Docuware- Filtering Records
Ever want to give someone or some group access to ALMOST everything? For example:A client file may have invoices, purchase orders, correspondence and other common items that people need to have access to do their job butClient files may ALSO have Financial Reports, Legal Contracts and other PRIVATE documents not everyone should be able to see. Some people will create a separate file cabinet for confidential files but you do not have to.
You can have everything in one place and filter out what you do NOT want people to see.
This is A LONG Example I will try to make it simple.Group 1 I will call READ_ONLY users and they are general users They are NOT suppose to be able to see FINANCIAL records or ENFORCEMENT RECORDS. Enforcement Records are letters of Rule Violations and other issues of a confidential nature.
Group 2 I will call the MANAGERS and they direct and make higher level decisions. MANAGERS need access to everything in the file.
In order to filter out records we need to have a field value that makes it obvious what we are filtering out. In this case we will created or take advantage of a field we have called DOC_TYPE. This is JUST an example as there are many ways to identify an item. I am just trying to make it simple.
So in the DOC TYPE field the values we want to filter out are FINANCIAL and ENFORCEMENT. That means every financial record we add must have FINANCIAL in the DOC_TYPE field andEvery ENFORCEMENT record we add must have ENFORCEMENT in the DOC_TYPE field.
To recap what we are doing: Readonly users are in a read-only group who are NOT allowed to see FINANCIAL or ENFORCEMENT documents managers are in a managers group who are NOT limited by any filters. Got it? Great good job now the tricky stuff.
The FIRST thing to do before you do ANYTHING is to TEST if that structure works! I have taken calls from clients who have spent weeks trying to make a filter work only to find they were NOT using the structure correctly.
1: So OPEN a search dialog to the File Cabinet and in the DOC_TYPE field search for NOT (FINANCIAL) AND NOT (ENFORCEMENT)
Click on search and you should see every record in your file cabinet BUT the ones you are filtering. Did it work? If it did not STOP AND GET THIS RIGHT. There is a secret to this if you have Docuware 6.8 or below. Remember Docuware 6.8 and below have the THICK CLIENT available. Creating complex searches is EASIER in the THICK CLIENT and here is why. When you are in a search dialog box in the CLIENT there is a HELP BUTTON on the bottom left of the box. CLICK THIS it is a great deal of help.
Why does Docuware have this here in the thick client and not the web version? The thick client came first and the web version is just getting built to match.it is newer and missing a few features that we use to have in the thick client…I think they will come back, but you can always comment to them about things like this they are good listeners and will move some things to the top of the TODO list if enough people want them,
WHEN the search gets you what you need GREAT let’s build that filter and put it to work.
In every version of Docuware 5x up to 6.8 a filter requires 2 profiles. IF you are using a NEWER version of Docuware ignore the 2 different profiles as you can do this all in one.
The FIRST profile for the FILTER. So open the administrator. Create a new profile called READ_ONLY FilterAdd the search we did earlier to the FILTER and look what happened…the dialog boxes at the bottom of the screen disappeared. I know there was no warning or help just GONE……It is not in the help files either so do not feel bad we all had to learn this. This is the FILTER and it provides rights…..Set the filter to the rights you want the READ ONLY users to have. In this case, I would give them ONLY Search, Display, and Export. Apply.
The SECOND profile is the dialog boxes ONLY. To create a new profile called READ_ONLY_Dialog.remove all of the rights fields everything from this profile, EXCEPT the dialog boxes they can access, In this case, I will assume the dialog box is called Search and Results. Apply this.
Now create a READ_ONLY users group and add users to that group. Create a ROLE for the READ_ONLY Filtered and add the Group, the functional profile, and the file cabinet profile to the role. Apply.
Now login as one of the users in the group. You should ONLY be able to see the records that are NOT FINANCIAL and NOT ENFORCEMENT, If you did GREAT if not make certain you test the filter in Docuware if your Query works in the dialog box but not in the filter it is PROBABLY because the user has rights to this file cabinet from a different profile. You can RIGHT CLICK on the USER NAME in the Administration program and it will tell you what groups, roles, profiles, etc that user is a part of, and you can case it down that way…..
This may seem a bit cumbersome and I will not lie to you, IT IS! but…..until DW 6.9 it was needed as FILTERS did not apply to DIALOG BOXES they ONLY apply to the RIGHTS of the users. If you have a maintenance contract, Be happy! The newer version of Docuware will not have this procedure it will be easier, but for now, this is what you have to do.
I hope it is obvious to you to give the managers access the same way without filter profile. Build one Managers profile with rights and dialog boxes as always, Build a Managers group, add users build a Managers role (beginning to see a pattern here?) Attach the dialog boxes, group, file cabinet profile, and functional profile to the role test They should see everything.
I have clients who use other fields and their values to show records. I have 1 client that has 150 different groups of people filtered in the file cabinet by divisions and departments and job functions.It can be very complex but it is not really very hard to do. Just TEST EVERYTHING before you try to make it a filter. I have clients who created a field just for rights. (That is a bit much) but if the agency is big enough (more than 2,000 users) it may be needed.
In troubleshooting the two biggest problems I encounter is centered around the FILTER not formed correctly and it will not work at all. grammar is important so you have to use the correct “(” and “)” to encapsulate multiple criteria. You can use MULTIPLE FIELDS as well. You can change the relationships between those fields from an AND statement to an OR statement as well, I like to NOT allow more than I like to ALLOW as that commonly limits the exceptions.
The second issue is often the user is a member of 2 different groups in the same file cabinet and they contradict each other. One grants rights and the other takes them away. So my advice it tests the filter with a SEARCH DIALOG and sees if you get what you expect BEFORE you try to troubleshoot the rest.