Document Management

Document management allows you to store documents in the database rather than on a network or shared drive. Because documents are stored within the database, you have to check them in and out of the database to make changes. This prevents two users from making changes to the same document at the same time and then attempting to save the document; the system would have no way of knowing which version of the document to save. 

Document Management allows you to keep up to five revisions of your documents in a filegroup on your database server.

Once activated, Document Management, creates entries in the MM600_DOCUMENTS table for each document, and the documents themselves are stored in the EBMS_DOCS filegroup on the database server.

Checked in documents are not compressed. The approximate size contribution of a document in Document Management is the same as a stand-alone document. To approximate the growth rate of your database files after activating Document Management, the best gauge is to take the rate of growth of your current document system (document class path folders) and multiply by the number of versions kept in Version Control.

Documents are Checked Out as they are added/imported into Enterprise or edited. A Checked Out document is usually copied to a local drive on the user's workstation, where only that user can edit it. To allow other users to work with the document, the user who checked it out must right-click on the document and select Check In. This imports the document back into the database, deletes the local copy, and creates the next version of the document on the Versions tab.

Documents are checked out to the following locations on the user's workstation:

• Working Directory as specified in the Edit User screen
• If Working Directory is blank or does not exist, documents are checked out to C:\USLP900\
• If Working Directory and C:\USLP900\ do not exist, documents are checked out to the NewGen folder of the user's program files

Only documents created or imported into Enterprise after Document Management is activated are stored within the database. Files created before activating Document Management remain in their current locations as specified in Document Classes unless manually imported.

Activate Document Management

To activate Document Management:

1. Enable Document Management
2. Configure the System Parameter
3. Import/Transfer Existing Documents

Enable Document Management

Momentus Enterprise recommends activating document management from your SQL server. To do this, you need to first verify that your NewGen folder is accessible from the SQL server. From there, create a shortcut to your ...NewGen\USIEXE00.exe on your SQL server's desktop.  

Once you launch v19 on your SQL server, click Activate Document Management from the Main Menu.

In the Location for the FILENAME: field, type the path to the database files on your database server. You can find this from SQL Server Management Studio, selecting Properties on your database, and finding the path to the data files.

After typing in the Location, click the Enable button. When Document Management is successfully enabled, a message appears to confirm. Log out and back into the system.

Configure the System Parameter

The system parameter you are configuring controls whether Document Management is active and how many versions are stored in Version Control.

1. Click the System Parameters link from the Main Menu. The System Parameters screen opens.
2. Select system parameter AA (application) 600 (code).
3. Right-click and select Edit. The Edit System Parameter screen opens.
4. Enter Y into the Alphanumeric Value field.
5. Enter the number of versions you want to retain into the Amount field. You can retain up to 5 versions.
6. Click OK.

Import/Transfer Existing Documents

Momentus Enterprise recommends you perform the document transfer after typical work hours as it may slow down your system performance. Before you begin the transfer process, verify that your document classes are correct and the file locations are accessible from the machine you are running the document transfer. For example, if the MS Word document class points to G:\Documents\Word, verify that you can go directly to that file location and see the Word files. Any documents not in the location specified by the document class are purged from the software during the document transfer process. If you have any questions, contact the Client Care Team before proceeding.  

1. Click the Document Transfer link from the Main Menu. The Document Transfer screen opens.
2. Select if you would like to process all files (Process all files) or only files created within a specific date range (Process files created between dates).
3. Select your desired settings from the Logging section:
   • Save processing messages the specified text file - If checked, documents that fail to transfer into the database are logged in a text file in the location specified in the Log field.
   • Append messages to the specified text file - If selected and if a log file already exists, message are added after the last entry in the existing text file.
   • Delete contents if text file exists - If selected and if a log file already exists, the existing log file is deleted and a new log file is created. The information from the existing log file is not retained.
4. Click Process. The Progress and Statistics section display the progress of the utility. 

After the document transfer process is finished, the documents still exist in their original locations as well. The transfer process does not delete the documents from their original location.

Document Management FAQs

Why is the Location field not visible when I go to the Enable Document Management screen?

If the file path field on the Enable Document Management screen is not present, that means that Document Management is enabled so the system already knows the path. You can verify this by looking at the tables in your database and seeing if there is an MM600 table. If there is, Document Management was enabled at some point (activating Document Management creates the table), and you can click the Enable button to re-enable it. 

Why do I receive an Incorrect Syntax error when activating Document Management?

If this occurs, make sure there are not any hyphens or other like symbols in the database name. If there is, rename the database without the symbol and attempt to enable document management again. 

Why am I getting a Filegroup ‘EBMS_DOCS’ already exists in this database message?

To resolve the issue, either change the name or remove the conflicting filegroup if it is empty.

How do I add, edit and view documents?

When adding a new document, it is automatically added at a Checked Out status in a pre-defined location (typically the Working Directory defined for the user). Once all changes are made to the document, the document is checked back into Enterprise and it is available for viewing by all users.  Clicking save in an application (for example, Word or Excel) is not the same as checking the document back into Uthe software. You must select Check In on the document to make the version you added or edited available to all users.

To edit a document, you must first check it out. If you select to edit a document, you receive a prompt to verify you want to check out the document. If you attempt to edit a document that is already checked out, you receive a message that the document is checked out and you can only view the document.

You can also choose to view a document so you can see the content without making changes or checking the document out. When viewing a document, it remains at its current status.

How do I know if a document is checked out? 

If a document is checked out, Checked Out appears in the Status column on the Documents tab. To see who checked out the document, display the Checked Out By column.

Do all documents require checking in and checking out?

No, all documents do not require checking and out. Certain types of documents that are not editable, such as emails, display Not Versioned in the Status field. This means that the document is not subject to check in or out of the database. 

Using Document Management has made my database very large. Can I back up my Enterprise database separately from the documents?

Yes. When taking a database backup, the EBMS_DOCS filegroup (SQL Server) is selected to back up by default. You can choose not to backup this file with your regular backups. We recommend backing up the documents file separately on a regular basis.

Can I use v20 or v30 without using document management?

If you wish to use documents within the software, then you must use Document Management.

What are the document management plans for record retention rules and record schedule management? For example, how can I easily upload Word documents of varying retention minimums and later easily identify, approve and purge those documents by record schedule with evidence?

There is no retention level at the document or document type level.

For a public records request, how can we identify and select broad ranges of event documents related to criteria such as date, room location, sales person, etc.?

The Find Document screen is typically used to search across all documents in all areas of the software. It is recommended that you look at the search criteria available there and see if it meets your needs.

We are concerned about database size upon upgrade and over time. What impact to system performance can be predicted going from pre-document management to post-document management? 

The impact to general system performance is minimal assuming the documents themselves are stored in a separate File Group from the base Enterprise data. The system is designed to allow for the use of separate File Groups.