The relations feature allows you to create links between documents (items) that are related to each other.
Related items can be of the same or a different document class. They are displayed in your document’s Properties panel.
Important:
– The relations feature isn't available in Team Folder libraries. It's available in Secured Folders and Document Management libraries if, for the current document class, an administrator has configured at least one relation and selected one or more relations for display.
Learn more: Configure relations and Select relations to display and define their order.
– You can create or add as many relations as you want in your document.
Note: The related item (document) creation flow varies according to the type of library and its configuration.
Choose the type of item to create
As a document creator, you can create new related items:
- from the Related items section of the Properties panel
- from the Add related items button on the document page
From the Related items section of the Properties panel
Note: You must be in view mode to create new related items from the Related items section.
1. Open a document in AODocs and select the Properties panel.
2. Under Related items, press the Add related item button next to a relation title.
3. In the Add related item in [Relation title] pop-up, you can choose to create:
- a blank related item
Note: There’s no Blank option when a default template is defined for the document class. Learn more: Create documents from a template.
- a related item from a template (if your administrator has created and activated at least one template for this document class) – learn more: Create documents from a template
When you've selected the type of related item to create:
- the Choose a file pop-up opens if you're in a Secured Folder and you selected either Blank or a template without an attachment
- an unsaved document opens in create mode if:
- you're in a Team Folder or Secured Folder and you selected a template with an attachment
- you're in a Document Management library
From the Add related items button on the document page
1. Open a document in AODocs.
2. Press the Create a related item button.
3. A panel appears with the document classes in your library sorted alphabetically. For the required class, select one of the available options:
- Blank: to create a new document without using a template
Note: There’s no Blank option when a default template is defined for the document class. Learn more: Create documents from a template.
- a document template, with or without an attachment
When you've selected the type of related item to create:
- the Choose a file pop-up opens if you're in a Secured Folder and you selected either Blank or a template without an attachment
- an unsaved document opens in create mode if:
- you're in a Team Folder or Secured Folder and you selected a template with an attachment
- you're in a Document Management library
Choose a file
In the Choose a file pop-up, select one of the options:
- Attach — to upload files from your computer or import files from your My Drive
- Upload and convert — to upload Microsoft Office files as attachments
- Upload using virtru (available only if Virtru is activated on your domain and in this library) — to encrypt and upload a file
- Create — to create Google files from scratch
Choosing a file for your related item in a Secured Folder
When you've chosen a file:
- If your related item (document) doesn't contain empty mandatory properties, your document is created. Its title is the name of the file you created or uploaded. The Related items section in the Properties panel is populated with a link back to the original document.
- If your related item does contain empty mandatory parameters, an unsaved document opens in create mode.
Make changes to your document in create mode
If there are mandatory properties to fill in, a progress bar indicates how many mandatory items (including the document title) have been filled in. The mandatory properties are marked with a red star.
You must fill in the mandatory properties before pressing Save to create your document. You can also:
- choose the folder where the document will be located (always available in Secured Folders; available in Document Management library with a folder structure)
- add a document description
Note: You can't make changes to any attachments at this stage.
1. Edit the title (if required) and fill in the mandatory properties. Learn more: Edit custom properties.
2. If required, you can change the folder where your document will be located.
Note: If you're in a Document Management library, you can change the folder only if it has a folder structure configured.
The default folder is:
- the library root if you created the document from the library homepage or from a view without a folder structure
- the current folder if you created the document from a view with a folder structure
Press the Choose folder button. In the Folder selection pop-up, select the required folder and press Select Folder.
Tip: You can search for folders and create new folders in your folder structure.
3. If required, add a description to your document. The rich text field can include:
- links
- tables
- images
- videos
- embedded external content with iframes
The description is displayed in the Properties panel of the document. The text in the description is searchable in the AODocs search bar on the library homepage.
Learn more: Search for documents in your AODocs library.
Notes:
– The description field may be mandatory if the field permissions are managed by workflow states.
– You can only insert images in the description once you have saved your document.
4. Press Save to create your related item (document).
If you're in a Secured Folder and you:
- attached a file or uploaded and converted a file, a message appears in the bottom right of your screen: follow the link to open your related item
- created a Google file, your related item opens in the AODocs document editor
If you're in a Document Management library, your related item opens in the Properties panel.
In all cases, the two documents are now related: the Related items section in the Properties panel is populated with a link back to the original document.
Note: You can't save your document:
– without filling in all mandatory properties
– if any property values are outdated or incorrect
Learn more: What if you can't save your document?
Unsaved related item in create mode in a Document Management library