Working with dossiers in Xtendis 7

Many documents in Xtendis are typically related to each other: they are about the same employee, customer, company, order, project, and so on.

One way of organizing such documents is by adding them to a dossier.

Example: The HR department could set up a dossier for each employee, a dossier could be set up for all documents for a project, and so on.

The advantage of creating a dossier is that the property values that all documents within that dossier need to share, need to be assigned to the dossier only. Each document that is added to the dossier then automatically 'inherits' these same values.

One of these properties acts as the unique dossier key, such as the employee number. Through this property, the document is bound to the dossier.

Example: A dossier is created for an employee. Property values are added for the employee's name, employee ID, date of birth, position, and so on. Multiple documents are added to the dossier that are related to the employee such as a contract, a copy of the drivers license, evaluation forms, and so on. Because these documents are part of the dossier, they now also inherit the property values that were filled in for the dossier.

Note: In a way, dossiers are very similar to folders in the sense that they both group together documents. There are minor differences though in their functionality and therefore in the way they are used: Dossiers group documents that are related to each other, such as an employee, or project. Dossiers also hold specific properties such as the date of birth of an employee or the type of employment. Documents that are added to the dossier automatically inherit these properties. Folders can group any document in the system, whether they are related or not. They can also be based on a search query, made personal for your use only or shared with other users. Folders do not share properties with the documents that are in the folder in the way that dossiers do.

This article describes how to work with dossiers. The following topics are discussed:

• External dossiers
• Creating a dossier
• Adding documents to a dossier
• Finding and opening dossiers
• The dossier screen
• Making dossiers favorite
• Editing dossier properties
• Removing documents from a dossier
• Deleting dossiers
• Synchronizing dossier properties

Info: Use the filter to only show information for one topic: All topics External dossiers Creating a dossier Adding documents to a dossier Finding and opening dossiers The dossier screen Making dossiers favorite Editing dossier properties Removing a document from a dossier Deleting dossiers Synchronizing dossiers

External dossiers

It is possible that your version of Xtendis uses 'external dossiers'. These dossiers work and behave the same way as regular dossiers, but their properties are pulled from a system that is outside of Xtendis.

Creating, editing, or removing these properties can only be done in the external system. It is therefore assumed in this article that the dossier that is used is not an external dossier when it comes to performing these actions.

Creating a dossier

Creating a dossier can be done in the following ways:

• By creating a dossier from scratch in which the property values that the dossier has to have need to be entered manually.
• By copying an existing dossier to use (part of) the property values of that dossier.
• By uploading a CSV file containing the relevant data

Each method is explained below.

Creating a dossier from scratch

In this method, a completely new dossier is created for which the property values that the dossier has to have need to be entered manually.

Step 1. On the Dashboard, click the three dots of the Add button and from the menu that appears, choose New dossier.

The Create dossier panel appears.

Step 4. Change or enter any of the values as needed, starting with the Archive field at the top.

Notes: Click Clear at the bottom of the panel to clear all current values. The default archive in which the dossier is going to be stored is automatically entered in the Archive field at the top. Which archive this is can be set in your personal settings. Which properties are shown in the panel depends on the archive that is chosen. Properties that are mandatory to fill out are marked with a red line. Click Edit layout... at the bottom of the panel to manage the properties by doing one of the following. When done, click Save. Select a check box to show the property and clear it to hide it. Drag a property higher or lower in the list to change the order. Click Restore default to restore the property settings to their default settings. Click Save for... to save the settings for all users (only available for functional managers).

Step 5. When done, click Create to create the dossier.

Copying an existing dossier

In this method, an existing dossier is copied so that the new dossier inherits all property values of the copied dossier.

Step 1. Open the dossier.

Step 2. At the top of the page, click on the Dossier name and from the menu that appears, choose Copy dossier.

The Copy dossier panel appears with all property values of the copied dossier filled in.

Step 3. Adjust the properties as needed in the same was as for creating a new dossier described above.

Step 4. When done, click Create to create the dossier.

Uploading a CSV file containing the relevant data

In this method, a CSV file containing the relevant data (properties) is uploaded which is then processed by the system.

It is typically used by in collaboration with an Xtendis architect when setting up the system to automatically generate multiple dossiers.

This feature is available by clicking the three dots of the Add button on the Dashboard, and from the menu that appears, choosing Dossier synchronization.

If you are interested in using this functionality, contact WoodWing.

Adding documents to a dossier

Documents can be added to a dossier by performing one of the following methods:

1. By adding a local document to a dossier
2. By moving an existing document to a dossier
3. When adding a new document with properties
4. When indexing documents that have not yet been indexed
5. By changing the properties of a document
6. By duplicating an existing document

Methods 1 and 2 are dedicated actions, while methods 3 to 6 are specific actions in which the option to add documents to the dossier is included. All methods are described separately below.

Adding local documents to a dossier

Info: This feature requires Xtendis 7.2.9 or higher (see how to check the version number of Xtendis that you are using).

In this method, one or more documents from your local system are added to a dossier.

Step 1. Make sure that the dossier to add the documents to exists. If not, create this first (see the steps above).

Step 2. Open the dossier.

Step 3. Do one of the following:

• At the top of the page, click on the Dossier name and from the menu that appears, choose Add files. The Add files panel appears and a dialog is opened to browse to the documents that you want to add. Use it to add one or more files.

• Drag one or more files from your system onto the dossier properties area at the top. The text 'Drop files here' appears.

The files appear in the panel and properties are automatically filled in.

Step 5. Fill out the rest of the document properties as needed and when done, click Upload.

The panel closes and the files are added to the dossier.

Moving an existing document to a dossier

In this method, a document that already exists in Xtendis is directly added to a dossier.

Step 1. Make sure that the dossier to add the document to exists. If not, create this first (see the steps above).

Step 2. Use the Find option to search for the documents that you want to add.

Note: Make sure to search in an archive that supports dossiers.

Step 3. Select the documents that you want to add by selecting their check boxes and from the Actions menu at the top of the page, choose Move to dossier.

Note: This option only appears when the archive that is searched in supports dossiers.

The Select a dossier panel appears.

Step 4. Use the panel to search for the dossier to add the documents to (see below for steps about how to use the panel). When clicking Select, the documents are added to the dossier.

Adding a document to a dossier as part of another process

The option to add a document to a dossier is also available as part of the following actions:

• Adding a new document with properties
• Indexing documents that have not been indexed
• Re-indexing an existing document
• Changing the properties of a document

Each of these methods contain a 'Select dossier' field with which the dossier to add the document to can be selected.

Note: This field only appears when an archive has been selected in which dossiers are supported.

Figure: The Select dossier field on the Upload files page.

Use it to select the dossier to add the document to:

• To add the document to a new dossier, click the plus-sign. The Create dossier panel appears. See Creating a dossier earlier in this article for details about how to use it. After clicking Create, the Create dossier panel closes and the dossier is added to the Select dossier field.

• To add the document to an existing dossier, do one of the following:
• When you know the dossier's name or a property that connects the document with the dossier such as the (unique) employee number, enter it.
• When you do not know the dossier's name, search for the dossier by clicking the three dots in the field. The Select a dossier panel appears. See below for steps about how to use the panel.

Using the Select a dossier panel

As described above, the Select a dossier panel is used in various methods of adding a document to a dossier.

To use the panel, do the following:

Step 1. Find the dossier to add the document to by adding a value in one or more of the fields and clicking Find.

The results are shown at the bottom of the panel.

Step 2. In the search results, select the dossier to add the document to and click Select.

The Select dossier panel closes and the dossier is added to the Select dossier field.

Finding and opening dossiers

Similar to searching for documents, you can also search for any dossiers that exist in the archive. This can be done by using either the Quick Find option on the Dashboard, the regular Find option, or by creating a Dossier search folder.

All these methods are explained in detail in Searching for dossiers in Xtendis 7.

Details about how to use the search results page can be found in Working with search results in Xtendis 7.

Tip: A dossier search folder could for instance be set up which searches for all employee dossiers that do not contain a Certificate of Good Conduct.

Figure: The search results when searching for dossiers.

Opening dossiers

Opening a dossier from the search results page can be done by doing one of the following:

• Double-clicking the dossier.
• Clicking the dossier icon in front of the dossier in the list view.
• Clicking the Open dossier button at the bottom of the Properties panel in the bottom right corner.

The dossier screen

The dossier screen consists of four main areas:

1. Details about the dossier properties, document notes and flow history are shown at the top.

Notes:  In Xtendis 7.1.13 and higher, this information is shown in tabs. Viewing the flow history (for the dossier and optionally for any documents in the dossier) requires Xtendis 7.2.5 or higher. Tip : See how to check which version of Xtendis you are using.

2. A list of documents that are within the dossier are shown at the bottom. Selecting one or more check boxes makes the Actions menu appear from which various actions can be performed on the selected documents.
3. A preview of a selected document is shown to the right.
   For more information, see Viewing documents in Xtendis 7.
4. The tools in the vertical toolbar can be used to perform actions on a document that is outlined in blue.
   For more information, see Working with search results in Xtendis 7.

Making dossiers favorite

One way of quickly accessing dossiers that you use frequently is by marking them as favorite. They then appear in the list of Favorites on the Dashboard so that they can be quickly accessed.

To mark a dossier as favorite, open the dossier and in the properties section at the top of the page, click the Favorite icon. The icon turns into a solid start. Click the icon again to stop marking the dossier as a favorite.

To view all your favorites, access the Dashboard and click Favorites. In the list of favorites, click a dossier to open it. Dossiers can be recognized by the green icon in front of the name.

Editing dossier properties

The properties of a dossier not only make sure that the dossier can be found, but are also inherited by any document that is part of the dossier which in turn means that these properties can also be used for finding the documents.

To edit dossier properties, do the following:

Step 1. Open the dossier.

Step 2. At the top of the page, click on the Dossier name and from the menu that appears, choose Edit dossier.

The Edit properties panel appears.

Step 3. Fill out all the relevant fields.

Notes: Which properties are shown in the panel depends on the archive that is chosen. Properties that are mandatory to fill out are marked with a red line. Click Edit layout... at the bottom of the panel to manage the properties by doing one of the following. When done, click Save. Select a check box to show the property and clear it to hide it. Drag a property higher or lower in the list to change the order. Click Restore default to restore the property settings to their default settings. Click Save for... to save the settings for all users (only available for functional managers) Click the Pin icon for a field to pin the entered value. The value is then maintained in the field until it is manually removed. This can be helpful when running multiple index actions with the same values in specific fields. (The use of pins can be enabled and disabled in your personal settings.) If the Security zone field is left empty, the document is automatically placed in the Standard Security zone. (In specific cases, business rules or the linked index can be used to automatically fill the security zone based on a property. Contact Support for details.)

Step 4. Click Edit to update the properties.

Removing a document from a dossier

Removing a document from a dossier can be done in one of the following ways:

• When creating dossiers in an archive is mandatory, the document can only be removed from a dossier by moving it to another dossier. See the steps earlier in this article.

• When creating dossiers in an archive is not mandatory, the document can be removed by using one of the following methods:

Method 1: By using the option Remove from dossier in the Actions menu In this method, one or more documents are selected and removed from the dossier in one action. Step 1. In the dossier, select the check boxes for the documents that you want to remove. Step 2. From the Actions menu at the top of the page, do one of the following: Choose Remove from dossier. Choose Move to trash can. Step 3. A dialog appears to confirm the action. Click Yes.

Method 2: Clearing the field for the property that connects the document to the dossier This can be done by editing the properties of the document. The property that links the document to the dossier can be recognized by the green background of the value. Example: Here, the properties of a document are shown. The document is linked to a dossier as indicated by the value with the green background. By removing that value from the field, the document is removed from the dossier.

Deleting dossiers

Step 1. Open the dossier.

Step 2. Make sure that the dossier does not contain any documents (see above) and that if documents were once part of the dossier but moved to the trash can do not exist in the trash can anymore (see Deleting and restoring documents).

Step 3. At the top of the page, click on the Dossier name and from the menu that appears, choose Delete dossier.

A message appears asking to confirm the action.

Step 3. Click Yes.

The dossier is deleted.

Synchronizing dossier properties

The properties of multiple dossiers can be automatically synchronized (updated) by uploading a CSV file containing the relevant data (properties) which is then processed by the system.

This feature is typically used by in collaboration with an Xtendis architect and is available by clicking the three dots of the Add button on the Dashboard, and from the menu that appears, choosing Dossier synchronization.

If you are interested in using this functionality, contact WoodWing.