Introduction

The purpose of this document is to outline features found in the Document Management portion of Cyrious SMS. Document Management is a term meant to cover the broad aspects associated with file management associated with customers and orders. This includes artwork, but also PDFs, Word Document, checklists, and other documents from customers or generated in the production of orders and estimates.

Overview of Document Management


What is Document Management

Some of the common questions Cyrious receives from SMS users are:

  • Is there a way to attach a file to an order?
  • How can I organize my artwork?
  • Is there a good place to put the proof of company tax exemption?
  • How can I save email so that I can find it for an order?

All of these are questions about documents (files) that have some relationship to orders or customers. Document Management refers to the system that each company has (implicitly or explicitly) to manage all of the documents associated with their business.

Why Should SMS Handle Document Management

Every business has to manage the documents associated with its business processes. For most of our users, SMS is the primary organizational tool for keeping track of customers, orders, and estimates. Because it is already integrated into the company processes, SMS provides a natural place to coordinate the documents associated with any particular order, estimate, or company. By providing a new “Documents” tab on each of these records (and others), and then managing the underlying folder structure, SMS provides a simple framework that works for most businesses.

Sample documents that might be managed through SMS:

  • Artwork
  • Photos
  • Scanned Documents (like signed invoices, etc.)
  • Tax Documents
  • Word and Excel Documents
  • Emails
  • Checklists
  • Anything else you can think of!

Finally, you should understand that though SMS will manage the documents, they are still stored as separate files in Windows on a common file-server. This will usually be the SSLIP computer, but does not necessarily need to be. Backing up the documents is also a separate activity that is not handled by SMS, so please be sure to read the section on backup carefully.

Document Management User Interface


The Document Tab

The document tab is the primary interface for working with managed documents within SMS. The document tab exists on the following types of objects:

  • Orders
  • Estimates
  • Companies

The document tab on all objects look similar and works identically.

Document Explorers

The main body of the Documents tab consists of one or more Document Explorers. Document Explorers are functionally similar to Windows Explorer, but the actions often work in slightly different ways behind the scenes.

You may have one or more Document Explorers in the Document Explorer Panel. By default, each object will open the primary document explorer for that object. The Additional Folders panel will contain links to other document folders that are related to this object. See Section Additional Folders below for more information.

Each Document Explorer has a toolbar and supports the following navigation operations:

  • Double click to Open
  • Drag and Drop to/from other Document Explorers (This will Move the file, not Copy it)
  • Drag and Drop to/from Windows Explorer (This will Move the file, not Copy it)
  • Right-click to open a Context menu including the following options (exact options may vary slightly based on the given selection):
    • Open
    • Print
    • Delete
    • Copy
    • Paste

Common Actions Panel

The common actions panel displays commonly used actions for the selected items in the Document Explorer. Clicking these actions is equivalent to using the Document Explorer toolbar or right-clicking on the selected documents.

Related Folders

The primary DM folder will automatically display on the Documents tab, but shortcuts to other common folders are also displayed in the Additional Folders section. These additional folder links are commonly displayed:

  • Company aaaaaa. This is a link to the specific company DM folder. This link is displayed:
    • For all orders for that Company,
    • For all estimates for that Company,

A link to Company aaaaaa is also shown when viewing that Company so that you may open or reopen multiple Document Explorers.

  • Order xxxx or Converted To Order xxxx. This is a link to the specific order DM folder. This link would be displayed when a single order is associated with another record, such as:
    • When an estimate was converted to Order xxxx,

A link to Order xxxx is also shown when viewing that Order so that you may open or reopen multiple Document Explorers.

  • Estimate xxxx or Converted From Estimate xxxx. This is a link to the specific estimate DM folder. This link would be displayed when a single estimate is associated with another record, such as:
    • When an order was converted from Estimate xxxx

A link to Estimate xxxx is also shown when viewing that estimate so that you may open or reopen multiple Document Explorers.

Preview Panel

Information about the selected file (or files) is displayed in the Preview Panel. The preview image is displayed using the same Windows preview engine used with Windows Explorer, so any registered image should display.

Navigating Sub-folders

Cyrious’ Document Management allows you to create an unlimited number of folders (and folders within folders) for each managed folder. To navigate down a folder, double-click on that folder. To navigate back up, click on the folder with a green up arrow in the toolbar above your document folder. When you have navigated into down one or more subfolders, SMS also builds a breadcrumb path showing you the folders you have descended. You may instantly jump back up the hierarchy by clicking on any of the links to the higher folders in the chain.

A user may not (in SMS) navigate higher than the managed folder for that object (Order, Customer, etc.). There is no provision to manually enter the navigation path.

Folder Structure


Overview

All documents managed by Cyrious Document Management are stored inside of a single root folder, Documents.

…\Documents\

Files are stored intact directly on the hard-drive and are not compressed, encrypted, or restricted except as those options may be automatically applied by Microsoft Windows.

Within Documents, all files are organized by the type of object they are associated with. Some examples of managed documents are:

Documents\Order\1000\o1000 – Lowes (3422)\Logo.jpg

Documents\Order\2000\o2342 – Water Company (1232)\Artwork 2342a.ai

Documents\Order\2000\o2342 – Water Company (1232)\Restricted\Bid Pricing.xls

Documents\Estimate\1000\e1010 – Lowes (3422)\Bid Request.pdf

Documents\Estimate\1000\e1010 – Lowes (3422)\Restricted\Our Bid.xls

Documents\Company\L\Lowes (3422)\24x36 Logo at 300 dpi.eps

Documents\Company\L\Lowes (3422)\Negotiated Pricing.pdf

Documents\Company\W\Water Company (1232)\2012 Tax Certificate.pdf

Documents\Company\W\Water Company (1232)\Contact\Smith, John\Photo.jpg

Documents\Company\W\Water Company (1232)\Contact\Bohns, Mary\Photo.jpg

The following object types support managed documents in Cyrious SMS:

  • Orders
  • Estimates
  • Companies (includes Prospects, Clients)

Files are organized within each object type in a manner designed to make both manual navigation and automated searching practical.

Orders

Documents associated with orders are stored under paths with this structure:

Documents\Order\Axxx\ABxx\ttABCD - Company\

Where:

Documents The root object for all managed documents.
Order The folder for all managed documents associated with orders.
Axxx A the thousands range for this block of orders. (e.g., Orders 1000-1999 would be stored in a folder structure starting \Documents\Order\1000 ). Breaking the orders into blocks of 1000 makes manual navigation easier and automated access faster.
tt type is one of the following:
o Order
e Estimate
ABCD ABCD is the full order number
Company The Company name and number, e.g. “Lowes (2423)”

Folder Examples
> Documents\Order\1000\o1000 – Lowes (2423)\
> Documents\Order\1000\st1001 – McDonalds #42 (1352)\
> Documents\Order\1000\o1002 – Peters Pies (5231)\
> Documents\Order\2000\o2001 – Peters Pies (5231)\
> Documents\Order\3000\o3002 – Peters Pies (5231)\
> Documents\Order\123000\o123456 – Peters Pies (5231)\
Related Folders
The following actions to additional folder are shown on the documents tab for orders:
* Order #1234opens the DM folder for this order.
* Lowes (3242)opens the DM folder for the current company
* Converted Estimate #8473 if applicable
* Cloned Order #8473 if applicable
Estimates
Documents associated with estimates are stored under a path with this structure:
> Documents\Estimate\Axxx\ABxx\eABCD - Company\
Where:
|| Documents || The root object for all managed documents. ||

Estimate The folder for all managed documents associated with estimates.
Axxx A the thousands range for this block of estimates. (e.g., Estimates 1000-1999 would be stored in a folder structure starting \Documents\Estimate\1000\ ). Breaking the estimates into blocks of 1000 makes manual navigation easier and automated access faster.
e “e” for estimate (the type of item this DM is for).
ABCD ABCD is the full estimate number
Company The Company name and number, e.g. “Lowes (2423)”

Folder Examples
> Documents\Estimate\1000\e1000 – Lowes (4243)\
> Documents\Estimate\1000\e1000 – McDonalds #77 (3470)\
> Documents\Estimate\1000\e1001 – Jerry Lane Auto (722)\
> Documents\Estimate\1000\1001 (Estimate)\
Related Folders
The following links to additional folder are shown on the documents tab for estimates:
* Estimate #1234 opens the DM folder for this Estimate.
* Lowes (3242) opens the DM folder for the current company
* Converted To Order #1005 if applicable
Companies
Documents associated with prospects, clients, vendors, and other companies are stored under one of the two following paths:
> Documents\Company\A\Name (number)\
Where:
|| Documents || The root object for all managed documents. ||

Company The folder for all managed documents associated with companies.
A A the first letter of the company name. (e.g., Company Johnson Marine would be stored in a folder structure as \Documents\Company\J\Johnson Marine (7743) ). Organizing the companies by their first letter makes manual navigation easier and automated access faster.
Companies that start with numbers are placed in a folder \Documents\0-9\.
Companies with any other name are placed in a folder \Documents\~Other\.
Name Name the name of the company.
number number is the company number within SMS. The company number (in parenthesis) is added to avoid conflicts with separate but identically named companies within SMS.

Folder Examples

Documents\Company\0-9\1st Place Trophy (8323)\

Documents\Company\A\Alpha Dog (3323)\

Documents\Company\A\Arty Cleaners (1372)\

Documents\Company\Z\Zuit Suits (8342)\

Documents\Company\~Other\&mpersand Design (2373)\

Related Folders

No additional following links are shown in the documents tab for companies.

Accessing the Folders Externally

Accessing managed documents outside of SMS is NOT recommended and should be done at the users own risk.

Even so, you may choose to give certain trusted employees direct access to some or all of the documents. For example, you may wish to give your designers direct access to the Orders and Estimates folders if you wish them to work directly with the files in those folders instead of use Cyrious. Here, Cyrious’ biggest concern is that you understand the damage a rogue or careless employee can cause! See the next section on Backup!

In general, Cyrious will work fine with files being added and removed externally from the application. However, if a user is editing a file within SMS and another user is editing the file directly on the drive (not through SMS), there will be no coordination between the two users. In that case, which results get saved is not predictable and Cyrious may not be aware of the conflict to notify the user.

Backup


Warning: Cyrious SMS’s internal backup does NOT back up the managed documents. You are responsible for backing up these files using a reliable backup program. Cyrious SMS does NOT maintain any of the file data in its own database so if the files are lost, Cyrious has no ability to help you recover them.

Please read the above warning. Please, please read it again. Cyrious’ managed documents are an incredible tool for your business, but you are creating a single point of failure. It is very important that you set up and maintain a reliable backup plan for the managed documents. Please consult your local IT professional for assistance on this, and be sure to check the backup at least monthly to ensure you are getting a good backup!

Practical Limitations


Some of the practical limitations of Cyrious Document Management that the user needs to be aware of are:

  • Until a record is initially saved and the DM folder is created for it, DM is not enabled on that object. This means a Documents tab will not appear until you Save your Order/Estimate/Company.

Document Actions

As a general rule, the actions that can be performed on Attached Documents are dictated by Windows Explorer, and are mostly the same regardless of the type of document or what type of item it is attached to. The actions, arranged in categories, are:

  • Actions to Open Files
    • Open
    • Print (if supported in Registry)
  • Actions to Add, Remove, or Update Files
    • Upload/Add File (Copy from)
    • Delete (File or Folder)
    • Rename (File or Folder)
  • Clipboard
    • Copy to Clipboard
    • Cut to Clipboard
    • Paste from Clipboard
  • Drag-and-Drop Actions (This will Move the file, not Copy it)
    • Drag
    • Drop
  • Information Actions
    • Refresh
    • Get Thumbnail

Orders & Estimates

If Document Management is enabled for orders, a document management folder is created for each order created by SMS. Likewise, SMS will create a document management folder for each estimate created when DM is enabled for estimates.

Cyrious recommends that you place artwork and other associated documents in the order’s or estimate’s individual document management folder. The company’s DM folder, however, is a good place for common information and correspondence and documentation that may not have to do with a specific order (e.g., company logos, tax exemption form).

Documents Tab

The Documents tab on the Order or Estimate record is where you will interact with managed documents for that transaction. By default, the Documents tab will initially open with a single view of the managed document folder (top-level) for that order or estimate.

Note: Since the Order or Estimate # is part of the naming convention, the folder will use a wildcard search in case the order description changes.

That is, for order 7473, the DM folder is the first folder found at “Documents/Orders/7xxx/74xx/o7473 – *”

Note: If Document Management is not enabled in Set-Up > Setup Store Information, the Documents tab will not appear.

If the appropriate DM folder does not exist for that order, the Documents tab should still be shown, but the following message displayed in the center of the screen:

Create Folders

If the user clicks the Create Folders button, the default folders will be created at that time and the documents tab will reflect the folder structure.

The view that a user chooses (small icon, list, detail, etc.) will be automatically saved as their default view for that type of DM folder, and applied automatically when a new DM folder of that same type (order, customer, etc.) is opened.

File Structure

Within the folder for a specific company, users are free to create sub-folders and copy, move, or delete files as they would with Windows Explorer.

Default Files and Folders

Cyrious recognizes that users may want to create templates and standard files that are automatically included whenever a new folder is created. To facilitate this, Cyrious allows users to create a default folder for each object type in System Setup. The contents of this default folder are then copied into the new folder when it is created.

For orders all files inside the default folder located at the following location are copied into each document management folder when it is created.

Documents\Default Folders\Order

For estimates, all files inside the default folder located at the follow location are copied into each document management folder when it is created.

Documents\Default Folders\Estimate

Sample default files and folders might be:

Documents\Default Folders\Estimate\Artwork\

Documents\Default Folders\Order\Artwork\

Documents\Default Folders\Order\Packing Slips\

Documents\Default Folders\Order\Photos\

Note: In order to ensure the default folders may be created (even when the user might not have write access to the particular folders), the creation of all new DM folders and the copying of the default folders and files occurs on the SSLIP.

Security

Access to all folders is controlled by Microsoft Windows security. SMS does not enforce any particular security scheme on the DM folders.

Company

When documents apply to specific orders or estimates, Cyrious recommends that you place those documents in the order’s or estimate’s individual document management folder. The company repository, however, is a good place for common information and correspondence and documentation that may not have to do with a specific order (e.g., company logos, tax exemption form).

Documents Tab

The Documents tab on the Company record is where you will interact with managed document for that company. By default, the Documents tab will initially open with a single view of the managed document folder (top-level) for that company.

Note:If Document Management is not enabled, the Documents tab will not appear.

If the appropriate DM folder does not exist for that company, the Documents tab will still be shown, but the following message will be displayed in the center of the screen:

Create Folders

If the user clicks the Create Folders button, the default folders will be created at that time and the documents tab reflect the folder structure.

The view that a user chooses (small icon, list, detail, etc.) will be automatically saved their default view for that type of DM folder, and applied automatically when a new DM folder of that same type (order, customer, etc.) is opened.

File Structure

Within the folder for a specific company, users are free to create sub-folders and copy, move, or delete files as they would with Windows Explorer.

Renaming Companies

When a company is renamed, the top level managed document folder for that company is renamed appropriately.

The process of renaming a company requires Cyrious to rename the managed documents folder for that company. In order to rename it, Windows requires that no files in that folder be open. This is not a problem for access through Cyrious SMS, since the file is always copied locally and never opened from DM storage. However, if any files in the company folder or any sub-folder are being viewed or edited directly (i.e., outside of Cyrious SMS) those files will prevent the renaming process from continuing.

Note: Since the user may not have R/W access to the affected folders, all folder renaming occurs on the SSLIP.

The process of renaming a company folder in SMS is executed as follows:

  • The user renames the Company.
  • A working dialog tells the user “Cyrious SMS is attempting to rename the managed document folder from xxxx to yyyy.”
  • SMS executes a rename command on the folder, which is passed on to the SSLIP.
  • The SSLIP attempts to rename the folder. It then replies to the SMS client with a successful change or returns the error message.
  • If the rename is unsuccessful, the SMS client displays an additional prompt giving the user a few options.

Note: If the company is renamed, SMS attempts to rename all of the related order and estimate folders. However, if any of these renames fail the SSLIP logs an error and continues.

Default Files and Folders

Cyrious recognizes that users may want to create templates and standard files that are automatically included whenever a new folder is created. To facilitate this, Cyrious allows users to create a default folder for each object type. The contents of this default folder are then copied into the new folder when it is created.

For companies, all files inside the default folder located here at are copied into each new company folder when it is created.

Documents\Default Folders\Company

Sample default files and folders might be:

Documents\Default Folders\Company\Logos\

Documents\Default Folders\Company\Correspondence\

Security

Access to all folders is controlled by Microsoft Windows security. SMS does not enforce any particular security scheme on the DM folders.

Setup


Options in Cyrious SMS

Document Management setup options are found under Mgmt | Set-Up | Setup Store Information | Document Management and include the following options:

Document Management may not be enabled (saved in an enabled state) unless valid shares/paths are provided.

The link to create folders for Open Orders, Pending Estimates, and Active Clients retrieves a list of these objects and automatically creates folders for them. A warning will appear that looks like the below picture:

Default Folder Setup

In the bottom half of the Mgmt | Set-Up | Setup Store Information | Document Management page there are also tabs to set up the default folders.

The default folders referenced by each tab are:

Documents\Default Folders\Order

Documents\Default Folders\Estimate

Documents\Default Folders\Company

Backup

Warning: Cyrious SMS’s internal backup does NOT back up the managed documents. You are responsible for backing up these files using a reliable backup program. Cyrious SMS does NOT maintain any of the file data in its own database so if the files are lost, Cyrious has no ability to help you recover them.

You are responsible to install and operate a back system that backs up every file and folder contained under your Documents path.

Documents\*.*

Cyrious recommends a minimum backup plan that meets these conditions:

  • All changes in the Documents folder are backed up daily to another computer on the network. Either a backup program (preferred) that can track changes, or a program such as Allway Sync that can do the same thing manually should be used.
  • A full, new backup of the Documents folder contents should be created monthly and taken offsite. This could also be accomplished using a backup program (preferred) or something as simple as zipping up the root folder and copying this to a thumb drive. Cyrious recommends having a full, separate copy of the Documents folder so that in the event the incremental daily backups have a problem (as we have often seen) you still have a fairly recent copy.
  • Use an Internet backup service if you like, but at least makes a monthly local copy also. Cyrious Technical Support has seen many customers with Internet backup configurations that did not copy or could not reconstruct the essential data … and it isn’t pretty when that happens!
  • Keep the last 3 monthly backups.
  • Keep December’s monthly backup from every year as an additional safeguard.
  • Use an Internet backup service if you like, but at least makes a monthly local copy also.

Cyrious’ managed documents are an incredible tool for your business, but you are creating a single point of failure. It is very important that you set up and maintain a reliable backup plan for the managed documents. Please consult your local IT professional for assistance on this, and be sure to check the backup at least monthly to ensure you are getting a good backup!

Registered File Types

Cyrious SMS uses Windows’ file type registration system (just like Windows Explorer) to determine what to open any particular file type in. Normally, when you install software it automatically registers for the types of files it can handle. (e.g., Microsoft Word automatically registers to handle file extensions DOC, DOCX, RTF, and a number of others.)

If no handler program is registered for a particular file type, the user will be presented with a dialog box such as:

From this screen you can manually choose a program to open the file with (the second option) or ask Windows to look on the web and identify possible programs you could buy/obtain to open it. If you receive this screen and choose the second option (select a program) you get another screen which suggests possible programs to open it with:

Select the appropriate application or locate it on the computer by clicking Browse. If you don’t see or can’t find the write application, click Cancel and consult with your local IT staff. Cyrious support does not provide or install software on your local computer that is not directly related to Cyrious SMS.

Checking the “Always use the selected program to open this kind of file” will instruct Windows to register this program to always open that file type so that next time you can avoid these prompts. However, do not check this unless you are sure the application is correct. Cyrious recommends you do not check this box the first time, and then if the file opens correctly you can select this option the second time you open such a file to save the settings permanently.