Document Management Lite is designed to provide a document management experience within Onit for clients with simple file management requirements. For more high end use cases, the recommended approach is to partner with 3rd party vendors such as iManage or NetDocs.
The goals of this feature is to make it:
- Easy to configure so it only requires a few hours for new setups.
- Secure so the access to documents are restricted to those who have access to the main record.
- Build upon existing configuration so clients already using the Documents App can easily upgrade.
- Simple so users can easily understand and use the document management component.
Designed for ELM and other non-CLM apps at this time.
Before We Start...
This tutorial will assume you understand the following concepts:
Let's Get Started!
Steps 1-2 will walk you through the creation of the core components. Steps 3-4 will walk you through additional components that are optional.
There are three required Apps:
- Host App: App where the Document Dashboard will be configured. Ex: If you would like to use the Document Management functionality for Matter use cases then the "Matters" app would be your Host App.
- Document App: App where the records from the uploaded documents are created.
- Document Version App: App that shows all the versions of the documents.
These three apps have relationships that allow the document management feature to be performant. The exact names of the apps may differ in your configuration but the core purpose is the same.
Take a look at your apps to see if a Document App or Document Version App already exists in your environment.
When replacing existing Document configuration, it is required to remove the logic associated with unnecessary apps like Document Check-in, Document Check-out, Document Types and inactive apps like Document Versions and Document Lock Status. It recommended as a best practice to delete those apps after Document Management Lite is setup.
1. Configure the Provider
Part 1 of the set up is to configure the Provider.
From the Provider you can:
- Select which app this document management provider is tied to for the interface.
- Select and map to existing Documents app and/or Document Version app.
- Auto-create apps and relationships as needed.
Go to the Global Configuration section in Advanced Designer and click on Document Management Provider.
Here is an overview of the Document Management Provider fields separated into three sections:
Top Section
- Name: A unique name of the provider.
- Description: A brief overview of the provider.
- Host/Source App: A dropdown of apps in the subdomain. This will be a parent to the Document App and where the Document Management Dashboard can be configured.
Document Apps Configuration Section
If the Documents App or the Documents Version App don't already exist in your environment, then go to the Create Document Provider Apps section to learn more.
- Host App Relationship: HasMany field that creates a relationship between the Host App and Document App.
- Document Version Relationship: HasMany field that creates a relationship between the Version App and Document App.
- Parent Folder Relationship: A relationship that is a self-referential BelongsTo field in the Document App.
- This is a new relationship necessary for Document Management Lite to assign files to folders. If this relationship doesn't already exist in your environment, go to the Create Parent Folder Relationship section to learn more.
- Node Type: A field that identifies if a record is a folder or a file.
- If this doesn't already exist in your environment, go to the Create Node Type section to learn more.
- Intake Formlet (Optional and requires the Document app to be in Forms Builder): Formlet that can be appended to the upload modal. Go to the Intake Formlet (Optional) section to learn more.
- Major Version: The document field that contains the integer that represents the major version of a document in the Version App and Document App.
- Minor Version: The document field that contains the integer that represents the minor version of a document in the Version App and Document App.
- Current Version: The document field that contains the current version which is composed of the major and minor version in the format major.minor in the Version App and Document App.
- Document Type (Optional)*: The document field that contains the combo or listcombo of document types in the Document App.
- Locked Status: The document field that will contain the locked status of either "Locked" or "Unlocked" in the Document App.
- Comment: The field that will contain any comments associated to the document in the Version App.
- Attachment: The field that will contain the document in the Version App.
Bulk Actions Section
- Bulk Actions (Optional): Multi-select of bulk actions that already exist in the Document App. Bulk Actions selected here will be added to the end user via the Actions drop-down on the Document Management Dashboard.
*Generally, out of the box, there are five Document Types: Contract, Supporting, Template, Other and Executed. Template may not be in ELM apps.
The most common Bulk Action to add is 'Delete'.
Fill out the fields on the Document Management Provider form according to the needs of your environment.
Click 'Save' to create the Document Management Provider.
Only create one Provider per Host App.
Create Document Provider Apps
If the subdomain doesn't already have document provider apps then you can click the Create Document Provider Apps button to auto-create the necessary apps. Clicking this button will open a modal with the following fields:
- Name of Documents App
- Name of Documents Version App
Provide names for the two apps.
Upon clicking 'Create', the apps with those names will be created and the non-optional fields of the Document Apps Configuration Section will be auto-filled out.
Auto-creating apps also auto-creates security. Users will only have access to the record will have access to the documents added to the Document Management Dashboard.
Create Parent Folder Relationship
If the subdomain already has the document provider apps but doesn't have a self-referential BelongsTo field in the Document App, you can create one from the Provider. Click the 'Create' button.
Create Node Type
If the subdomain already has the document provider apps but doesn't have a Type field in the Document App, you can create one from the Provider. Click the 'Create' button.
If the Documents app that you are using is in Visual Forms Builder, then you can select an Intake Formlet. To learn more, go to the Intake Forms (Optional) section of this tutorial.
2. Configure the Document Management Dashboard
Part 2 of the set up is to configure the Document Management Dashboard.
As an App Panel, the Document Management Dashboard is the UI part of the set up. By selecting which provider this document management panel is tied to decides the interface.
Document Management Dashboard required fields:
- Name: A unique name of the provider.
- Document Management Provider: Select which provider you would like for this app panel to reference.
- Height: Sets the height of the grid.
500 for the height is a good place to start.
- Go to the Advanced Designer menu of the Host App.
- Go to App Panels under the Components section.
- Click the plus icon to open and select Document Management Dashboard.
- Fill out the form, including selecting the provider from the Document Management Provider dropdown.
- Click 'Save' before continuing.
Open a record from the Host App to see the Document Management Panel you just created.
The Document Management Panel allows users to:
- Upload documents
- Add folders, including nested folders
- Check In/ Check Out documents
- Undo Check Out
- Export
- Access bulk actions added to the Actions drop-down
- Select columns
Only the user that checked-out a document is able to check-in that document. The system administrator and the user that checked-out a document is able to 'Undo Check-out' for the document.
Deletion of a checked-out (Locked) document is allowed.
It is recommended to use the Compact Layout Type.
3. Intake Formlet (Optional and requires Forms Builder)
Adding an Intake Formlet allows you to show additional fields to the user on the Upload Document modal.
Creating and assigning an Intake Formlet requires the Documents App to be in Forms Builder. The Intake Formlet selection is optional. If an Intake Formlet is not chosen then only the multi-file component will show when users upload document(s) and will look like this:
Create a formlet with the fields that you want to be appended to the upload modal that appears when users upload document(s).
From the Provider, open the Intake Formlet dropdown and select the desired formlet.
If a formlet is assigned then the formlet will display below the multi-attachment component and will look something like this:
It is not recommended to add version fields to the Intake Formlet. Versions will be automatically handled when documents are uploaded, checked-in, and checked-out.
4. Create Folder Structure Action (Optional)
You can upload a list of folder names to automatically create Folders for records. There is no limit to the number of columns the list can include.
Upload the list.
- Column A - Defines the data type. All folder rows will have a data type of "data"
- Column B - Defines the unique key for each row
- Column C - Defines the Folder Names for top level Folders (their parent will be the out of the box "Documents" system folder)
- Column D and Beyond - All additional columns will create a nested folder below the folder in Column C. In our example all rows in Column C have the same Folder Name of "Document Types" so a single top level Folder will be created. Folder in Column D will then be created under the Column C folder.
Note: The above list would create the following folders:
You are not able to delete folders with this action. This action only creates folders - even if the list is updated.
This action can only be created in an app that is used in a Provider.
Select the Create Folder Structure Action.
Forms will contain the following:
- Name
- Description
- List (that has already been uploaded)
- Levels are selected from the list by the appbuilder (similar to a CLC)
- Used In section
- Comment
Fill out fields for Create Folder Structure action and save.
Assign the action to a trigger such as a Business Rule or an Action Button. When fired, the Action will create the folder structure on the Document Management Panel. Now, the Document Management Panel will display the folder structure.
If you want to use Document Management Lite in a suite context, make sure to add the Document App and Document Version App to the Suite in Suite Settings.