Properties define the information about an object, such as documents and folders. All the objects you can access in an object store belong to a class. The class determines the properties and behavior of the object. For example, all folders belong to the Folder class and all documents belong to the Document class. The behavior and properties for a folder are different from the behavior and properties for a document. For example, you can check out documents, but you cannot check out folders.
Your administrator defines the properties for a particular class and can create new subclasses of a class. For example, if your site needs a project account code for all documents, the administrator could add the property "Project code" to the base Document class. If your site needs to apply some properties to some types of documents but not to others, your administrator could define one or more new subclasses to handle the additional properties. For example, your expense report documents might need properties for account codes, but your marketing documents might need properties for project codes, project release dates, and management approvals. When you add or check in a document, you select the appropriate class for the document, and then fill in the property values.
Some property values are created by the system and cannot be modified directly. System properties, such as the creator of the object and the date it was created, are set at the time the object is added to an object store. Other properties, such as the date an object is modified and the person who modified it, are updated by the system when the object, its properties, or its security are modified.
Properties have various types and restrictions. The property type determines the method you use to specify the value. In general, you can simply follow the instructions on the page. Some of the specific requirements and tips are listed under each of the following sections. The application you are using to integrate with your Microsoft® Office applications determines how you access properties for your documents.
You can access and update properties assigned to a document or folder when you add them to an object store or modify the objects, such as checking in a document or saving the content of a checked out document. The enty template you use to add a document determines whether you can select a class or assign a class to the document. You can modify the properties assigned to a document, but not the class; however, you modify the properties and class assigned to a folder.
When you save the content, you can click Save with properties to modify the properties of the document as well as save new content before checking the document back into an object store.
Use the View/Modify Properties command under the IBM ECM tab or select Properties from a pop-up menu. You can also click Show Details at the bottom of the Browse pane after you select a document or folder. Information about the object is displayed in the Details pane and you can view and modify information for any object you select after you click Modify.
Some of your documents might be assigned properties that contain a lifecycle by your administrator. A document lifecycle encompasses the different states that the document goes through during its life. For example, the lifecycle states of a loan application might occur in the following order:
The states reflect the order an actual loan application moves from one process to another. As the document moves from one state to the next, the lifecycle state is updated. For example, upon approval, the document is promoted to its second state (Approval). Once the bank finances the loan, the document is promoted again to its Funding state.
Some properties might be assigned a document lifecycle policy. A document lifecycle policy is assigned to a document class and is used by your administrator. The lifecycle state is displayed and you can modify the lifecycle when you are assigned the appropriate permissions.
Some of the properties for documents and folders might be assigned markings by your administrator. Markings are based on specific property values and allow access to documents or folders. When a marking is applied to an object, the resulting access permissions for the object are a combination of the settings of its original access permissions and the settings of the markings. The settings of the markings can determine who has access to the object the marking is assigned to and who can modify or remove the assigned marking.
You can view the properties of a document from the Information page when you open, add or insert a document. When a document is checked out you can modify the document properties from the Get Info menu or modify them when you check in the document, if permitted by your site administrator. In addition to editing property values, you can also insert some of these values into Office documents.
If you want to create a compound document, you must access the document's information page. Creating a compound document is not available from the Get Info menu option in integrated applications.
In Workplace XT, when you view the properties of a checked out document, you are actually viewing the properties of the version that is in an In Process or Released state, in Application Integration, you are viewing the properties of the version that is in the Reservation state. This can cause the following unexpected behavior when working with a checked out document:
To view or modify properties from Office applications and Outlook
Choose one of the following options, depending on your application:
Integrated Office 2007 applications using Integration for Microsoft Office |
Application Integration |
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Office applications |
Outlook |
Office applications |
Outlook |
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