Document Folders

Document folders form the hierarchical tree that all controlled documents live in. A folder is far more than a container: it carries the rules — who may do what, who gives an opinion, who approves, who is notified, who receives a controlled copy — that the documents inside it inherit.

Getting the folder tree and its matrices right is the single most important configuration decision in the module. Almost every question that starts with "why can't this user…" is answered by a folder matrix.

Folder behaviour flags

Each folder carries a set of switches that change how its documents behave:

Flag	Effect
Approval free	Documents in this folder skip the approval workflow entirely and publish directly.
Read confirmation required	Readers must explicitly confirm they have read a distributed document; their task is not completed by simply opening it.
Attachments carried	Supplementary attachments are copied into the next revision instead of being left behind.
Language required	The document cannot be saved without a language file.
Review enabled	Documents get a periodic post-publication review cycle. See Review.
Template required	A document template must be selected when creating a document here.
Active	Deactivating a folder hides it from selection. A folder that still has children cannot be deactivated.

The five matrices

A folder defines five responsibility matrices. Each one can either be defined on the folder itself or inherited from its parent:

Matrix	What it decides
Authorization	Which identities may read, print (controlled/uncontrolled), download, revise or delete the documents in this folder.
Opinion	Who is asked for an opinion before the document goes to control.
Approval	The stepped approval chain. Steps run in order; every approver in a step must approve before the next step opens.
Distribution	Who is notified when a document is published, and who must confirm reading it.
Controlled copy	The distribution points that receive a numbered physical copy, and who is responsible at each point.

Inheritance

Each matrix has its own inherit from parent switch.

caution

While inheritance is on, the screen shows the parent's rows — they are not the folder's own. Turning inheritance off starts the folder's own matrix from a copy of what you were looking at. Review the rows after switching, because from that moment on they are independent of the parent and later parent changes will no longer reach this folder.

Folder-level allowed lists

Beyond the matrices, a folder restricts what can be created inside it:

• Document types — which types may be used, and which one is the default.
• Document templates — which templates may be used, and which one is the default.
• Controllers — the identities that act at the control stage and are the authority for revision requests.
• Number template — the auto-numbering pattern that generates document codes in this folder.
• Review configuration — the review period and the responsibles, when review is enabled.

Creating a folder

1. Open Document Management → Document Folders and choose New.
2. Enter Code and Name, and select the parent folder if this is a sub-folder.
3. Set the behaviour flags for this branch of the tree.
4. Select the allowed document types and templates, and mark the defaults.
5. Assign the controllers.
6. For each of the five matrices, either leave inherit from parent on, or turn it off and define the rows.
7. Choose the number template that generates document codes.
8. Save.

Deactivating and deleting

• A folder that contains documents or child folders cannot be deactivated.
• Deactivating a folder also cancels any active review cycles for the documents inside it.

tip

Build the tree top-down and configure the matrices as high up as they can reasonably live. Every matrix defined on a leaf folder is a matrix somebody will have to maintain separately forever.