Controlled Documents Setup

Posted by Abbie Anker on Tuesday, May 28, 2024
Controlled Documents Setup

Learn where controlled and uncontrolled documents and where the document libraries are located. Setup of controlled documents is completed by a Synergy consultant as part of the training. Read an overview of the controlled document library setup process. Controlled documents is an additional module available to Synergy Enterprise clients.

*Synergy Enterprise Feature* 

What are Controlled Documents?

Controlled documents are files that are held in a secure location on the network which can only be viewed or accessed within Synergy. Access to the controlled files is not available using Windows Explorer. By having the files only accessible in Synergy, you can take advantage of the benefits such as document version control, being able to roll back to a previous version of the file, and keyword search within the file contents in Synergy. Learn about the controlled document benefits in the below comparison table.

ClosedQuick Comparison Table - Controlled vs Uncontrolled

Edits to the file tracked by Synergy

Rollback to a previous version of the file

Users can find the file using Windows Explorer

Audit changes to email message text or attachments

Drawings (.dwg files) editable

Store final drawing output (PDF)

Keyword search in Synergy within the body of the file

Email Sender and Recipient details shown in Synergy

Archive all the file versions in a compressed ZIP file

Types of documents

 

 

Drafts, personal, drawings

Final specifications, PDF drawings, Policies, Agreements, Proposals

Email messages and email attachments

Why use Controlled Documents?

Enable version control of documents in the Synergy Project, Contact and Contract Administration libraries. Audit who has updated a a document, and roll back to a previous version of the file if the updates should not have been made to a file

Where are the documents stored?

ClosedUncontrolled documents

Uncontrolled documents and file can be found using Windows Explorer in the Synergy directory. Separate document library locations exist for:

  • Projects
  • Contacts
  • Contract Administration
  • Access to these folders and files is controlled by the access granted to your network user account and the permissions levels granted to the Synergy shared folder/sub folders. As part of the Synergy installation the access rights will have been configured to allow all Synergy users to have 'full access' (read/write/delete) to the highlighted sub folders below that reside in Synergy directory.

    Click the image above to view the standard Synergy directory with Project, Contact and Contract Admin folders.

    Tips:

    • Override the default location for a Project or Contract Admin folder when setting up the record to a custom folder location.
    • Setup the default folder structure using Admin Tools > Folder Templates.
    ClosedControlled documents

    Documents stored in the controlled document libraries cannot be seen using Windows Explorer by the Synergy users. The setup process for controlled files ensures that the files are only available to view/edit using Synergy. This is done to enable version control and auditing of the controlled files.

    Tip: A Controlled file can be easily moved back to the Uncontrolled library if required.

    Click the image above to view that Controlled files cannot be accessed using Windows Explorer.

    The controlled files are stored in the Synergy shared folder (recommended) and access for users to browse to this folder in Windows Explorer is removed during the initial setup. Only Administrator accounts are granted access to this location. This forces people to lookup files or update files within Synergy.

    When the controlled folder is viewed in Windows Explorer by an Administrator account, the following folder structure can be seen. A separate sub folder exists for each of the document libraries - Projects, Contacts and Contract Administration.

    Click the image to view the default Controlled folder locations.

    Within each document library a sub folder exists for each record. For every Project or Contact record a sub folder exists that contains all the controlled files for that record. The image below shows that a sub folders is created with a random string of characters for each controlled document stored for that record. Within this sub folder additional folders are created by Synergy for each version of the controlled file.

    Click the image above to view the controlled file version folders.

    Setup the controlled documents folders

    A controlled folder by default is setup within the Synergy shared directory. A separate controlled folder can be setup for each Office location. Having a controlled area setup for each office location means that the files are stored locally to the users, making it faster for the users to save, open or update the files in Synergy.

    Access to the controlled folder is restricted to Administrators only, or is recommended to be setup using a 'SynergyDM' account to easily track the permissions for Document Management on your server. Domain users access to the controlled folder is revoked, stopping them from being able to view the files in Windows Explorer. This forces all views/edits of the controlled files to be completed in Synergy.

    ClosedSteps to setup controlled documents in Synergy

    The following steps will completed by a Synergy consultant with your internal IT resource to setup controlled documents. This is completed during the training and setup for controlled documents.

  • Call the Synergy Support Team and get Document Management enabled on your license. To have this module enabled training is required.
  • Create a new network user account call 'SynergyDM'.
  • Add the 'SynergyDM' account to the Administrators group.
  • Within the Synergy directory for the main office location create a new folder called 'Controlled'.
  • Change the access to the controlled folder to:
  • Remove the access to the Synergy users or Domain users from this folder. All users should not have access to this folder.
  • Add 'full control' access for the 'SynergyDM' account to the controlled folder.
  • Repeat steps 4 and 5 above for each other office location where a Synergy directory exists.
  • In Synergy go to the Tools menu > select Office Settings.
  • Complete the following for each office location:
  • (Multi Office only) Double click to open the setting for the main office location shown in bold.'
  • Open the Library tab.
  • Check the 'allow controlled documents' box.
  • Click the '...' browse button and locate the 'controlled' folder within the Synergy shared folder for the office location. Press OK to select the folder.
  • Double check the location path returned shows the UNC path and not a shared drive letter. All users will be able to access the location if the UNC path is used, but some users may not have the same mapped drive letters setup as are shown in your login account. i.e. \\Server\Synergy\Controlled is a UNC path, and a mapped drive path would show O:\Synergy\Controlled.
  • Enter the network user name, password and domain for the SynergyDM account.
  • Click the 'test connection' button to confirm the username and password entered is correct.
  • Save and close .
  • Repeat this for each office location (Multi office clients only).
  • Click the image above to view the Library tab configured within Office Settings with a UNC path entered.

  • The controlled document features will now be shown within Projects, Contacts and Contracts when you log-out and log back into Synergy. The MS Outlook® plugin can now be installed via the User Settings > Links tab.
  • Want to learn more?

    Looking for more help? Try reviewing the following Documents topics: Concept Link IconView Topics

    Or try reviewing the following Document Templates topics: Concept Link IconView Topics

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