Getting Started with the OSCAL Content Registry

About

The OSCAL Content Registry is used to store and share OSCAL content amongst the OSCAL community.

You can search and filter OSCAL content registry on the Documents page to find what they need. When users view an individual file, the content registry summarizes details from the OSCAL content's metadata, such as the content owner, OSCAL version, document version and last modified date.

You can also view and export the raw XML, JSON, and YAML versions of the OSCAL content or open the content using viewer.oscal.io.

The link to specific OSCAL content is persistent and may be bookmarked or shared.

If you register an account and log in, you will also have the ability to upload files to the content registry, as well as bookmark files for later reference.

Signing In

You may register a new account using your email address, or use a Google account to login. Select the SIGN IN button at the bottom of the navigation menu.

If you are using a registered email address, enter your credentials in the email address and password fields. If you are using a Google account, select the Continue with Google button and follow the Google prompts for authentication.

Once you are logged in, the navigation menu will include a new Account choice beneath Documents. Also the SIGN IN button is replaced with a LOGOUT button.

To view your account details, select Account in the navigation menu. Select the Details tab to see your first name, last name, display name, and email address .

Uploading Documents

Preparing a Document for Upload

The OSCAL Content Registry only accepts valid OSCAL content. Please ensure the following before uploading your content:

• File names must have an .xml, .json or .yaml extension.
• Files must contain valid OSCAL content
• Files should be in UTF-8. While other formats may work, only UTF-8 has been tested.
• Files should have a party in the metadata associated with the owner, creator or prepared-for role. This allows the OSCAL Content Registry to display the owner information in the summary field at the top as well as offering a consistent way for users of this content to identify the original owner.
• Files should have a party in the metadata associated with the author or prepared-by role. This allows the OSCAL Content Registry to display the content information in the summary field at the top (not yet implemented) as well as offering a consistent way for users of this content to identify the person or organization that put the content in OSCAL format.

Performing the Upload

In order to upload a document, you must be signed in to the content registry. See Signing In if you have not done so.

Navigate to Account" using the side navigation. By default you will land on the Posts tab. Select the UPLOAD button.

The Upload Docuents modal will appear. Either select within the light blue rectangular box to select files via your local file manager or drag-and-drop files into the rectangle. You have may upload multiple files at one time.

Once you have selected the document(s) you desire to upload, select the UPLOAD SELECTED DOCUMENTS button. The documents will then by placed in a queue to upload, which is indicated by a snackbar in the bottom right corner showing the upload progress.

You can expand the snackbar's details to see progress on the upload of each document by selecting the arrow icon. A successful upload is indicated by a green checkmark appearing next to a document.

If you receive a red "X" when uploading a file, the upload of that file was unsuccessful. Reasons for this include:

• the file did not have an .xml, .json or .yaml extension.
• the file does not contain valid OSCAL content
• the file is too large (we currently have a 10MB limit and are working to expand that)
• too many files were attempted in a single upload.

Once your documents have finished uploading, the circular loading wheel will disappear in the top left corner of the snackbar and will be replaced with a green checkmark if all the files uploaded successfully. You can close the snackbar by selecting the "X" in it's top right corner.

Documents Screen

Select Documents from the navigation menu to\ view documents that you and other users have shared.

Changing the layout

You have the option to view documents by rows (list view) or in a card layout (grid view). To change the viewing layout, use the icons to the top right of the documents content.

Filtering

You have a variety of options to filter the documents appearing on screen, including the type of document and a fuzzy word match for titles and owners of the document.

Above the documents area, use the search field with the magnifying glass icon, to enter text to search for a specific document's title or owner. The documents will be filtered live when typing into the search field.

Select the "FILTERS" button to open up a dropdown containing checkboxes to select the types of documents to show. Check the document types you wish to include in your filter and select the Apply button.

Opening a document

To open a desired document, select the row/card the content appears within.

Viewing & Interacting with a Document

Once you have opened a document, you can will be greeted to a screen displaying the general information about the document, including the title, owners, and metadata. All users have the option to view and export a document, while liking, bookmarking, and deleting featured are reserved to users who are signed in.

Liking a document

To "like" a document select the thumb up button below and to the right of the title. If you wish to remove your "like", select the icon again. The number that appears next to the icon indicates the count of users who have "liked" the document.

Bookmarking a document

To "bookmark" a document select the bookmark button below and to the right of the title, next to the thumb up button. In the bottom right corner the status of bookmarking the document appears in a green snackbar. You can "unbookmark" the document by selected the icon again.

To view your bookmarked documents, select Account from the navigation menu, then select the BOOKMARKED DOCUMENTS tab. Here, you can examine documents you have bookmarked in a list/grid view.

View the document in OSCAL Viewer

Use the OPEN IN VIEWER button to open the document directly in
viewer.oscal.io.

OSCAL Content format

You have the ability to view the raw content of a document in the "OSCAL Content" section.

Optionally, you also can view it in different formats. Using the dropdown with the label "Format" to the right of the "OSCAL Content" header, you can select to convert the content between JSON, XML, and YAML.

Exporting a document

You can choose to export the file to your local file system by selecting the "DOWNLOAD" button to the right of the "OPEN IN VIEWER" button.

When attempting to export the document, the format will match the choosen format selected in the dropdown.

Deleting a document

If you are the owner of the document, you can remove the document from appearing in the content registry by selected the red trash can button labeled "DELETE DOCUMENT" at the bottom of the page. Users will no longer be able to view or interact with this document .