By default, files attached to business processes are placed in the Unpublished Documents folder in the Document Manager. A Publish Path data element can be designed in business processes in uDesigner to specify the automatic publishing of documents to a specified path and override the default. For Document-type business processes With Folder Structure, the designer can specify that a configured folder path be appended to the folder structure. This appended path is based on the path configured in the uuu_dm_publish_path data element on the business process form, and the selection of the Append Line Items Folder Structure to AutoPublish Path option, which is documented in the Unifier uDesigner User Guide.
The automatic document publication folder path is built based on the values of data elements specified in the path defined in the data element uuu_dm_publish_path (Publish Path) in uDesigner. To help you understand why automatic publishing does or does not occur and the results of automatic publication, these are the rules for the automatic publication of documents:
- The data element uuu_dm_ publish _path is used in business process design to specify the folder path into which the file should be published in the Document Manager. This applies to Company, project, or shell business processes. A formula is configured to define the value of the path to use when automatically publishing documents.
Note: On Creation Step of Workflow-type Business process,
record_no in uuu_dm_publish_path
is evaluated/replaced when it is used directly as part of formula.Example:
Suppose 'uuu_dm_publish_path' and 'title' are defined as formula.
=> uuu_dm_publish_path = firstName + record_no + title
=> title = subject + record_no
uuu_dm_publish_path would be evaluated as 'firstName + record_no + subject' ('record_no' in data element 'title' is ignored)
- In order to use the automatic publishing feature, you must know (from your Administrator) which data elements comprise the publish path that will populate the Publish Path field. The values in this field are used to create and populate the folders in the Document Manager with the business process attachment.
- If you do not have permissions granted to upload documents to the Document Manager, then the file is placed in the Unpublished Documents folder.
- If there is no folder defined or the path is invalid then the file will be placed in the Unpublished Documents folder.
- If the folder specified in the defined path does not exist in the Document Manager as defined by the data element uuu_dm_publish_path (Publish Path) in uDesigner, then it should be created automatically and inherit rights from the parent folder, (if you have permission to create folders), otherwise the file will be placed in the Unpublished Documents folder.
- If file already exists in target file, then the file shall be published as a revision.
- The owner of the automatically published document is the owner of the business process that published it.
- The folders created and used for automatic publication are based on the values of the data elements specified in the uuu_dm_publish_path data element (Publish Path). For example, if the publication path contains the data elements State and City, and the values for those data elements are Iowa and Rapid City, the folder structure will be Documents/Iowa/Rapid City.
- The publication path displays in the Publish Path data element on the business process form. If the path is shown as /, the documents will publish to the Documents folder. Usually, when the / to shows in the Publish Path field, this indicates that you have no values in the fields for the data elements configured as the publication path. Be sure that you have values in the fields that are part of the publication path.
- If a business process has a publication path configured on the upper form, and another on a line item, and the path on the line item is invalid, the attachment will be published to the path designated on the upper form. If the paths on the line item and the upper form are both invalid, the attachment is published to the Unpublished Documents folder. The exception is that in a non-workflow business process, if the publication path configured on the line item is invalid, the attached document is not published in any folder.
- When a document is published from a business process (BP) record, the system compares the data elements (DEs) in the BP record with the DEs in the Document Attribute Form and where the DEs match, the system copies the values from one DE to the other DE.
- If the attachment is on the Upper Form, then the system matches the DEs on the Upper Form with the DEs on the Document Attribute Form and updates the values.
- If the attachment is on the Detail form, then the system compares the DEs on the Detail and the Upper Form. If a DE exists on both the Upper Form and the Detail form, then the system matches the value of the DE that is on the Detail form, only. This enables you to override the "default" value that exists on the Upper Form.
- Unifier allows you to selectively restrict attachments from getting published, as explained below:
- For Document-type BPs: Open the Document Review window and deselect the Publish checkbox for the attachments that you do not want published.
- For non-Document-type BPs: Open the Document Review window, or the respective attachment log (record or Line Item) and deselect the Publish checkbox for the attachments that you do not want published.
- On a Document-type BP, when a value is added to uuu_revision_no or uuu_title or uuu_issue_date, it will get respectively copied over to uuu_file_revision_no or uuu_file_title or uuu_file_issue_date when the document is published to Document Manager.
- Once a document that has been attached to a business process is published, it will not get published again even if you have the uuu_dm_publish_path defined in consecutive forms in your workflow.
- If you are attaching a document to your business process by selecting the document from Document Manager, the document will not get published again from your business process because it is already published in Document Manager.