IBM Enterprise Records, Version 5.1.2    

Adding a naming pattern

A naming pattern provides a way to automatically name record categories, record folders, and records to meet your conventions. When a user creates one of these entities that has an associated naming pattern, the name is automatically supplied on the Set Properties step. The system does not prevent the user from changing that name. Incrementing numbers are assigned and used up as soon as the Set Properties step displays. If you cancel before creating the entity, that number is never used.

About this task

To automatically name records, enter a naming pattern in the Record Pattern field of the parent container. The record pattern is a property of the container. All records declared into that container acquire the next name in the pattern sequence and increments according to the value you enter in the Record Pattern Increment By field.

Procedure

To automatically name categories and folders:

  1. Add a naming pattern in the Configure tab.
  2. Add pattern levels starting from the confirmation page or later in the information pages.
  3. Assign a naming pattern to a file plan.

Results

About naming pattern syntax

Use the values YY or YYYY, MM, and DD for dates. Each of these values can be a bracket pair [YY], or they can be combined when separated by dots [YY.MM.DD]. Your business process might require that folder names start with the letter A, followed by two digits or four digits representing the year, a hyphen, and then a folder number. For example, the name is A07-000005 or A2007-000005. The following patterns create such names: A[YY]-[\d\d\d\d\d\d] , A[YYYY]-[\d\d\d\d\d\d]

In these patterns, A is the first character, YY or YYYY represents the year, and \d is a numeral. The system automatically provides default values for patterns enclosed by brackets []. Thus, YY is replaced by the last two digits of the current year. \d is replaced by incrementing digits. You specify the increment value in another field when entering the string.

In another record naming pattern, you might want to create a naming rule for folders in a series. For example, KX followed by a two digit or four-digit year, period, two-digit month, period, two-digit day, hyphen, and a set of numerals. For example, the name is KX07.06.22-0004. The following pattern fulfills this requirement: KX[YY.MM.DD]-[\d\d\d\d]

You can also use custom patterns to create metadata-based patterns. For instance, your organization policies might require that the record folder naming convention is year, space, subject (metadata) of the containing category, space, and a five-digit number, such as 2006 LOAN 00005. For example, create a naming pattern with following specifications: [YYYY] [Parent.Emailsubject] [\d\d\d\d\d]

Important: When you specify Parent, capitalize only the first letter of the string.
The system provides the default values for year and subject because these values are enclosed in []. Parent.Emailsubject is a custom pattern. Therefore, the system provides the value of the metadata field, Emailsubject, that you specify for the parent of the record folder. Specify the symbolic name of the property while creating a custom pattern. Also, if there is no value available for the specified property, an error is generated. Custom patterns are applicable at level 1 in the file plan. File Plan Level is another field you complete when adding a pattern level.

Specify a user name using the following pattern: KX[YYYY.MM.DD] [username] [\d\d\d\d\d]. For example, KX2011.10.22 username 00005

Do not use any characters that are invalid in names. For example, do not use a slash / character when incorporating dates. Invalid characters are: \ / : * ? " < > |

Important: If you use a pattern that is not recognized, it is added to the name as it displays. For example [xyz] would generate a name of [xyz].

To add a naming pattern:

  1. Sign in as Records Administrator and select the Configure tab.
  2. Click Naming Patterns.
  3. Click Add Naming Pattern.
  4. On the Add Pattern page, enter a name and description for the pattern.
  5. Select Name or Identifier from the Apply to Name or Id menu. Depending upon the value you select, the name or identifier of the record category or record folder is automatically generated according to the associated pattern.
  6. Click Next.
  7. Set the security for the naming pattern and click Finish.
  8. On the confirmation page, click Add Pattern Level to add levels to the naming pattern. If you want to add levels later, click OK to close the Add Pattern page.
A pattern level supplies the details of the pattern to be applied to record categories and record folders. You specify one or more levels in the file plan and the type of entity each applies to. When a new entity of that type is created at the specified level, it is automatically named according to the pattern string and incremental number. This procedure continues from the confirmation page after you click Add Pattern Level.

To add a pattern level:

  1. Enter a File Plan Level Number. The level in the file plan hierarchy is represented by a number, where the first category in the file plan is 1. Its first subcategory is 2. If that subcategory has a record folder, its level is 3.
  2. For the Matching Entity Type, select Record Category or Record Folder. For example, if you specify 3 as the level and Record Category as the entity type, all record categories that exist at the third level in the file plan follow the specified naming pattern.
  3. Specify the Pattern String, as described earlier. The pattern string must provide for a numeric character.
  4. Enter a value for the Record Pattern Increment By. Using a value of 1, each new category or folder affected by the pattern is incremented at the next highest value. An increment of 2 uses every other number. This field must be greater than zero.
  5. Click Add. This option lists the pattern at the end of the screen and clears the fields so you can add additional patterns for other entities and levels.
  6. Click Exit when finished adding pattern levels.

Example

If you want subcategories of a record category to be automatically named, create a pattern for level 2 and select Record Category as the type. If you also want record folders in that subcategory to be automatically named, create a pattern for level 3 and select Record Folder as the type. Having both of these pattern levels in the naming pattern results in subcategories at level 2 and record folders at level 3 being automatically named.

To add or modify pattern levels later:

  1. Go to the naming pattern (Configure > Naming Pattern) and click Get Info .
  2. Select Manage Pattern Level in the sidebar.
  3. If adding a pattern level, complete the fields as described earlier about adding a pattern level. If modifying an existing pattern level, continue to the next step.
  4. Select the pattern. This copies existing data into the fields.
  5. Change the fields as required and click Edit.
    • To add a pattern at another level after adding or changing a pattern level, click Add.
    • To modify another pattern, click the pattern, change fields, and click Edit.
    • To delete an existing pattern level, select the pattern and click Delete.
  6. When finished, click Exit.

To assign a naming pattern to a file plan (required to activate auto naming):

  1. Go to the root level of the file plan so that the path shows only the name of the file plan.
  2. Click Get Info for the file plan (just beneath the path). The Naming Pattern field is on the Properties page.
  3. From the Naming Pattern menu, select the name of the pattern you want to use.
  4. Click Apply and then Exit.


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Last updated: November 2013
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