Use any browser, any device
Chorus supports most contemporary browsers: Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari.
It's optimised for laptop & desktop, but most features are also available on tablet & mobile.
Get an NBS ID
To use any version of Chorus, you need to sign in with an NBS ID.
Use the NBS ID registration form, and then contact Support Desk to be added to the NBS Chorus licence.
Sign in to NBS Chorus
We are now using Chorus for live authoring of the North American and Australian content production.
For live work, use Chorus - Sandbox.
You can try out the latest features on the "test" version of Chorus.
Sign into any version of Chorus using your NBS ID.
Switch to the NBS technical organization
You might normally use Chorus as a member of the NBS organization.
However, the new content authoring features are currently restricted to a new organization: NBS Technical.
If you don't know how to switch org, here's the article from the Chorus support pages.
Bookmark useful places
To make things quicker to find in future, you can add bookmarks to your browser.
Chorus will provide your browser with unique bookmarks for all pages within the application:
- Versions of Chorus, e.g.
- Organizations, e.g. NBS or NBS technical
- Areas, e.g. Content sets or Projects
- Levels within an area, e.g. CMS or CAWS, Bundle 1 or Bundle 2
- Even down to a specific section or clause, e.g. F10 or Doorset systems.
Projects and masters tabs
By default you will land on the Project tab. It will be empty until you create a project or are invited to one.
You can use the Projects tab & the Masters tab just as the customers would use them.
In addition, because this is the test version of Chorus, you’ll also see new features in mainstream development.
To see how Chorus works for our customers, see the Getting started videos from the Support team.
Content sets tab
In the top left, there is a Content sets tab.
All the content production work will be done within this tab.
On this dashboard, you will see all the content sets you have permission to view. If you don't see any, please get in touch with the development team.
Add a bundle
Within the content sets you can now create your own bundle. The current bundle name format is:
{section code} [section title} {libraries}, {your initials} {release yyyy}-{release #}
e.g. P21 Door, window ironmongery SV + SW, TJY 2024-3
The content set will be pre-selected to match the content set you're already in. You can't change this.
If you need to create a bundle for a different content set, go back to the Content sets tab & select the content set you need.
Add content to a bundle
You add content to a bundle the same way that you add content to a spec.
There is no maximum or minimum content size for a bundle – it could be 1 section or several.
For your first bundles, we recommend you keep it small – maybe just 1 section.
For Prelims, you can add sections from different contracts.
For Uniclass work sections, when you add a clause, Chorus will also bring in all the clauses for that section. For more, see the support article on Uniclass sections.
Edit clauses
You can:
- Add rows
- Change row type
- Edit row titles
- Add, edit & delete suggestions
- Move a clause up or down
- Restructure the rows within the clause
Edit the section
Select the section title to edit:
- Section code
- Section title
- Library allocation
Edit guidance
When you select a clause, its guidance becomes editable too.
When you select a section title, its section guidance becomes editable.
Any guidance changes are saved when you save the whole clause/ save the section title.
If you want to preview what the guidance will look like to the customers, select the Preview slider at the top of the Guidance panel. If you want a larger view, you can also open Chorus in another browser tab and place it side by side on a seperate screen
Guidance navigation is stripped from the bundle view. This is so you don't accidentally end up writing the clause in one section whilst looking at the guidance for another.
For CAWS WS & Uniclass WS, the dividing line between Scope & General guidance is added programmatically - you don't need to add it.
General guidance is split into parts. If you add a new part, please add a heading and update the heading numbers accordingly.
You can add links to reference document and external resources.
You can add links to other areas of the guidance, such as other clauses, or general guidance parts.
If there is no guidance for the section, clause or row, leave it blank. The ‘No guidance available’ message will be automatically added for you as required.
Add bundle notes
Use bundle notes to:
- Make to do notes for yourself, e.g. "Yesterday I got to here!"
- Add a commentary for your colleagues, e.g. Proofreader or Editor/ QA feedback
- Reply to other people's notes, e.g. to reply to feedback from the Proofreaders or the Editor/ QA team.
Bundle notes work in the same way as spec notes. For details, see the main Chorus introduction to spec notes.
Known limitations
We are currently working to improve this feature.
Currently bundle notes cannot be converted into org notes. We intend org notes to be used for information that you want to carry over to the next time this content goes through the process.
Remove a clause
If you want to remove a published clause from the live content that the customers see, park it in the bundle.
If you want to remove a clause that you added as new into your bundle, you can delete it using the 3 dot menu to the left of the clause title.
For details, see the Park/Delete support article.
Change workflow stage
If you've finished your work and want to move it onto the next person, change the workflow stage. You can do this from the bundle list or from the bundle contents list. Changing the stage will automatically create a revision.
For more, see Stages.