Documents screens

All seven nodes of the Documents branch in the Explorer (Document Types, Metadata, Templates, OCR, Versioning, Retention, Approval) open the same Studio screen, Files and documents (page key files), at different areas of it. This page documents each node by what the screen offers for it. The screen has three tabs: Browse (cabinets, folders, files), Documents (managed documents with a lifecycle) and Settings (types, categories, retention, storage, virtual folders). Cabinets, folders and files are described in File manager; storage providers and rights in Storage and access; video and audio in Large files, video and audio.

Document Types

Where to find it

Workspace > Documents > Document Types. Files and documents > Settings.

Key concepts

Document management uses one object type tree instead of separate type lists. The root is the system type; Cabinet, Folder and Document types are its subtypes, and each of your own types extends another. A type inherits every field of its parent and may add its own. A system type is marked System and cannot be removed.

Settings panels

Panel	Used for
Cabinet Types	Types a cabinet can be created with. Base type CABINET.
Folder Types	Types a folder can be created with. Base type FOLDER.
Document Types	Types of managed documents.

Document type fields

Field	Required	Description
Name	Yes	Display name.
Code	Yes	Fixed after creation.
Super Type	No	The type this one extends. (none) makes it a direct subtype of the root.
Approval Workflow (optional)	No	The workflow started when a document of this type is submitted.
Category	No	A document category (see below).
Retention Policy	No	The retention policy that applies to documents of this type (see Retention).
Fields	No	The type's own metadata fields (see Metadata).

The list shows each type as Name (CODE), · System for system types, the workflow, the number of own fields and subtype of <parent>. Edit and delete controls are on each row.

Document categories

Categories group documents. A category has a Name, a Code and an optional Parent ((top level) for none), so categories form a tree. They can be chosen on a document type and as a lookup source for metadata fields.

API

/api/v1/object-types (types), /api/v1/documents/categories (categories), /api/v1/documents (documents).

Metadata

Where to find it

Workspace > Documents > Metadata. The field editor appears when you create or edit a type in Settings, and the generated form appears wherever a cabinet, folder or document of that type is created or edited.

Field definition

Property	Values	Description
Field name	text	The stored key.
Label	text	The label shown on forms.
Type	text, number, date, dropdown, checkbox, textarea, richtext, lookup	The input.
Options	comma separated	For dropdown.
Lookup source	Document Categories, Retention Policies, Document Types	For lookup: the options come from the live list, never a typed list.
Default value	text	Pre-filled on a new item when the field is left untouched. The server applies it too when a caller omits the field. Not available for multi-value fields.
Required	on or off	Mandatory field.
Multi-value	on or off	The value is a list of the field's type instead of one value.
Validation	Min and Max for numbers; Min length, Max length and Pattern (a regular expression that must match the whole value) for text and text areas

A type can start from another: Load fields from... copies the fields of an existing type.

Messages shown on forms

<Label> is required, <Label> must be at least <n>, <Label> must be at most <n>, <Label> must be at least <n> characters, <Label> must be at most <n> characters, <Label> does not match the required format. The submit button is blocked until no message remains.

Inheritance

Cabinets, folders and documents carry values for their type's fields, inherited from its ancestors. The standard fields come from the system type and its Cabinet, Folder and Document subtypes. Values are stored as JSON on the item and edited in the Fields section of a document.

Templates

The Templates node opens the same screen; document management has no template designer of its own. Two kinds of template exist elsewhere:

• Document templates for generated letters and forms are made with the Print Template designer and filled by the workflow node document.generate, which can store the result in a cabinet and attach it to a record. See Reports and print templates and Node reference.
• Type templates: a new document type can copy its fields from an existing type with Load fields from (see Metadata).

OCR

Where to find it

Workspace > Documents > OCR. Browse tab > filter row.

What the platform does with file content

Stage	Behaviour
Text extraction	When a file is stored, text is extracted natively from PDF, Word, Excel and plain text files. The text is saved with the file and searchable.
OCR	Scanned images use an OCR provider. Without one configured, no text is produced for scanned pages, so they are not searchable by their text.
AI document service	Summary, classification, field extraction, comparison and chat per file need an AI provider; without one the dialogs say the service is not configured.
Large files	Files over 25 MB are stored without thumbnail or text extraction.

Search

The file grid filter row has MIME type (for example application/pdf) and Text contains (full-text/OCR). The text filter uses a full-text index on the extracted text.

AI dialog

The file menu has an AI assistant. Fields: Categories (comma separated) for classification and Fields to extract (comma separated).

Versioning

Where to find it

Workspace > Documents > Versioning. Browse tab, file menu.

Actions

Action	Effect
Upload new version	Adds a version to a file. The earlier version is kept.
Version history	Lists the versions of the file.
Restore	Makes an earlier version current.
Check out	Locks the file for you. Others cannot rename, move, delete or replace it.
Check in	Releases the lock.
Force unlock	An administrator releases someone else's lock.

Each stored file has a checksum. A file with the same content as one already in the cabinet shows a duplicate warning after upload; it never blocks the upload.

Document locks

A document can also be locked. A lock stops editing the document's fields by others. Approval steps are not blocked by a lock, so an approver can approve a locked document. Messages: document is already locked by <user>, document is not locked, document is locked by <user> — use force-unlock to override.

Retention

Where to find it

Workspace > Documents > Retention. Settings > Retention Policies.

Fields

Field	Description
Name	Policy name.
Retention (days)	How long documents of a type with this policy are retained.
On expiry	flag (default), archive or legal_hold_required. An unrecognised value is refused: unrecognized actionOnExpiry: <value>.

The list shows Policy, Retention in days and On expiry.

Behaviour

• A policy is attached to a document type. A document's retention applies when its type has a policy.
• Expiry is computed when a document is read: creation time plus the retention days. No scheduler runs and nothing is stored or deleted. GET /api/v1/documents/{id}/retention-status returns whether retention applies, whether it has expired, when, the action on expiry and the legal hold flag.
• Legal hold on a document means it is never reported as expired, whatever its age. Set it with PATCH /api/v1/documents/{id}/legal-hold.
• Retention only reports and flags; it does not delete documents.

Approval

Where to find it

Workspace > Documents > Approval. Documents tab.

Document lifecycle

Status	Meaning	Next actions
draft	Being prepared. Fields and attachments are editable.	Submit
submitted	Sent for approval.	Start review
review	Under review.	Approve, Reject
approved	Approved.	Archive
rejected	Rejected. Editable again.	Submit again
archived	Archived.	none

Each step is a separate, checked action and refuses other states: cannot <action> a document while it is '<status>'. Fields can be edited only in draft or rejected: cannot edit a document while it is '<status>'; only draft/rejected documents are editable. Each action needs the execute right on the document (see Storage and access).

Approval workflow and notifications

When the document type names an Approval Workflow, submitting starts it. If the Workflow engine is unavailable, the failure is logged and the document still moves. Approving or rejecting sends a notification to the owner when the owner id is an e-mail address.

Other document features

Feature	Description
Attachments	Attach files to a document by file id. Detach removes the link, not the file.
Relationships	Link two documents with related_to, supersedes, amendment_of or reference. A document cannot relate to itself. Shown on both documents.
Audit trail	Every action is recorded with who and when and shown on the document.
Change owner	PATCH /api/v1/documents/{id}/owner with newOwnerId.
Virtual folders	A saved search over files or documents: Applies to (Files or Documents), Name, Criteria (JSON). They show whatever matches now.

API

Action	Endpoint
Create, read, update fields	POST /api/v1/documents, GET /api/v1/documents/{id}, PATCH /api/v1/documents/{id}
Lifecycle	POST /api/v1/documents/{id}/submit, start-review, approve, reject, archive
Lock	POST /api/v1/documents/{id}/lock, unlock, force-unlock
Attachments	POST, GET /api/v1/documents/{id}/attachments, DELETE .../attachments/{attachmentId}
Relationships	POST, GET /api/v1/documents/{id}/relationships, DELETE .../relationships/{relationshipId}
Audit	GET /api/v1/documents/{id}/audit
Retention	GET /api/v1/documents/{id}/retention-status, policies under /api/v1/documents/retention-policies

Related

File manager, Storage and access, Documents, lifecycle and retention.