Outgoing document

To create a new outgoing document in the Electronic records management, open the RECORDS MANAGEMENT tab, click New and select Outgoing document.

This action will open the corresponding form, and you can start filling it out. You also become the person responsible for processing the document.

A new outgoing document can be also created automatically by the system, for example as a reply to an incoming document. In such a case the person responsible will find the document on the RECORDS MANAGEMENT tab in the Documents window, or on the PROCESSES tab in window To Be Processed by Me.

A new message can be also created by some else who then hands it over to you. You will find such messages on the tab RECORDS MANAGEMENT> in the Documents window, or on the tab PROCESSES in window To Be Processed by Me. If you take over a document, you become the person responsible for processing it.

Some documents can be presented to you by someone else during their processing. You will find these files on the tab PROCESSES under the button To Be Processed by Me as well. In these cases, just attach what is needed – for example a signature or a comment – and forward the document to the processor or to another user for statement.

You can also open the Documents section on the RECORDS MANAGEMENT tab to look up any documents being processed or finished, outgoing or incoming. Use the filter button placed above the list to refine your search based on the name, processor, processing status or other details. You can find more details on searching the document list in chapter Filtering.

The Outgoing document form has two modes: apart from creating an outgoing document, it can be used to create an internal document that stays within the organization. Next to the form name, Outgoing document, there is an arrow button .

Click it to open a section with two buttons – Change to internal document and Change to outgoing document.

Click the corresponding button to switch the document to the selected mode; the form heading will change as well.

The tabs in the form header (Hand over, Path, Document copy and Insert into record) relate to its workflow. For the description of the individual tabs, see chapters Handing over and assigning outgoing documents, Document path, Document copy and Inserting an outgoing document in a record.

There is a group of buttons placed in the upper right corner of the form:

The sender and originator of the message is your organization. If you are managing more than one data mailbox, you may need to choose from more than one originator. In that case, use the Originator option to select to which originator the outgoing document relates.

Selecting the originator is necessary for some of the next document processing steps, such as assigning the reference number or selecting the file plan class.

To process a document in the Electronic records management, it needs to be assigned a UID (unique identification number, an unchangeable number) and a Reference number. The buttons to generate these values are available as soon as the originator is set for the document. The way the buttons are displayed depends on the records management settings by the administrator:

The format of both numbers is preset by the Electronic records management administrator. It may differ for different originators, therefore you need to select the correct originator first in the following section (as described in chapter Document recipients).

The document may be intended for one recipient or more; create their list in section Messages.

The details required depend on the method the message will be sent: whether be using a data mailbox, e-mail or traditional paper mail. You can combine these options and select a different method for each document recipient.

Repeat the previous steps to insert more recipients for the outgoing document. The recipients are added to the list in the table below the Messages field. The first column contains a graphical symbol (with a tooltip) to indicate the message type – e-mail, traditional paper mail or data message.

Icons in columns Sent, Delivered and Received change according to the message status (Unsent/Sent, Undelivered/Delivered, Not received/Received).

There are three buttons in the Actions column that provide edit options for each message.

If you have set up a large number of messages, you can list them in the Outgoing document form by opening the Messages section and clicking Complete list. The button opens a window where you can view the complete list of messages. You can also edit them here, delete, or add more.

Click Edit message in the Actions column to open the Edit message window.

The window is divided into two sections. The upper part is always identical and is named Address book contact. The lower section depends on the message type.

When preparing paper mail, you can use the button Print address labels to prepare a sheet of recipient addresses for the envelopes.

Click the button to display a template selection dialog. Select a template and click Select to confirm. The Electronic records management then prepares an MS Office file and offers it to you to download and print out.

If the document has been handed to you by a different user, the Document information section contains a prompt to take over the document. Only then you will be able to make any changes to it. For more details on handing over, see chapter Handing over and assigning outgoing documents.

The Subject field is mandatory, and the document cannot be sent without it. You can click to expand the section and fill in all the fields: both your and the recipient’s reference numbers (Our reference number is filled in automatically based on the Reference number; Your reference number can be also filled in automatically, if copied from an earlier data message, otherwise you need to enter it manually), also the file number and, optionally, the Description. You can also enter a name in the corresponding field to address the message “To the attention of” a specific person or “To the addressee only”; choose the Form (electronic, analogue or hybrid) and optionally disable fiction of delivery.

If it is an e-mail, the section also contains a field with the whole Message body.

The form can contain one or more attachments – files that are part of the message. For data messages, an attachment is mandatory.

There are several methods of adding an attachment:

To attach more than one file, repeat one of the procedures above.

There is a limit to the attachment size. If the received attachment is too large (exceeds the limit), it will be highlighted in yellow in the Incoming document form.

The framed text – "The inserted attachment is too large. Some form features will be limited" – warns, that features such as conversion to PDF, signing and conversion to paper will not be available for this attachment.

Click the magnifying glass button () to display a preview of an attachment directly in the browser next to the form, if the file type is supported. Otherwise, the file is offered for download after an antivirus check.

Click Convert to PDF to convert the inserted file to the PDF format. If the conversion is successful, the original file is replaced in the form by the converted version. For more details, see chapter Converting attached files.

There may be two icons displayed on the left of the filename, indicating the status of electronic signature check and antivirus check.

The signature status can be one of the following:

If antivirus check is set up, an icon with the antivirus check status is displayed on the left of the file name. If the antivirus check is disabled, the symbol is not displayed.

When the Attachment section is expanded by the button on the right from the button Insert from drive, additional controls are displayed for each attachment.

Click Revalidate signatures to run the validation again. For more details, see chapter Signature validation result.

If a file is signed electronically, you can click Validation result to display a list of signatures with details on their issuer and validity in another window. A simple validation status is also displayed directly in the form.

If the outgoing document has two or more attachments, you can download them all on your computer drive at once. Click Download all attachments to create an archive ZIP file from all the attachments. Then the system will offer you the file for download.

Section Additional information allows you to place the document in one of the preset categories. Use the Category option to select a category from the list.

Some categories may have a processing period prescribed, which will then apply to the document. If the period expires and the document is not processed, the system sends an e-mail reminder to a selected person. Based on the settings, such reminders may be sent repeatedly in preset intervals before the period expires. Set up the period in field Processing period.

You can also attach labels to the document. On the right from the Labels field, click and select a label from the list. You can attach more than one label.

The last two fields in this section can be used to enter the Number of physical sheets of the document and Number of physical sheets of attachments.

The button Related documents is only displayed if there are other documents related to this one (e.g. documents created as a follow-up process, document copies, etc.) or if the document has been placed in a record. Click the button to display the list of these events.

Older versions of FormFlow also displayed the button Display record (only if the document was placed in a record). The button has been moved to the upper part of the form, above the UID and Reference number fields. Click the button to display the RECORD field containing the record.

Every user can add their own note for the document in the Comments section and, if they choose, attach an attachment or more to the comment.

In the default state, before any comments are added, the section might be displayed “collapsed”. To insert the first comment, click the button on the right to expand the section.

You can use the same button later to collapse the section again.

To attach more than one file, repeat the procedure. Click Save comments to save the comment contents in the form. If you do not save the comments and close the form window, the comments will not be present the next time you open the form.

The Document processing section contains the details related to the procedure of processing the document.

The document creation date and who created it (Created by) are read-only details. The person processing the document (Processed by) is also transferred from the document properties and cannot be changed directly, only by handing the document over to someone else, as described in chapter Handing over and assigning outgoing documents.

These details are the only two visible if the section is collapsed. Expand it by clicking on the right.

The field File plan class is mandatory. You can enter the file plan class name directly. The autocomplete feature will offer a list of matching classes as soon as you enter at least three characters. Enter more characters to refine the search.

For clarity, the autocomplete list includes file plan titles written in bold and marked with the symbol. You cannot select these titles (they are deleted from the form after selection). File plan classes are displayed in a tree structure based on their level and with an arrow icon .

Other ways to ease your search:

To change your selection later, click .

The following settings relate to the retention policy. The retention policy specifies how to deal with the document in the future: whether it will be shredded or archived.

If the File plan class has only one Retention policy assigned, it is prefilled automatically based on the class.

If there is more than one, select the corresponding policy from the list. Click on the option Retention policy to display the list of available policies.

Retention policy consists of a retention code (A – archive, S – shred, V – undecided). There is also the retention trigger specified, meaning the moment from which the retention period is calculated.

The retention trigger can be reaching a specific date, or the end of the document validity, or the moment of finishing (processing) the document.

Based on the retention trigger, enter one of the following:

If you check Suspend the shredding operation, this document (nor the record that contains it) will be placed in a shredding procedure. When such a form is reopened, a note on shredding operation suspension and the date is displayed.

The option Document processing method specifies how this document is processed (e.g. acknowledging, processing, etc.). Use the related field Date on the right to enter the document processing date. To change your selection later, click .

The optional field Physical document location can be used to write down where the physical document is archived.

The Form option specifies what form of the document is stored here: e.g. original, copy, summary, etc.

In Security category, select one of the entries on the security category list.

The Lent section allows you to look up a user who was lent the document, and set a specific time interval for the lending. Use the field to look up a user this document was lent to. You can enter the first three characters of the name, then the autocomplete function will list matching users. Enter more characters to refine the search.

When a user is selected, the form will display the fields Lent from, Lent until and Returned. Enter the lending time interval in the first two fields, then enter the return date in the third when the document is actually returned. All lendings are saved in the document history.

The Lent section stays visible even if the previous section – Document processing – is collapsed.

To hand over the document, confirm the selection by clicking Hand over to user. The document is then handed over and the form will close for you. You can reopen it later, but only in the read-only mode.

The selected user will be informed and if it was a handover, they will need to confirm the change. Then they take over the responsibility to process the document. If the user rejects the takeover, the document will be returned to you and the rejection reason will be displayed in the form.

If someone has handed a document over to you for processing and e-mail notifications are correctly set up, you will receive a message:

The message includes a direct link to the document.

You can also find it by going to the DASHBOARD  To Be Processed by Me, or RECORDS MANAGEMENT  Documents  ESS Documents.

The Outgoing document is displayed in read-only mode first, until you take it over.

The prompt to take over the document is displayed in section Document information below the Messages section. View the document and decide whether you want to take it over. You can click the arrow button on the right of a section to display additional (read-only) details for the document.

A user can only assign a document if they have the corresponding permission. Permissions are set by the administrator (ADMINISTRATION  Records management  Entities  Permissions to assign).

To assign a document, do the following:

The user who assigned the document can now only view it read-only.

The user who was assigned the document does not need to confirm anything and cannot reject the assignment. They can still hand the document over to someone else.

To place the document in an existing record, use the field Look up record with autocomplete that will help you find the record based on its name, file number or managed entity name. You can check My records only to narrow down the selection.

When you look up the record, the record details (File number, Name, Entity) are displayed along with a pair of buttons.

Click Display selected record ­to open a modal window with the record details. Check that the record is the one you were looking for.

If you have selected a wrong one, you can click the arrow button above the Name field to cancel your choice.

Click Insert into record to complete the insertion. Before the insertion, you need to specify the subject (in the Subject field) and the reference number (the button Get reference number).

A message framed in blue will notify you about a successful insertion.

The button to Display record will be still available in the section.

To insert the document in a new record, click Create new record. Confirm your choice and FormFlow will create a new record and place this document in the new record. You can then find the new record on the Records management tab under the button Records, with a name matching the document name (you can change the name later).

When you click the button, the new record is created, and the document placed in it.

Click Display record to open the RECORD window where you can set up some parameters for the new record.

Note that the window contents are not visible whole, but you can use the scroll bar to move them.

Click OK to return to the original document.

Create an outgoing message to the Slovak data mailbox system the same way as other outgoing documents, by selecting the corresponding template. The template for Slovak data messages is typically distinguished by using a Slovak name – e.g. Odchádzajúci záznam.

Compared to common outgoing documents, the form for Slovak data messages contains several additional fields needed to create a correct data message. These fields are not available until the identification details are entered. When you open the form, start by the following:

When all these details are entered, an additional section, Formulár UPVS (UVPS form), is displayed in the form. Look up the required form (data message) type in this section: enter a part of the name and the autocomplete function will offer the matching options.

Click the mouse or select the form using arrows and press Enter to confirm your selection. The button Otvoriť formulár UPVS (Open UPVS form) is then displayed in the form; click it to enter the data mailbox interface.

This interface will be displayed over the Electronic records management form and provide the controls to set up the data message itself. Availability of various parts of the interface depend on the form (message) type, but the fields for entering the message subject and body will be always present, as well as the attachment section.

You can insert attachments either using this interface or in the ERMS form; whichever one you use to insert the attachment, it will be then displayed in both places. If you want to use this interface, click Vložit (Insert) first and select the file on your computer drive. Confirm the dialog and the corresponding fields will display the basic details of the file: its name and size. Then click Pridať prílohu (Add attachment) to confirm adding the attachment again.

With the attachment in place, the Insert button will change to Replace, and you can use it to replace the file with another one. Other options include the Stáhnout (Download) button to save the file back to your drive or Náhled (Preview) to view the document contents.

If you want to insert more than one attachment, click to add more sections to the form and repeat the procedure. To remove superfluous sections, click .

The following buttons are available in the lower part of the dialog window:

When you enter the required details, click Save and back to confirm the changes and return to the ERMS form where you can continue processing as you would for any other outgoing document.