Who is this article for?

Administrators working with Documents.

Admin, Alter... or Edit... permissions are required to edit specific properties.

Document Properties contain detailed information, such as its revision history and security settings, for each record created in the system. All users, including visitors, can view this page.

This article outlines the properties available in each tab.

1. Accessing Document Properties

To access Document Properties:

1. Access the Documents module.
2. Find a Document in the tree.
3. Open the Document.
4. Click Properties.

You will be taken to the Document Properties screen where you can view all the information associated with the record in the available tabs.

Uncontrolled Documents have fewer tabs displayed as they do not follow the restrictions and processing requirements of the default Controlled Documents.

Most non-administrative users cannot modify Document Properties. If they open a Document and go to Document Properties, they will view the information in read-only mode (as shown below).

Administrative users can modify all Document Properties, while non-administrative users with the below permissions can edit some:

2. Editing Document Properties

This section will go through each tab, outlining the available information and interactions.

2.1. General

This tab contains basic information about the Document and its most recent revision, including lifecycle stage and any comments. Settings in this tab also determine the Type and associated Standards for the Document.

Settings include:

• Title - Name of the Document as shown in the Documents Tree. To avoid confusion, titles should match the title in the Document file itself.
• ID - Unique and permanent number tied to the Document. Secondary Document locations get the same ID# number.
• Revision - Total number of revisions the Document's been through, including any current unpublished revision. The General tab contains a summary of the current revision, while the History tab contains details of all past revisions.
• Status - Current processing status.
• Expires - Establishes whether the Document periodically comes up for review.
• Expires To - Sends the Document to the Inbox of either the last Editor or the Document Manager.
• Reset Expiration Date with Every Revision - Resets expiration flag if the Document gets edited.
• File Type - Format used when the Document is opened for editing.
• Generate PDF - Establishes whether a PDF will be generated automatically from the File Type being edited.
• Standards - Standards tied to this Document.
• Convert HTML Links - Adds Documents linked in the HTML Document as references for the HTML Document when Document automation is run. This includes Default and Show Document links included in the HTML Document.

If references have already been added via Document automation, when Convert HTML Links setting is disabled and Document automation is run again, references are not removed.

• Current Revision History - Details about the approval or review process and any Editorial comments made during the current revision.

2.2. History

This tab contains details the record of all past revisions links to these revisions, along with a table of key information about each. This includes who edited and approved them, the date and time each revision was started, released, or published, and any comments entered during processing.

If needed, you may also allow users to access the edit version of a published Document when the system generates a PDF by enabling the Show Link to Edit File for Published Documents on Document Properties settings.

The top section of the History tab details the current revision (and is also displayed on the General tab).

This includes the Editor, when the revision was Started, when it was Released, the date and time it was Published, a record of complete and pending Approvals, and any comments that were made when the Document was approved or rejected.

For approval, only the most recent approval cycle is displayed, plus all rejections during each revision. This means that if a Document was released for approval 3 times, rejected twice, and published once, approvals are displayed only for the "successful" release, along with the two rejections. For review, all reviews for previous published revisions are displayed without exception.

Changes Made refers to the Editor's comments added when releasing for review or approval. The Editor may update this field as the Document is in an edit, review, or approve status.

Edit Reason displays the comments made by the Editor.

Rejection Information appears below the Editor's comments. Comments are retained for each time the Document is released and rejected for a given revision. Reviewer Information is contained below that.

Users with the View Archived Revisions permissions can select View next to any previous revision number to open an older revision of the Document.

If a Document expires, the person it expires to can determine that no changes need to be made and republish it in a single step through the Verify option.

If a Document retires, this information will also appear here.

2.3. Custom Fields

This tab contains custom fields associated with the Document by its Parent folders, allowing you to store information about a given Document without opening and editing the Document to add your data.

These fields can then be added to reports and Searches to make locating and auditing your Documents that much more organized and easier.

Three kinds of custom fields may be associated with Documents:

• list
• text
• date

2.4. Document Lists

This tab contains settings that determine which groups are responsible for approving and reviewing a Document, and in what order, as well as which users are notified each time the Document gets published.

These settings are inherited from the Parent folder when a Document is created and are modifiable at any point after that.

To modify Document Lists:

1. Tick box next to group/user to add.
2. Click Add Users/Groups.
3. Set Approvers, Reviewers, Notify options.
4. Click Save Changes.
5. Change the drop-down options for each group according to who you want associated with each action.

Options for Approvers and Reviewers contain numbers beside them denoting the order in which that action is sent to each group. This is called Serial Approval/Review action and up to 20 groups can be added as part of this action.
For instance, if the Quality Managers were Approver (1) and Quality Administrators were Approver (2), all users in the Quality Managers group need to approve the Document before it is sent to Quality Administrators.

When a Document is out for approval and the Approval list changes in the Documents List, the following occurs in different scenarios:

• If Approver is added, new Approvers are required for current approval step.
• If user was already Approver via different group AND had already approved the Document, then user's original approval record remains untouched, and user does not have to approve again.
• If Approver is removed, Approver is not required for current approval step.
• If user is Approver ONLY via group being removed (i.e. not in another group in Approval List) BUT user has not yet approved the Document, then user's need for approval is removed (and removed from history altogether).
• If user is Approver ONLY via group being removed (i.e. not in another group in Approval List) AND user has already approved the Document, then user's approval record is removed (and removed from history altogether).
• If user is Approver via group being removed AND another group in the approval list (i.e. user is remaining an Approver) BUT user has not yet approved the Document, then user's need for approval is retained.
• If user is Approver via group being removed AND another group in the approval list (i.e. user is remaining an Approver) AND user has already approved the Document, then user has to approve the Document again AND history for Document includes the comment from original approval but says "{User} has not approved."

To see which individuals are configured to approve, review, or receive notification on publication, select a User's on Lists link at the bottom. If you see a blue arrow separating names, it denotes Serial Approval/Review order.

Usernames appear twice in the generated list if they are in the Documents List both as an individual and as a member of a group. However, if a user is required by the Required Approver setting, their name is not included in this list.

2.5. Locations

This tab contains information about where the Document is located within the Document Tree.

The first Location listed is the Document's original Parent folder. Both main and secondary Locations determine requirements for Standards, password verification, and custom fields. If these fields are required for any Parent folder, they are enforced in the Document's custom fields tab no matter which folder it's accessed from.

Secondary locations of a Document do not point to a separate Document file. All locations open the same file. You are not creating copies, in other words, just multiple links to access the same file.

To add a secondary Location:

1. Click Add Location(s).
2. Expand the Document Tree.
3. Select the Document.
4. Choose where you want to create another link to the Document. 
5. Make changes to Location Security as needed.
6. Click Save Changes.

To remove a secondary Location, click Remove Document Location.

2.6. References

This tab displays the manual and dependency references for the Document.

Manual reference is a link to another Document. These are typically created when the two Documents are related, and a user may want to jump between them when viewing.

Dependency reference links the revision cycles of two or more Documents in a Parent/Child relationship. This means one Document is the Parent, and one or more are treated as Children. Any time the Parent is approved, reviewed, checked out, or processed in any other way, the Child Documents follow.

You can learn more about this process in our guide to processing Documents with Parent/Child dependencies.

To open a referenced Document, select its Title.

To add a referenced Document, click the Add Reference or Add Dependency link respectively. Selecting Add Dependency makes the current Document the Parent in the dependency relationship for whatever Document you select from the Documents Tree menu.

If you're the Editor of the Parent Document and it is in Edit status, you have the option to begin a dependency revision of the Child Document immediately. If the Child Document is already published, it automatically goes into Edit as soon as it's added and is processed along with the Parent Document. If you do not select this option, the dependency goes into Edit the next time the Parent does.

Deciding whether to use references or hyperlinks depends on the goal.

If the connection needs to be viewed through another Document, hyperlinking is the best choice to accomplish this.

If the idea is just to have a visual reference from one Document to another, a reference will accomplish this. The reference will show up in the properties tab for the Documents as well as the Actions drop-down. The Reference will not force any actions between the two Documents and if that is desired, the dependencies option should be used.

2.7. Security

This tab contains settings that tab establish who can view and edit the Document.

Users with the View permissions can see the Document in the Documents Tree and access the Document Properties. Edit security allows users to edit the Document or move it to a new location.

To modify Security settings:

1. Tick box next to group/user to add.
2. Click Add Users/Groups.
3. Tick View Security and Edit Security options as required.
4. Click Save Changes.

Ticking Inherit Settings from Parent will prompt the Document to take on its Parent's settings (which will work when dragging and dropping or cutting and pasting too).