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Distribution and Controlled Copies

Publishing a document is only half the job — the people who work from it have to actually receive it. QDMS Now separates that into two mechanisms: distribution, which handles electronic readership, and controlled copies, which track physical prints.

Distribution​

The distribution matrix lists the identities that should be aware of a document. When the document publishes, the system:

  1. Grants each distribution target read authorization on the document.
  2. Creates a read task for each target.

Read confirmation​

How a read task completes depends on the folder's read confirmation required flag:

FlagBehaviour
OffOpening the document completes the reader's task automatically.
OnOpening the document is not enough. The reader must explicitly confirm they have read it, and the task stays open until they do.

Use read confirmation where you need evidence that a specific person acknowledged a specific revision — safety instructions, changed procedures, regulatory notices.

Controlled copies​

A controlled copy is a numbered physical print issued to a known location. The point of tracking them is recall: when a new revision publishes, you have to be able to find and destroy the old paper.

Configuration​

The controlled copy matrix — configured on the folder and inherited by the document — lists one row per distribution point:

  • Distribution location — where the physical copy lives. See Distribution Locations.
  • Copy number — the number written on the printed copy. Copy numbers must be unique within a document.
  • Responsibles — the identities accountable at that location.

Controlled copy tasks​

When the document publishes, the system creates one task per matrix row — not one task per document. Each distribution point therefore runs its own independent flow:

  1. Pending — the responsible must print the controlled copy.
  2. Printed — the print has been logged. Every controlled print is recorded separately with the revision number.
  3. Completed — the responsible approves that the copy has been placed.

Two rules are worth knowing:

  • You cannot approve before printing. The approve action is blocked until at least one print has been logged against the task.
  • The first responsible to act wins. When a location has several responsibles, whoever acts first completes the task; the others' copies of it are cancelled.

Reminders​

If a task sits in printed without being approved, the responsibles are e-mailed a reminder. Both the initial delay and the repeat interval are configurable in the module's document settings — by default the first reminder goes out after 3 days and repeats daily.

When a new revision publishes​

Publishing a new revision cancels the old revision's still-open controlled-copy tasks and e-mails their responsibles, telling them to destroy the old physical copy. This is the recall mechanism that makes controlled copies worth tracking.

tip

Keep the controlled-copy matrix small and real. Every row is a recurring obligation for a named person on every single revision — rows added "just in case" turn into permanently overdue tasks.