Organizing documents with a dimension
EVX Software organizes the document repository with a dimension. Its default name is Document types, and many firms rename it. Its members are categories your firm defines to organize its documents, such as Contracts, Field reports, Proposals, and Project reports. They have nothing to do with a file's format: a PDF, a spreadsheet, and a photo can all be field reports. This page is about how the dimension organizes the repository and how administrators set it up. For classifying files day to day, see Classifying documents.
Jump to:
- Filter the repository
- Link documents to the rest of your work
- Set up the dimension
- Example: organizing a new office's documents
Filter the repository
Like any dimension, document categories work as filters. When the dimension is shown in the left panel, select a category to narrow the list to it, and combine it with other members: select a project, then "Field reports", and the Documents tab shows only that project's field reports. See Dimensions.
Link documents to the rest of your work
A document is classified in several members at once: its projects, clients, departments, categories, industries, and locations. Each classification links the document to that member, and through the document, the members to each other. This is what lets a firm answer questions such as "which proposals did we send to energy clients this year" or "where are the field reports for this site".
These links also decide who sees a document. A report classified in a project is visible to the people with permissions on that project. See Permissions and access control.
Set up the dimension
Administrators manage it in Your name › Settings › Dimension options:
| Section | What it sets |
|---|---|
| Dimension names | The name your team sees. Leave it as "Document types" or rename it to the word your firm uses, such as "Categories" or "Folders". |
| Member fields | The fields each category has, such as its name, and whether each field is enabled. |
| Dimension association options | How the dimension relates to the others, such as whether classifying a document in one member classifies it in a related one too. |
| Show dimension selectors when editing objects | On which forms the selector appears: files, notes, links, tasks, milestones, and others. |
The steps for each section are in Setting up dimensions.
Keep the list of categories short and named the way your team talks about its work. A long list of near-duplicate categories makes classification inconsistent and filtering unreliable.
Example: organizing a new office's documents
An administrator opens a new regional office. She checks that the categories cover the office's work, and adds "Permits" for its stormwater practice. She makes sure the selector appears on files and notes, so every upload asks for a category. Six months later, the office manager selects "Permits" and the office's department in the left panel to review every permit the office filed, whatever their format.
What you can do next
- Classifying documents for classifying and finding files by category.
- Setting up dimensions for the steps in Dimension options.
- Classifying records for how classification works across EVX Software.