Documents overview
What the Documents library is for, how files are classified, kept, held and disposed of, and how it connects to other modules.
What Documents is for
Documents is the company's library of files: trade licences, contracts, certificates, policies and scanned papers. It also shows, in one list, the files that other modules already keep, such as sales order attachments, employee papers, vehicle registrations and project documents. You search once and find a file wherever it lives.
Key ideas
- Library file. A file uploaded into the library itself. You can classify it, give it versions, hold it and dispose of it.
- Indexed file. A file kept by another module. The library lists it but does not copy it. It opens under its own module's permission, so you only see what you are allowed to see. You cannot edit or version it here.
- Document type. What a document is, for example Contract or Licence. A type sets which kinds of file it accepts, the largest size, the default sensitivity, the retention policy and whether the document carries an expiry date.
- Sensitivity. Public, Internal, Confidential or Restricted. It is a label that helps people treat the file correctly; it does not by itself restrict who can open it. Access follows the linked record and the folder.
- Workspace and folder. Workspaces are the top-level folders. A folder can name a permission; people without it cannot see the folder or the files in it.
- Version. A new file uploaded over an existing document. Old versions stay readable with their own checksum.
- Retention policy. How many years a file must be kept, counted from the filing date or the document's expiry. Policies are starting points, not legal advice; confirm periods with counsel.
- Legal hold. A hold placed because of a legal request or matter. A held file cannot be disposed of.
- Disposal. Deleting a file's content at the end of its retention. One person proposes, a different person approves. The record stays as a tombstone with its name and checksum.
What the library protects against
Files are checked by their contents, not by their name. Programs, scripts, web pages, empty files, damaged files and oversized images are refused. The same file uploaded twice is stored once and a warning tells you.
Who uses it
| Role | Permission |
|---|---|
| Anyone who reads files | dms.view |
| Clerk who uploads and edits | dms.manage |
| Records or legal officer | dms.dispose (holds and disposals) |
| Administrator | dms.configure (folders, types, policies) |
How it connects to other modules
Most records (sales and purchase documents, invoices, customers, products, employees, vehicles, manufacturing orders, projects, transfers, journal entries) show a Documents button with the number of files across all stores. Clicking it opens the library narrowed to that record, and uploading from there links the new file to it.
Not available yet
Share links, e-signatures, sending documents, check-out and restoring an older version are not available. Release, reject and rescan of quarantined files are not available either; no virus engine is configured, so the Quarantine tab is normally empty.
Where to go next
See Set up the library before the first upload, then Upload and classify documents.