Document Naming Convention

Purpose

This document reviews the usage of Document Naming Conventions for uploaded files.

Types of Naming Conventions 

Each document entered into VisualVault will be given a unique document ID (either through a pre-described naming convention, manually, or assignment by VisualVault). Document naming conventions define a convention by which the document ID's are assigned to new documents added to a folder. This is typically used as a method to help users intuitively identify the purpose of the document. For example, if a document had an ID of PUR-0001 it is probably associated with Purchasing.  Naming conventions can be set up for each folder and subfolder. You can have a folder and its subfolders use the same naming convention via inheritance, have each folder with its own naming convention, or have no naming conventions altogether for some folders, relying instead on defining the Document ID during upload, or simply using the filename as the Document ID.

The following topics describe each of the possible naming conventions and how they can be set up:

• Predefined Naming Convention
• Inherited Naming Convention
• File Name as Naming Convention

Predefined Naming Convention

A predefined naming convention is when an Owner or Administrator configures a standard naming convention that will be applied to all documents uploaded or copied into a folder. Configuring this type of convention helps to establish a standard for all documents in this folder. To set up this type of naming convention, complete the following steps:

1. Navigate to the folder/subfolder properties.
   
2. Uncheck the "Inherit Naming Conventions from Parent Folder" if checked.
3. Configure the appropriate naming convention. (Sequence is required).
   
4. Select Save.
   

If you want to apply the new naming convention to all subfolders, right-click on the folder and select "Apply Naming Convention to all Subfolders" option.

Inherited Naming Convention

Inherited naming convention applies only to subfolders.  This is when a subfolder uses or inherits the naming convention used by the parent folder. There are two ways to set up naming convention inheritance. Configuring folder properties applies the convention to an individual folder, while the Apply Naming Convention to All Subfolders context menu option applies the inherited naming convention to all subfolders of a given parent folder.

Configuring Folder Properties 

To configure a single subfolder to inherit naming conventions, edit the folder properties using the following steps:

1. Navigate to the folders properties.
   
2. Check mark the "Inherit Naming Convention from Parent Folder" for the subfolder.
   
3. Select Save.
   

Using Context Menu

To configure all subfolders (to which the user has access) of a parent folder to inherit the parent's naming convention, use the context menu according to the following steps:

1. Right-click on the parent folder.
2. Select "Apply Naming Convention to All Subfolders" under the "Naming Convention" options.
   

This context menu function simply configures all the folder properties of the subfolders automatically to inherit the parent's naming convention. Only Owners or VaultAccess users can Apply all Naming Conventions to Subfolders from the right-click menu of a folder. If a user does not have access to a folder in the folder tree, they will not be able to apply naming conventions to that subfolder.

Changing the parent folder's naming convention will automatically update all the inheriting subfolders' naming conventions, so users will not need to manually update each subfolder.

File Name as Naming Convention

You can use the name of an upload file as the unique identifier of that document.  When you choose this mechanism, VisualVault will determine if the ID is unique.  If the file name will not create a unique ID, then VisualVault will add numbers to the end of the Document ID to make it unique.  If you plan on uploading a large number of documents, this is not a recommended method for identifying documents.  To set up a folder to use the file name as the naming convention, complete the following steps:

1.  Navigate to a folders properties.
2. Uncheck the "Inherit Naming Conventions from Parent Folder" and uncheck the Use Document Naming Convention.
   
3. Select Save.
   

VisualVault will use the name of the file as the naming convention for the uploaded document. If you want to manually control the Document ID during upload, you need to change the Document ID during the second step of the upload process.

Changing the naming convention on a folder will NOT change any of the document ID's of the documents already existing within the folder. The new naming convention will only apply to new documents added to the folder.

Document Naming Rules

As shown in the procedures above, all document naming conventions are defined in the Document Naming Rules section of the folder properties. Each of the fields or options in this section and their descriptions are discussed below.

Document Naming Rules View:

1. Inherit Naming Conventions Checkbox: This checkbox determines whether the current folder will inherit the same naming convention rules held by its parent folder. Checking this box will disable all other fields for editing.
2. Use Document Naming Convention Checkbox: This checkbox is used to enable the naming convention on the folder. Unchecking this checkbox will disable all other fields for editing.
3. Prefix: This is the text that all Doc ID's in the folder will display before the sequence part of the ID. For example, if users wanted the naming convention of the folder to make doc ID's like "PUR-001", the Prefix field would be set to "PUR-".
4. Sequence Start: This is the starting point for the sequence portion of the doc ID's that will be created. Continuing from the prefix example, the sequence start field for the "PUR-001" convention would be "001". Note that the sequence will automatically increment as more documents are placed into the folder, so this is simply where that sequence number (or character) will start.
5. Suffix: This is the text that the Doc ID's in the folder will display after the sequence portion. For example, if the users wanted a naming convention of the folder like "0001_HR", the suffix field would contain "_HR".
6. Date Insert: This drop-down menu will determine whether or not to add the upload date to the doc ID of the uploaded file, and where. The date follows the MM/DD/YYYY format (or other format depending on the current culture setting).
7. Increment Type: This drop-down determines whether the sequence will be incremented as a character or a number.
8. Test Button: This button will display a sample Doc ID using the naming convention rules currently defined at the beginning sequence.