Document Status


The status of a document controls who can view a document and where the document is visible.  We can categorize the status of a document into two groups.  The first is the document's life cycle. There are three stages or status settings in the document's life cycle: Active, Archived, and Deleted.  

The second group of document status is the document's approval cycle.  There are three different settings to this group as well: Released, Unreleased, and Pending. Documents can be in a collaborative mode for editors when they are Unreleased.  Documents currently in a workflow will have a status of Pending.  Documents approved will have a status of Released.  Viewers cannot view documents until they are released. Active and Archived documents are visible from the document library and searches.  Deleted documents are only accessible in the recycle bin until they are purged from the system.
 

Documents can be placed into a released status when an approval workflow does not exist on the folder where the document was uploaded.

Types of Document Status

Life Cycle (Active, Archived, Deleted)

Documents that have either finished their life cycle or an owner has decided to remove a document from active view can be Archived. VaultAccess and Owners can archive documents manually. All users can view archived documents as long as they have viewer access. By archiving a document, it does not remove it from the database, but removes it from the active view of any folder. Archive is helpful for companies when they want to remove unneeded clutter from the folder views.

Archived documents must have their status set to Active before they can be deleted from the document library.

Documents can be archived by selecting the Select check box to the left of the document and then selecting the Actions menu and Archive Files button. The Archive File button is accessible to Owners and VaultAccess users.

Access Archived documents by selecting Show Archived Documents button in toolbar to the right of the Upload Document button.  (Note: Image below shows an archive view so the Show Active Document button is toggled to go back into active documents.)

Archived View


Deleted documents are automatically placed into the Recycle Bin. From the Recycle Bin, the documents can either be restored to their original folders (which resets them to be active), or purged from the recycle bin, permanently deleting them. See the Recycle Bin topic for more details.

Release (Released, Unreleased, Pending)

There are three released statuses for a document. They are:

  • Released - document was uploaded or checked in as released, or has passed through a document approval process and was successfully approved by all parties. Documents that are released can be viewed by users who have viewer access or higher.

  • Unreleased - document was uploaded or checked in as unreleased, or a document revision was rejected during a document approval process. Viewers cannot view unreleased documents, but editors and owners can.

  • Pending Approval - this status depicts when a document is moving through a document approval workflow. The document has not yet been approved. Viewers cannot view a document in this state.

The released status can be used in various ways to track the status of a document. As indicated above in the explanation of each status type, the status can indicate if a document has passed successfully through a document approval workflow or not. Document Control departments may use this as an indicator of when a document has successfully moved through the document control process. Users may also control which document revisions are sent through a document approval workflow by checking in a document as released, or by manually changing the status of a document from Unreleased to Released. A Document Approval workflow must be defined for the folder before a document can be moved through the approval workflow.

By default, a Document Approval workflow is not defined on a folder. When the approval workflow is not enabled, changing the status of a document from Unreleased to Released only controls who can view the document, as viewers cannot view unreleased documents.

Changing Document Status

Life Cycle (Active, Archived, Deleted)

Archiving Documents

  1. Navigate to the desired document's folder in the Document Library.
  2. Check the box next to the document to be archived.
  3. Click on the Actions button, and select the Archive Files option.

  4. Click OK at the prompt.

  5. The document will no longer appear in the active documents list, as it will now be in the archived documents list.

Activating Documents

  1. Navigate to the folder of the archived document to be activated.
  2. Click on the Show Archived Documents button.

  3. Check the box next to the document to be activated.
  4. Click on the Actions button, then select the Make Active option.

  5. Click OK at the prompt.

  6. Document will now be listed in the active documents list.



For information and steps regarding deleting documents, visit the Document Deletion section.

Release (Released, Unreleased, Pending)

To change the release status of a non-pending document (switching between released/unreleased):

  1. Navigate to the Doc ID Card tab of the Document Properties. 
  2. Find the "Document Status" setting and select the desired status from the drop-down menu.
  3. Click the Save button.

  4. The document status will be updated accordingly.
Note that for a document moved from the Unreleased status to the Released status while in a folder with an active workflow approval route established, the document will be moved to the Pending status as the approval workflow will be initiated automatically.

To change the status of pending documents:

In order to remove a document from the "Pending" status, an owner or VaultAccess user needs to manually end the in-process approval workflow route (which causes the document to enter an unreleased status), or the in-process approval workflow needs to be completed (which will cause the document to enter a released status if approved, unreleased if rejected).