4 Managing Applications
Applications are the core of Oracle WebCenter Content: Imaging. In Imaging, an application is not a separate software package, but a type of management container for uploaded documents.
4.1 Application Overview
In effect, an application is a category into which documents get sorted. When you define an application, you name it, determine what repository is used to store the documents, what metadata fields are used to track metadata values for each document, who has rights to affect the application definition and to the documents stored in the application, and if the documents are connected to a workflow process.
For example, the Accounts Payable department of XYZ Company needs an application to store invoices. A typical invoice application would contain metadata fields to capture the vendor name and address, vendor ID, the invoice number, the original purchase order number or numbers the invoice covers, any payment terms, and the invoice total. An IT administrator for XYZ Company ensures that only the Accounts Payable manager has the rights to create the application. The manager creates the application and defines the metadata fields, then ensures that the Accounts Payable clerks have the rights to access the application and use it to add but not delete documents to the application. The manager also connects the application to a workflow process so that when the invoices are uploaded, they are sent through a workflow. Additionally, the manager grants rights to the clerks to view and annotate the documents in the application so that the invoices can be stamped Approved, On Hold, Received or Rejected as necessary.
Most likely applications are defined and tested on a development system prior to being implemented in a production environment. To facilitate this, you can reuse an existing application definition within Imaging by exporting the desired definition to a transportable format using XML. You can then import that definition file into other systems, such as a production system. Or you can import an application definition similar to one that you want to create, then modify the imported definition appropriately. For more information about exporting and importing, see Exporting and Importing Definitions.
4.1.1 Document Overview
Applications are used to store and control access to documents, either in the original electronic file format or as images of physical documents. To fully understand applications, it helps to have an understanding of an Imaging document and how it is uploaded.
A document in Imaging consists of a file and the following information that describes the file:
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ID: Unique identifier
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Name: Original file name when added to the system
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Properties: File size, MIME type, file name, creator, lock, version, application ID and application name
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Application ID: The unique system identifier for the application storing a document
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Application Name: The name of the application storing a document
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Field Values: Application metadata
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Security Rights: Access to documents
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Supporting Documents: Associated files such as text or images. For example, XYZ Company may want to keep track of what scanning station scanned in the document, but doesn't want to expose that information in an application metadata field. Instead, they could output the information to an XML or text file and upload it to Imaging as a supporting document.
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Annotations: Online notes within the document such as an approval stamp or text.
4.1.1.1 Uploading Documents
Uploading, sometimes called ingesting, is the process for getting documents into the Imaging system, populating the application metadata fields with values specific to each document, and indexing the values to enable retrieving the document using a search. Document metadata and possibly the full-text of a document is indexed at the time of uploading. The indexing process varies depending on the repository settings and the format of the document.
Once a document is uploaded, it can be searched for and retrieved by all people with security rights to the search and to the documents within the application or applications being searched. Once retrieved, documents can be printed, viewed, downloaded, or annotated, provided you have the rights to do so. Viewing is done using the Imaging Viewer, which uses Oracle Outside In Technology that supports more than 500 file formats. To learn more about Oracle Outside In Technology, see the Oracle Outside In Technology web site at https://www.oracle.com/technetwork/middleware/webcenter/content/oit-all-085236.html
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Upload a document in one of the following ways:
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Upload individual documents using the Upload Document Tools interface.
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Upload documents in bulk using the Imaging input agent. For more information, see Managing Inputs.
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Use a custom application to upload documents using the Imaging APIs. For more information about using Imaging APIs, see the Developing Oracle WebCenter Content: Imaging.
For more information about uploading documents, see Oracle Fusion Middleware Using Oracle WebCenter Content: Imaging.
4.2 Creating An Application
Note:
The Imaging user interface displays different panels in the navigator pane based on your permissions. Unless you have application system permissions, or administration permissions to at least one individual application, the Manage Applications panel is not displayed in the navigator pane. You must have either Create or Administrator permission to create an application. The user creating an application must also have at least View permission to the connection (repository) being used.
Open the Manage Applications panel in the navigator pane of the Imaging user interface to start the process of defining an application.
You will complete the following tasks in the following order:
- Specifying General Properties: Name and describe the application
- Defining Application Fields: Define fields used and indexed in the application
- Assigning Application Security: Assign application security permissions.
- Assigning Document Security: Assign document security permissions.
- Assigning a Storage Policy: Define a storage policy for content.
- Configuring Workflow Integration: Configure any workflow processes for content within the application.
- Reviewing Application Settings: Review application settings and submit.
Note:
Changes to the repository DOCMETA table caused by creating, deleting, or modifying an application can potentially cause a problem on an active repository server if any other operation is also affecting the table. While this is unlikely, it can cause a problem uploading documents and so it is helpful to coordinate changes to an application with idle time on the Content Server repository server.
To help mitigate any potential problems, multiple Content Server repository instances can be used to isolate business units so that any one application change has less impact on the enterprise organization.
4.2.1 Specifying General Properties
You must provide each application with a name. The application name is displayed in the Applications panel in the navigation pane once the application is created. You must also specify the repository for the application. Once the application is created, you cannot change the repository selection. An optional brief description of the application can be entered that displays on the application summary page when an application is selected. To view this page, see Application General Properties Page.
To specify the application general properties, do the following:
4.2.2 Defining Application Fields
Fields defined for an application track metadata associated with content in an application. You can specify one of four types of field definitions, whether they are required, and if they are indexed to improve searching speeds. You must define at least one field. The four available field types are:
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Text: Field accepts a text string. Possible string length is specified in the Length element with a maximum of 200 characters supported.
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Number: Field accepts integers from -2147483649 to 2147483648.
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Decimal: Field accepts 1 to 15 digits total, including digits before and after the decimal. For example, if the scale factor is 5, then the range would be -9999999999.99999 to 9999999999.99999. The decimal scale is set in the Scale element.
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Date: Field accepts date values.
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DateTime: Field accepts date and time values.
All field types can be indexed. Enabling indexing of a metadata field applies only to that field. The information specified will appear under the Field Definitions category on the application Summary page. Indexes are applied to the underlying repository database tables. The application of either too many or too few indexes will be detrimental to the system's performance. Generally, indexes should be applied to those fields that will be the core of the document searching that will be performed. Defining this list of fields should be done as part of the business process analysis with the additional help of a database administrator.
If the supporting Content Server is configured to support a full-text index, and the application has the full-text search option enabled, then selecting to index fields will cause them to be sent to the full-text index so they will be searchable. When selecting fields in Imaging to be full-text searchable in documents, keep in mind that there are a limited number of SDATA fields available in Oracle Text Search for numeric, decimal, and date fields to provide correct data typed searching. These limited number of fields are shared by both Content Server and Imaging. If you are uncertain on the number of available SDATA fields, ask your database administrator. Text strings are always included in the full-text index, and do not consume the limited number of SDATA fields.
If you are using an Oracle database to store Imaging content, then metadata searching in Imaging is case-sensitive. This can, however, be changed to the case-insensitive mechanism. For more information on how to configure case-insensitive metadata search, see Making Search Case-Insensitive.
You can add and remove fields in applications when creating and modifying applications. There is a restriction that when adding or modifying an application you cannot delete an existing field and add a new field with the same name during the process. If this happens, click Cancel and start defining the application fields again to add the field with the correct name.
For more information on available field types and options, see Application Field Definitions Page.
To define fields for the XYZ Company Invoices_US application example, do the following:
4.2.3 Assigning Application Security
Security rights to view, modify, delete and grant access to an application are assigned at the user or group level when defining an application on the Application Security Page. To assign application security permissions, do the following:
4.2.3.1 Copying Permissions From One User to Another User
You can copy the permissions from one user to another by completing the following steps:
- Select and highlight the user whose permissions you want to copy from the Display name column and click Copy. The Add Security Member Page displays.
- Select the new user to whom you are copying the permissions. The new user's name is displayed in the Display Name column with the copied permissions enabled.
- Click Next to go to the Application Document Security Page.
4.2.4 Assigning Document Security
Assigning access and modification security rights to documents are managed separately from assigning access and security rights to applications. This protects an application from being inadvertently modified by users who need greater access to content. Likewise, sensitive documents are protected from those with rights to access and modify applications.
Security rights to view, write, delete, grant access, lock, and annotate documents is assigned at the group level on the Application Document Security Page.
To assign document security permissions, do the following:
4.2.5 Assigning a Storage Policy
Content Server does not support time-based storage of content, so currently there is a single storage stage with an indefinite duration. The user can only choose the volume to apply. Once chosen, the content stays on that volume indefinitely. Note that the status of the volume chosen is not indicated on the user interface for creating an application.
To create an application storage policy, complete the following steps:
- Select the name of the storage volume used to store documents from the Document Storage Volume field. This may be a file store, database, or storage device.
- Select the name of the storage volume used to store annotation from the Supporting Content Storage Volume field. This may be a file store, database, or storage device.
- Click Next to go to the Application Workflow Configuration Page.
4.2.6 Configuring Workflow Integration
Workflow processes export and import information by using Web Service interfaces. A workflow server defines services that can be used by other applications. If a connection has been defined to a workflow server, the Workflow Configuration option is enabled in the Application definition navigation train and a component from the workflow server can be selected to integrate the application with a workflow meeting the business need.
For example, when an invoice at XYZ Company is uploaded to the Invoices_US application, it needs to enter a workflow that routes it to the appropriate people for approval. First it goes to Shipping and Receiving for comparison to the shipping receipts to verify that everything listed on the invoice has been received. Then it moves to the appropriate department head to verify that the purchase order was valid. Then it goes to the appropriate person in Accounts Payable for approval to pay the invoice amount. The appropriate person may be different depending on the amount of the invoice. Once approved, an Accounts Payable clerk is cleared to cut a check and pay the invoice.
Remember that the workflow is not defined in Imaging, but Imaging connects to a workflow server with a workflow component defined outside of Imaging. The complexity of the workflow is not addressed in Imaging. Integrating an application with a workflow requires connecting to a workflow server, specifying the defined workflow component to integrate with, selecting the component properties and mapping a value between the Imaging application and the workflow composite payload.
To add a workflow configuration to an application, do the following:
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On the Application Workflow Configuration Page, click Add. The Workflow Server Properties Page is displayed.
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Select the connection from the Connection field and click Next. The Workflow Component Properties Page is displayed.
Note:
The user creating an application must also have View security rights to the workflow connection being used.
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Select the component properties of the business process being configured. Composite, Service, and Operation are required values. Click Next. The Workflow Payload Properties Page is displayed.
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Select a Mapped Value for each Payload Element. Note that if selecting Format Value, you can construct a value from parts of text and application fields using the Edit Format Value Page. For example, you would use this page to construct custom URLs or to concatenate multiple values together into a single value.
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Click Finish to exit workflow configuration and return to the main application definition navigation train. The Application Workflow Configuration Page is displayed.
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Click Next to move to the Application Review Settings Page.
You can also modify or delete an existing workflow configuration in an existing application by doing the following:
- Click on an existing application name in the Manage Application panel of the navigator pane. The Application Review Settings Page is displayed.
- Click Modify. The Application General Properties Page is displayed.
- Click Workflow Configuration in the Application navigation train. Note that the Workflow Configuration option in the navigation train is only available if a connection to a Workflow server has been defined. The Application Workflow Configuration Page is displayed.
- Click Modify. The Workflow Server Properties Page is displayed. Follow the procedure in the section Configuring Workflow Integration.
4.2.7 Reviewing Application Settings
To review application settings, do the following:
- From the Application Review Settings Page, review the application settings and ensure they are correct.
- Make any necessary changes by clicking Back to return to the necessary section, or click the specific section in the navigation train to return the section directly.
- Once you are satisfied that the application is correct, return to the Application Review Settings Page and click Submit. The Application Summary Page is displayed.
- Review the details of the application. Click the magnifying glass icon in the Picklist column to review the values of any defined picklists. Click Modify to go back to the Application General Properties Page to make any changes, if necessary. When satisfied with the application, return to the Application Review Settings Page and click Submit.
4.3 Modifying an Existing Application
Once an application is created, all aspects of the application can be modified with the exceptions of which repository is used and what scale is used for decimal field definitions. Note that in order to modify an application you must have Modify rights to the application as well as at least View rights to the repository connection used by the application.
WARNING:
Changes to the repository DOCMETA table caused by creating, deleting, or modifying an application can potentially cause a problem on an active repository server if any other operation is also affecting the table. While this is unlikely, it is helpful to coordinate changes to an application with idle time on the Content Server repository server.
To help mitigate any potential problems, multiple Content Server repository instances can be used to isolate business units so that any one application change has less impact on the enterprise organization.
Note:
Unlike documents, definitions cannot be locked while being modified. Consequently, if the same definition is being modified at the same time by different people, only the last changes submitted are saved.
To modify an existing application, do the following:
- From the navigator pane, click the application name to change. The application summary page displays.
- Click Modify. The Application General Properties Page is displayed.
- In the navigation train, select the page on which to make changes. For information on the page options, see the pertinent subsection of the section Creating An Application, or the appropriate page in the User Interface section.
- When you have changed all the appropriate settings, select Review Settings. The Application Review Settings Page is displayed.
- Review the application settings and ensure they are correct.
- Make any necessary changes by clicking Back to return to the necessary section, or click the specific section in the navigation train to return the section directly.
- Once you are satisfied that the application is correct, return to the Application Review Settings Page and click Submit. The Application Summary Page is displayed.
- Review the details of the application. Click the magnifying glass icon in the Picklist column to review the values of any defined picklists. Click Modify to go back to the Application General Properties Page to make any changes, if necessary. When satisfied with the application, return to the Application Review Settings Page and click Submit.
Note:
Content Server cannot store null values in a numeric field. When an application containing documents is modified to have a number field, search results will display -1 for that new field on documents that were in Content Server prior to when the new field was added. When a new document is uploaded after the field is added and the number field is left blank, search results will display 0 for the number field value.