IFS Document Management has features for checking in and checking out, viewing, editing, and printing electronic document files. Security for documents is maintained by the access levels required for each document revision.
An electronic document is stored in IFS Document Management and connected to a document record. The initial document record is the document title, which is made up of the document number (the unique document ID) and general data about the document, entered by you.
An electronic document file is connected to document revision. When a new document revision is created, the document file is connected to that new revision. The document file can be checked out and edited as needed.
IFS Document Management handles the following types of electronic documents.
Document File – This is the original document file created in a word processing application, such as Microsoft® Word®, or a CAD application, such as AutoCAD®. A document file is stored electronically and connected to a document revision in IFS Document Management.
View Copy – The view copy should a copy of a document file, for example, a document saved as a PDF (Portable Document Format). View copies can be read without having to install the original document file's application and view copies cannot be tampered with, which prohibits document counterfeiting. A view copy is checked in at the same time as the original document file.
Comment File – A comment file is a separate file from the original drawing file and is used to make comments and changes for that drawing. The original file is not affected by comments. The comment file is created, edited, and viewed in an external redline application, and comments are often stored on a separate layer in the drawing. The redline application you will use is specified in the User Settings window.
Extended EDM File – This feature allows you to check in multiple files to a document revision's master file. For example, you have a master .dwg file (AutoCAD drawing), and that master file has scanned and rasterized files attached to it (*.cal and *.cg4 files). If these file types are registered to the .dwg document's document class, all files can be checked in and out with the master .dwg file.
IFS Document Management can automatically start macros. Macros start applications and then execute commands, such as Print, Edit, View, Check In and Check Out. Macros can streamline your document creation process by inserting data into document headers or drawing frames. Macros are defined in Macro Basics by the system administrator.
When using IFS Document Management in IFS Enterprise Explorer for the first time, the system will set a local check-out path where your documents will be placed during editing, viewing, and printing. By default it will be in a folder named IFS under the user's documents folder in Windows. This path can be set to either your local hard drive or to a network drive. A network drive can be a UNC search path (e.g., \\abc123\Project\) or a mapped drive (e.g., H:\Project\Myfiles). Your check-out path should be backed up regularly to avoid losing changes to files between the time they are changed and the time they are checked back in.
The web client for IFS Document Management does not have as convenient features for file operations as what IFS Enterprise Explorer has. For example, the user has to manually select a file to be checked in even if it has been checked out from IFS. Macro support, drag and drop and other "advanced" features are also not available.
To create a new document, you click either Edit or Check In in the Document Revision/General tab. If you click Edit, you get an empty document, a partially filled in document (if a document template exists), or an application selector (if a document template does not exist) to select the document's application. If you click Check In, you will select an existing electronic document file to check in to IFS Document Management.
To begin editing a document, click Edit in the Document Revision/General tab. The document is locked for editing by other users until you click Check In. Edit is active when the document is checked out. This enables you to continue editing a checked-out document by simply clicking Edit again.
To check in a document, click Check In in the Document Revision/General tab. This unlocks the document, and other users having access rights can edit the document.
When you create a document revision, it consists of document title, document class, document number, document sheet, and document revision. For example, "Motor DC Terminals (100 - M03 - 1 - A1)". When you check out the connected document file, it will be checked out with this document revision designation. However, the document file can be checked out by its original electronic document file name (e.g., MotorDCTerminals.doc). When checking out the document file, you can select to check out the document file by its original electronic document file name by selecting Original File Name.
Certain characters are not allowed when naming files and they will be removed automatically. The characters that will be removed are: \ (backslash), / (slash), : (colon), * (asterisk), ? (question mark), " (double quotation mark), < (less than), > (greater than), and | (pipe).
To create a new document file, the following requirements must be met:
You can create a new electronic document (that is, a new document file) using Edit (if you are using the Web client, use Check In). Using Edit enables you to create a new document, or create a document based on a template. Using Check In enables you to attach an existing document file to any given document revision.
There are two ways to create a new document file using Edit.
Note: If macros exists, they will be executed when creating a new document file.
When you use Check In to link an existing document file to a document revision, a dialog box appears in which you must specify the exact path and file name for the document file. The selected document file's file type must be registered in EDM Basic/File Types tab. Only documents which have file types registered in the EDM Basic/File Types tab can be checked in. When the Choose file for check-in dialog box is loaded, the default filter name in the Files of Type field is Valid IFS File Types, and all files which have IFS registered file types are displayed. In addition, the drop down list contains all the file types that are registered in the EDM Basic/File Types tab.
No matter what type of view copy application you use, the result should be a copy of the original file with a file name identical to the original except for the file extension (never change the original document file name as it is an internal name for IFS Document Management). When you click Check In to check in the original file, the view copy is checked in along with it.
The process for creating view copy files (e.g., PDF copies) can be automated by:
To view a document using an external application, specify the exact location of the program in User Settings. This external application must support the document's file format.
In the Windows client, you can choose between viewing the original file, viewing a view copy (if one exists), or viewing using an external viewer.
In the Web client, there are three view commands:
At a minimum, you must have view access to a document to be able to view it. If you want to open the view copy, a read-only copy of the document must be checked in together with the original document. You also need a viewer application that supports your view copy file format (e.g., Adobe Acrobat Reader™).
The editing of documents is performed by clicking Edit in the Document Revision window. This checks out the document and opens the document in its application.
A document file must exist for the chosen document revision to be edited. If there is no document file, follow the instructions for creating a new document file before you edit it. You need editing or administrator access to edit the document. If macros exist, they will be run.
IFS Document Management allows you to reserve a document file, edit it, and then unreserve it after editing. You check out the document by clicking Edit and you check in the document after editing it by clicking Check In. A checked-out document cannot be reserved by another user, but it can be viewed.
To check out a document, it must be checked in, and you must have access to edit it. To check in a document file, you need edit access to the document, the document must be checked out, and you must be the user who checked it out.
You can view all checked out documents in the Checked Out Document Revisions window.
It is possible to undo a check-out, for example, if you checked out a document file by mistake. By clicking Undo Check Out, the checked-out document revision is deleted from your local check-out path and the document revision file status is changed from Checked Out to Checked In status. Use with caution because changes to the document file are not saved.
To unreserve a document with Undo Check Out, you must be either the person who checked out the document or the Docman Administrator.
By using a comment file, you can enter comments and corrections on the document without editing the original document file. The comment file is created, edited, and viewed in an external redline application. The redline application you use is defined in User Settings.
You create a new comment file, or edit an existing file, by clicking Edit from the Comment menu in Document Revision. After you have entered your comments and/or corrections, you check in the comment file from using Check In from the Comment menu. Your comments can then be viewed by selecting View from the Comment menu.
After clicking Edit from the Comments menu, the external redline application is opened with a copy of the original document file together with a new comment file that is like a transparent layer on top of the original file. The redline file status is then set to Checked Out and all other users are prevented from editing the comment file. You can edit and/or view the original document file when the comment file is checked out.
When checking in the comment file, the Comment File Status field in the Document Revision/Development tab is set to Checked In status, which enables all users with view access to view your comments.
To work with comment files, an original document file must exist and be checked in. You need to have view access to that document. To create a new comment file, the selected document revision cannot have an existing comment file. To edit an existing comment file, you must or check out that file. When viewing the comments, the comment file must be checked in.
When a document is in Approved or Released
statuses, the comment file can be viewed but cannot be added, updated
(edited, checked in) or deleted unless the ALLOW_UPD_COMMENT_REL_DOC
document default value is set to Y.
The comment file is checked in by the person that has checked it out or by the system administrator. Always close the comment file in the external redline application before checking it in.
You can print document files from within IFS Document Management. When you click Print, the system checks that you have at least view access to the selected document file. If so, a copy of the checked in document file is copied to your local check-out path, the document is opened in its original application, the document is printed on your default printer, and then the document application is closed. A copy of the document remains on the local disk.
To print a document, there must be a document file attached to the document revision and you must have view access to the document revision. If the document is currently checked out, you can still print the document. However, any changes made to the document after it was checked out will not be available to this printed document version.
Usually, your computer's default printer will be used. However, depending on the selected document application for printing, you may be prompted to select a printer and to confirm printing.
Note: If your file type's application does not have a print association command, you must add a print action to the operating system or use a macro to print the document file.
To delete a document file, you must have document administrator access to the document revision or be the system administrator. The document revision must be in Preliminary or Obsolete status before you are allowed to delete it. IFS Document Management does not create a backup of the file before deleting it.
A document file attached to a document revision is deleted by selecting Delete Document File in the Document Revision window. IFS Document Management will also delete the physical document file and any existing view copy and/or comment file from the archive. Once the document file is deleted, you can create and check in a different document file to your document revision.
Certain document applications cannot manage empty files (an empty file would be zero bytes). By using a document template to create your document file, you automatically create a file larger than zero bytes.