In general, a document can be thought of as a file that you expect to be able to create, save, and later retrieve and update, replacing the old version with the updated version.
Documents are objects that
Document classes contain essential properties and methods that comprise documents. Individual documents are called instances of their class or subclass. For information about creating document classes, see Creating a document subclass.
All document classes are assigned system-created properties, such as Document Title and Creation date. Custom properties are created and assigned to specific subclasses by system designers or advanced users, and are used to further identify the documents for later retrieval.
A user, or a process like a workflow, can check out a document to edit it. When you check in the updated document, both the new version and the previous version are preserved. Each time that you check in the document, another version is created for that document. See About versioning for more information.
The content of a document is composed of pieces of information such as word-processing files, spreadsheets, graphics, and images. These pieces of information are called a URL while the file itself exists elsewhere on the available network or internet. See Document content for more information.
You can assign titles to your documents by using simple, easy-to-read phrases instead of with file names or ID numbers. Users and automated processes can search for documents based both on their descriptive properties and their content. Regardless of the user or the document location, complex path commands with coded document names are not required. Client applications are designed to make it easy for users to find and use important documents and other objects.
You can file documents in folders for easy display and organization, just like you are using Microsoft Windows Explorer. However, while Microsoft Windows enables only one instance of a document, FileNet® P8 enables documents to be filed in many different folders. An action that is taken on any of these document instances is made on all the others. For example, DocumentA could appear in FolderA and FolderB. If DocumentA is checked out from FolderA, it is also marked as checked out in FolderB. See About folders for more information.
You can pass a document through a predetermined series of states and transitions that are called a lifecycle. See Document lifecycles for more information.
A workflow definition is a document that describes the instructions, paths, and queues available to a workflow. Workflow definition documents are versionable, containable, and can have a lifecycle that is associated with them.
You can attach documents and folders to a step in a workflow. Depending on your access rights, you can
You can trigger actions such as delete or check-out by using the event subsystem. See Subscribing to events for more information.
All documents are designed for easy application of security templates, as the document version goes through predefined states. See IBM® FileNet P8 security for full security information. Also, see About versioning for more information.
A compound document consists of a single parent document, containing zero or more child documents. Any child document can be the parent of a separate compound document structure.
Compound documents are referenced by component relationship objects or "links" that
For more information, see About compound documents.