Document Library
This topic discusses components of the document library and how you use the Document Management page to find, track, and monitor library contents. The library contains the reusable building block components for the authoring system and is a repository of documents and their components, including sections, clauses, and document configurators. Using elements from the repository, you can create and update documents, track versions, and view document history.
You can also import legacy contract documents into the document library. Legacy documents are those preexisting contracts and documents that were not created in the document authoring system. After you import a document, you can collaborate on the document and take it through an approval. You can also perform searches on imported documents.
See Importing Clauses and Sections, Importing Documents, and Understanding the Contract Library.
Clauses, Sections, and Document Configurators
Clauses, sections, and document configurators comprise the core grouping of document components. Clauses are the basic building blocks for a document, and can include the wording for contract terms and conditions that you store, update, and reuse within a document. You can enter simple clause text directly in the PeopleSoft system, and add rich-text format (RTF) text to clauses through Microsoft Word integration. Clauses are effective-dated to enable new versions by date. This enables you to set up clauses to require different levels of workflow approvals by selecting an effective date for the clause.
You use sections to group clauses, other sections, and rules for use in a document. Sections are intended to provide a method of creating reusable and nested document structures. Section types, such as general and introduction, organize and control the document behavior. Sections are similar to clauses when you use them with Microsoft Word. Sections are effective-dated to enable new versions by date; however, sections are approved manually and not through approval workflow.
Document configurators are predefined but use a dynamic structure that serves as a template for building documents. Configurators are made up of clauses, sections, and rules that can be sequenced to provide a logical grouping of clauses to start and complete documents. Configurators are dynamic in that they consist of pointers to content, such that when the system generates a document, the correct (typically, the most recent) clauses, sections, and rules are incorporated into the document. A document configurator is not effective-dated; however, its contents are effective-dated. The configurator contains a View As Of Date field that enables the viewing of effective information. You can preview the status and content for a configurator for any date that you enter.
A document configurator can be a source-specific configurator that is intended for use with a specific source only, such as ad hoc documents. Or, you can specify that the configurator is to be used with more than one source. This is a multi-source configurator that you use when the document layout is similar, such as using similar contract layouts regardless of whether the source transaction is a purchasing contract or purchase order. .
Rules and Binds
A rule is a set of query-like conditions that produce specific true or false results. The system uses these results to include additional or alternative sections or clauses in documents. You use rules in clauses, sections, and document configurators. And, you can use rules to define the composition of a document based on wizard responses and transactional bind variables.
A bind is a variable that you define in the system and use in clauses, sections, and rules. Bind variables are transactional or wizard types. When the system generates a document, it replaces bind variables with either transactional or question response values supplied by the wizard.
Contract Wizard
A wizard is a tool that automatically guides you to answer questions and then uses those answers either as input to a document or to determine a configurator to use for a document. The system provides a document creation wizard and a configurator selector wizard. The document creation wizard uses rules to insert different document elements based on the answers that you provide to the wizard questions. The document creation wizard can both determine the contents of a document as you respond to the questions and complete the content in a generated document. After you create this type of wizard, you can link it to one or more document configurators.
You use the configurator selector wizard in conjunction with document types. When using document types, you can create a type of document that automatically runs a configurator selector that selects the appropriate configurator to use with the document. You create and maintain both types of wizards using question groups and wizard pages.
Question Group
A question group is a logical set of topic-related questions that result in the population of one or more bind variable values. Question groups can have one or more associated questions. You can assign a bind variable to a question and the response to that question is stored within the bind variable for later use when you create the document. Question groups also enable you to define a list of values that provide document authors more flexibility in using wizards by prompting and guiding them through questions. The question group definition contains navigational capabilities that enable authors to skip certain questions depending on the response.
Document Type
Document types provide a framework for organizing the various documents that you need to create in the organization and provides unique controls over documents within each document type. Using document types, you can define specific settings, defaults, and security that can help fine-tune the use of each type of document. Among document type features, the system provides you the capability to link a document to a PeopleSoft eProcurement requisition as a supporting request for contract type of document. Other features include:
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Role-based security to determine which users have access to document types for creating documents.
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Default configurator assignment by document type.
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Configurator selector wizard that determines which configurator to use when creating a document.
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Life-cycle statuses based on document type.
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Document and amendment cycle times and document collaboration and approval warning indicators.
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Automatic document creation option that simplifies the user experience for self-service users.
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Role controls for viewing and using documents created using document types.
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Internal and external collaboration settings.
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Digital signature requirement settings.
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User-defined field use and configuration.
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An installation option that makes document types available for use.
Note:
After document types have been used to create a document, you cannot change the installation option setting.
Search Framework
Search Framework search engine is used by PeopleSoft applications to perform free-text data searches. A search index is a specific directory or folder that contains multiple subdirectories with various kinds of files for use by the search engine during indexing and searching. The application administrator defines and builds search indexes. Among the searches you can perform are:
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Content type searches that use the Search Contents component to locate specific documents or elements of the library.
For example, you can search the text to identify all clauses or current documents containing that text.
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Text searches in imported documents and searches based on document types.
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Where-used searches that enable you to locate where a document element is used within the document library.
For example, you can identify which clauses are included in which sections and which sections are included in which document configurators.
See Understanding PeopleSoft Search Framework and Where-Used Searches.