Example of how the Office Add-in uses Word and Excel custom property fields

After you save an Office document with the Add-in, go look at the File/Properties menu item and then look at the Custom tab. That's where the Add-in stored all the "metadata" about the document. The document number is here, the categories, the division, the document type, etc.

The bonus to this is that you can display these pieces of information in the document, for example in the footer of the document to reference the project and the document number. Very handy to have this at hand.

Synergy Document List Layout Creation and Use Tips

Synergy Document List Layout Creation and Use Tips

List Layouts produce a list or set of documents that have something in common
Document categories
Item number
Assortment
Security level
Language
Subject
Type
Project
Account
Combinations of the above

They organize documents for users

They dynamically update when a new document is added with matching “metadata” or criteria

List layouts can have a Header Document that serves as the Title area

Function Right 270 controls who can create List Layouts – used in Document Administrator and Web Administrator Roles

List Layouts used on a News Page - example

Document Scanning in Synergy

Document Scanning in Synergy Briefly Explained

Synergy includes a Document Repository system. The repository can hold nearly any kind of content including Microsoft Office files, PDF files, images, e-mails, etc. Content can be cross-referenced to other objects in the greater Synergy database: customers, partners, projects, items, associates, etc. This cross-reference data is called “metadata”. Content is also classified into a 3-level category system.

One method of putting content into the repository is through scanning a document. As part of the scanning process, a user can indicate the categories to be used as well as any other metadata points they wish, to facilitate later retrieval. Some scanners allow the user to choose the categories and metadata on a scanner input screen. This method works well for uploading small numbers of documents. Other scanners need to have a cover sheet created with bar coded information about the categories and metadata. This latter method works well for “mass uploading” of large numbers of documents.

In order to effectively scan documents into Synergy, the categories need to be defined and set up first. Any other metadata to be used must also exist in the database. If bar coded cover sheets are going to be used, the bar code software also requires some additional setup. Once this preparatory work is done, cover sheets can be printed as needed and inter-leaved with the documents to be scanned. Then scanning of large numbers of documents can be accomplished rather quickly.

When a business department or unit wishes to begin scanning content into the system they need to give some thought to the kinds of content to be uploaded. Specifically they need to:

List out the kinds of documents
Determine the taxonomy, or categories, to be used
Determine the kinds of metadata to be used
Determine if the metadata is mandatory or optional
Determine the security levels needed (this will control who can retrieve and view a document)
Determine if different kinds of documents need to be shared for editing purposes
Determine if only certain individuals can create specific kinds of documents
If metadata is to be used, determine if there are limits that need to be considered (e.g. document type “A” can only be cross-referenced to an active associate as opposed to an inactive associate, or document type “B” can only be cross-referenced to a specific project)
Determine who is going to perform the actual scanning, especially for mass uploading

Once the above items are considered, a plan can be created that will determine the steps needed to prepare Synergy, set up the bar code software, and organize the documents to be scanned.

Document Taxonomies

One of the first real struggles I had with Synergy was to try to set up a robust “taxonomy” (or classification system) for documents.. In one respect it’s not critical, as you can move documents fairly easily from one category to another. But the more documents that you have in the repository, the more work it will be. I did a small study of knowledge management to get ideas. Here’s one article that might help.

One of the reasons it is difficult to set something up for the entire Enterprise is that not everyone thinks like everyone else (or at least they don’t necessarily think like I do). So it’s important to talk to the intended users of the system to find out how they currently store documents and how they retrieve them. Most organizations today, unless they already have a formal document storage system, use their PC and network resources to store documents. So here’s where I went to look first:

Shared drives on the network – this is usually the biggest source of information
Shared folders in Outlook
Local drives
Intranet (if they have one)
Public web site
Outlook personal folders
Any existing software system that stores conversations, notes, etc

When I interviewed folks the vast majority were more than willing to help and willing to give up their “private stash” of information to help themselves and others.