Document fields link to documents stored in the document library attached to each Relate record. More than one document field may be linked to a single document, and a document may exist in the document library without being linked to a document. However, in all cases, the document that is linked must be in the document library belonging to the same record as the form entry containing the document field.
Document fields have various settings effecting how documents are linked and uploaded, how documents are displayed and whether documents get cleaned-up (deleted) when they are no longer used by a document field. Document field can be used by formulas in many different ways. More information is available in the Relate Script documentation.
A document field has settings for creating/linking, cleaning-up and displaying documents.
| Format/Setting |
Description |
| Display As |
There are two main settings: document name and thumbnail. For document fields that link to photos or other images, a thumbnail is generally the right choice. For other types of documents such as text documents, spreadsheets, etc. the document name is usually more appropriate.
For thumbnail display additional options are available to customize the dimensions of the thumbnail. If you choose thumbnail display, and the linked document is not an image (or not recognized as an image) then a generic icon will be displayed based on document type.
|
| Default Folder |
This optional setting causes uploaded documents to be placed in a sub-folder within the document library, by default. Document can be moved regardless of this setting, but it can help to keep things organized. Also, formulas acting on document fields can automatically move-back any document that have been placed outside the default folder.
|
| Sub-folder |
The sub-folder setting modifies the default folder by adding a sub-folder based on the date when a document is uploaded. A sub-folder can be automatically created annually, quarterly or monthly. This is particularly useful if a document field is located on a multi-entry form that is filled out many times for a single record. A large number of documents in a single folder can easily become too messy to manage easily. This setting may even be used retroactively in connection with a formula which moves documents into their default folder, based on the date they were originally uploaded into the library.
|
| Cleanup |
If desired, document which cease to be linked to this document field may be automatically deleted. This works whether the individual field is cleared or the entire form entry containing the field is deleted. However, it does not delete documents simultaneously referenced by other document fields.
|
| Interaction |
Two options are available: Full document library and upload file only. If "full document library" is chosen then the user has access to the full document library and may, therefore, select a document previously uploaded or upload a new one. Also the user may move documents around within the library and make any other changes to documents within the library that their permission allow.
If "upload file only" is chosen then the user can only upload a new document, not select a previously uploaded one. They may also clear the document field and view/download the selected document. However, no other actions are available through the document field.
|
| ActiveX |
This setting is only available to BlueStep client care staff. It allows documents to be viewed via a special activeX control which interacts with the WebDAV features of the document library such as locking documents being edited and saving them directly back to the document library. This feature was really neat when originally created. However, Microsoft has not been consistent in their support of this feature over the intervening years, and it is probably not actually functional on most computers. |
A document field controls the permissions of any documents it is linked to. This means that if you edit a document that is attached to a document field, there is no permissions tab. Also, any permissions set prior to linking to a document field will be ignored. If the user has permission to edit the document field, they will have permission to edit the document linked to the field. If they have author permission to the field, they will be able to upload new versions of a document, but not make most other changes. If they have view permission to the document field they will be able to view the linked document, but not make any changes to the stored document.
Things get more complex when a document is linked to two different document fields with different permission settings. In this case the user is granted the lowest permission level of all linked fields, with one exception: If one field grants view permission and another field grants a higher permission, then the intermediate permission level, participate, will be granted. The only difference between view and participate is that "view" permission only allows access to the current version of a document. Participate allows viewing all versions stored for a document with versioning enabled.
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