Configuring Document Types

Document types are used to identify the purpose or content of the document. They are useful when viewing a list of documents and when searching and filtering the documents. For example, you could have a document type called “Proposal.” Users can use this type as criteria to find all the Proposal documents for a particular contact.

Your organization can configure a set of document types appropriate for your environment. Users can select from this list when attaching documents or editing document properties.

Note that one type (Attachment) is provided out of the box. This type is used as the default when automatically including e-mail attachments in activities created from e-mail messages.

See the following topics:

• Identifying Your Document Types
• Document Type Settings
• Create a Document Type
• Edit a Document Type
• Determining Where Document Types Are Displayed
• Removing Document Types
• Set a Document Type as the Default for New Documents

Identifying Your Document Types

When developing a list of document types to use, avoid defining a large number of extremely granular types. Doing so makes it more difficult for users to choose the right type when adding documents to the system and discourages them from using the system.

For example, use just one “Contract” type for all contracts. Don’t try to create a type for each type of contract used in your organization.

Since document types are primarily used for searching for documents and filtering the list of documents for an InterAction item, consider how users will look up information when identifying your types.

Try to keep the document types functional—they should describe the purpose or content of the document rather than how the document was created. For example, “Contract” and “Non-Disclosure Agreement” are more useful document types than “Word Document.”

Document Type Settings

You use InterAction Administrator to create and edit document types. When you create a document type, you must specify information for the following fields.

Document Type Fields

Field	Description
Name	The name of the document type. This displays in the Web Client, Windows Client, and Desktop Integration when users create, edit and view documents.
Status For details about these settings, see Determining Where Document Types Are Displayed.
Display this type to users (active)	Indicates that this document type is available to end users. When selected, you can specify how the type may be used: Display in the list of types available when creating or editing Display in the list of types available when searching/filtering
Hide this type from users (inactive)	Indicates that the document type won’t be available to end users. This is useful for removing a type without completely deleting it from the system. Any documents currently using the type are not changed. Note that you can completely delete a document type if no documents are currently using it. See Removing Document Types.

New/Edit Document Type Dialog Box

Create a Document Type

1. On the main window of InterAction Administrator, double-click Activities, Appointments, and Document References in the entity list.
2. Choose the Document Types button to open the Manage Document Types dialog box.

3. Choose the New button to open the New Document Type dialog box.

   Note: For a full list of document type fields, see Document Type Settings.

4. Enter the Name.

5. Under Status, indicate whether the document type should be available to end users or not.

   To	Do This
   Make the type available	Select Display this type to users (active), then select the check boxes for the areas where the type should be available. For details, see Determining Where Document Types Are Displayed.
   Hide the type from end users. This is normally only done for obsolete types that you don’t want to delete, but should no longer be used.	Select Hide this type from users (inactive). For details, see Removing Document Types.

6. Choose the OK button.

7. Choose the Close button to close the Manage Document Types dialog box, and then Close again.

   The new document type is available in the Web Client and the Windows Client immediately. The places it is available depend on the settings you selected under Status. For details, see Determining Where Document Types Are Displayed.

Edit a Document Type

1. On the main window of InterAction Administrator, double-click Activities, Appointments, and Document References in the entity list.
2. Choose the Document Types button to open the Manage Document Types dialog box.
3. Select the Document Type to change and choose the Edit button.
4. Change the fields as needed. For more information on the fields, see Document Type Settings.
5. Choose the OK button.

6. Choose the Close button to close the Manage Document Type dialog box.

   The changes are available in the Web Client and the Windows Client immediately. The places the edited document type is available depend on the settings you selected under Status. For details, see Determining Where Document Types Are Displayed.

Determining Where Document Types Are Displayed

When you create a new document type, you can designate whether or not end users can use the type or not. You can also specify the specific areas of the system in which they can use the type.

The main purpose of these settings is to make it easier for end users to select the correct types when working in the Web Client or the Windows Client.

Document Types Available to End Users

For document types that should be available to end users, you can select from two options that control where the type is available. The following table summarizes the options and describes the areas where users will see the types.

Making a Document Type Available to End Users

Option	Web Client	Windows Client
Display in the list of types available when creating or editing	The type is available in the Attach Document dialog box. Users can select the type when attaching documents and editing document properties.	The type is available in the Attach Document dialog box. Users can select the type when attaching documents and editing document properties.
Display in the list of types available when searching/filtering	The type is available on the Document Search page. Users can use the type as criteria when searching for documents. The type is also included in the list when filtering by type on the Company/Person Overview and Activities pages.	The type is available when filtering the list of documents for a contact by type in the Contact Details view.

The add/edit document dialog box in the Web Client and the Windows Client is similar.

Making a Document Type Available for Searching and Filtering - Web Client

[A] Using the Document Search in the Web Client. Document types that are available when searching/filtering can be used as search criteria.

[B] Filtering the documents for a particular client. Again, you can use document types as filter criteria.

Making a Document Type Available for Filtering - Windows Client

Filtering the Documents view for a contact in the Windows Client.

[A] Document types that are available when searching/filtering are included in the Filter Documents dialog box.

Hidden Types

In addition to controlling where a document type is displayed, you can also completely hide a type. In this case, end users do not see the type when attaching documents, editing document properties, filtering, or searching.

You typically hide document types when you want to delete the type from the system, but there are existing documents that use the type that should not be deleted or changed.

In this case, you can hide the type to prevent its use in the future. Existing documents that use the type are unchanged. For details, see Removing Document Types.

Note that hiding a type does not change or hide any documents that use the type. Therefore, even though users cannot use a hidden type, they can still see the documents that were attached using it when viewing the list of documents.

Change How a Document Type Displays to End Users

1. Edit the type as described in “Edit a Document Type.

2. Under Status, make sure the Display this type to users (active) option is selected, then select the check boxes as needed.

   You can select from the following options:

   • Display in the list of types available when creating or editing

   • Display in the list of types available when searching/filtering

     For details about what these options mean, see Document Types Available to End Users.

     You must select at least one check box! If none of the options apply, change the Status to Hide this type from users (inactive).

3. Choose the OK button to save your changes.

4. Choose the Close button to close the Manage Document Type dialog box.

   The changes are available in the Web Client and the Windows Client immediately.

Removing Document Types

There are two ways to remove document types from InterAction:

• Completely delete the type. You can only do this if there are no documents using the type.

• Hide the type from end users. In this case, users can no longer use the type in any searches or for attaching new documents, but existing documents that use the type are not changed.

  Hiding a type rather than deleting is safer because you can always restore the type if you change your mind.

  • For example, if you change the status of the document type Proposal to Inactive, all existing documents that were assigned the Proposal type will still be assigned to this type. However, the Proposal type will no longer be available for use with new documents.
  • You can also select options other than making the type completely available or completely hidden. For details, see Determining Where Document Types Are Displayed.

Note that you cannot inactivate or delete a document type that is used as the default type for new documents. Change the default type to a different type first. For details, see Set a Document Type as the Default for New Documents.

Also, you cannot delete the out-of-the-box Attachment document type. This type is always used as the default when automatically including e-mail attachments in activities created from e-mail messages. You can inactivate the type or make it unavailable on add/edit if you don’t want users to select this type when manually attaching documents, however.

Remove a Document Type

1. On the main window of InterAction Administrator, double-click Activities, Appointments, and Document References in the entity list.
2. Choose the Document Types button to open the Manage Activity and Appointment Types dialog box.

3. Select the Document Type to remove and choose the Remove button.

   If the type is currently used as the default document type for new documents, an error message displays. You need to change the default type before deleting or inactivating the type. For details, see Set a Document Type as the Default for New Documents.

4. In the Confirm Delete dialog box, select the method you want to use to remove the document type.

   To	Do This
   Hide the type from end users, but keep the information in the database	Select the Hide this type in the list of types.... option.
   Completely delete the type. Note that you can only delete the type if no documents currently use it.	Select the Remove this type from the system permanently option.

5. Choose OK. If you are completely deleting a type, but the type is currently used by documents in InterAction, an error message displays.
6. Choose the Close button to close the Manage Document Types dialog box.

Set a Document Type as the Default for New Documents

When users manually attach documents to activities, contacts, matters, opportunities, or engagements in InterAction, they can select the type for the document from a drop-down list. You can specify a default type. When a user attaches a new document, the Type option is automatically set to the default type.

If you want to require users to select the type each time, you can select No default - User must specify.

Note that the default type is not used for e-mail attachments included in activities created from e-mail messages. These documents always use the out-of-the-box Attachment type as the default. Although you cannot change this default to a completely different type, you can rename the out-of-the-box Attachment type if desired. For example, you could change the name to “E-mail Attachment.”

1. On the main window of InterAction Administrator, double-click Activities, Appointments, and Document References in the entity list.
2. Choose the Document Settings button.
3. Under Default document type when adding a document reference, select the type you want to use as the default.
   • All document types that are available when creating or editing documents are shown in the drop-down list.
   • If you don’t want to provide a default, select No default - User must specify. In this case, users will always need to select a document type when attaching a new document.
4. Choose OK to save your change.