template Settings

Configure default templates for various content types:

Analysis Templates

Choose default template for bid analyses:

• Standard Analysis: Comprehensive evaluation
• Quick Screen: Fast initial assessment
• Strategic Review: Deep strategic analysis
• Compliance Check: Focus on compliance

Proposal Templates

Select default proposal template:

• Technical Proposal: Detailed technical response
• Executive Summary: High-level overview
• Cost Proposal: Pricing and financial details
• Combination: All sections included

Notification Defaults

Set baseline notification preferences (detailed config in Notifications).

Default Channels

Choose default channels for new notification types:

• Email: Send to primary email
• In-app: Show in notification center
• Browser: Browser push notifications
• Mobile: Mobile push (when available)

Default Frequency

Set default digest frequency:

• Instant: Receive immediately
• Hourly: Batched every hour
• Daily: Once per day
• Weekly: Once per week

Default Quiet Hours

Set default do-not-disturb schedule:

• Weeknights: 6 PM - 8 AM
• Weekends: All day Saturday-Sunday
• Custom: Define your own schedule

Privacy Defaults

Basic privacy settings (full details in Privacy).

Data Sharing

Default settings for sharing your data:

• Usage analytics: Help improve Cothon
• Error reports: Send crash reports
• Feature usage: Track feature engagement
• Anonymous data: Share anonymized data

Content Visibility

Default visibility for new content:

• Private: Only you can see
• Team: Shared with your team
• Organization: All org members
• Public: Publicly accessible (with link)

Restoring Defaults

Reset general settings to factory defaults.

Reset Options

How to Reset

FAQ

Best Practices

For Canadian Procurement Professionals

Recommended settings for working with Canadian government opportunities:

• Language: English (Canada) or French (Canada)
• Timezone: Your local Canadian timezone (EST, CST, MST, PST, AST, NST)
• Date format: DD/MM/YYYY or YYYY-MM-DD (ISO 8601)
• Currency: CAD with symbol ($)
• Measurement: Metric units
• Week start: Sunday (matches Canadian calendars)

For Multi-Timezone Teams

If your team spans multiple timezones:

• Individual settings: Each member sets their local timezone
• Absolute deadlines: All see the same deadline in their local time
• Meeting scheduling: Use calendar integrations that handle timezones
• Communication: Include timezone in any written times (e.g., "2 PM EST")

For Performance Optimization

Optimize Cothon for your connection speed:

• Fast connection: Aggressive preloading, high image quality
• Moderate connection: Balanced settings, medium quality
• Slow connection: Conservative preloading, low quality, increase cache
• Metered connection: Disable preloading, reduce cache, low quality

For Accessibility

If you use assistive technology:

• Enable screen reader optimization
• Use enhanced focus indicators
• Increase text scaling if needed
• Enable keyboard navigation
• Turn on keyboard shortcut hints

Next Steps

• Appearance - Customize visual preferences
• AI Configuration - Configure AI behavior
• Notifications - Set up alerts
• Privacy - Control data sharing
• Advanced - Developer settings and exports