Note: Workflow Extensions are separately available features
that may be added to eRoom Enterprise. For more information, see the EMC
Developer Network at http://developer.emc.com/developer/.This topic is organized into the following sections:
eRoom Enterprise is a separately licensed extension of the eRoom interface that adds content management using the Documentum Content Server. It enables teams to collaborate on projects and manage content, all within an integrated environment. Project teams can use eRoom Enterprise to manage content throughout its lifecycle, from document concept, creation, and approval (within eRoom), to document storage, archive, index, and publication (using the Documentum Content Server).
For example, at the start of a new project, team members can populate their eRoom with documents that are archived in a Documentum repository. During the project, documents are modified and periodically published to the repository. At the end of the project, the team archives all content for ongoing access and reuse.
Note: Workflow Extensions are separately available features
that may be added to eRoom Enterprise. For more information, see the EMC
Developer Network at http://developer.emc.com/developer/.
See also:
Site Settings: Content Server in "Site administration" for information about site-wide settings related to eRoom Enterprise.
Linked folders for information about an eRoom container item that is a bidirectional link to a folder or cabinet on a Content Server.
Content Server Links in "Coordinating an eRoom" for information about eRoom-wide settings related to eRoom Enterprise.
Content Server-linked files and version tracking in "Files" for information about how eRoom Enterprise integrates version tracking in the eRoom and Documentum applications.
Content Server searches in "Searching for items and eRooms" for information about launching a search in a Content Server repository from eRoom.
For a review of eRoom basics, see "Working in your eRoom". If you are just getting started with Documentum content management, here are some introductory terms related to eRoom Enterprise:
Content Server -- A file server that securely stores files and controls access to them.
Repository -- A file container that resides on the Content Server that lets you store documents of any kind, including graphics, scanned images, even sound and digital movies. A repository stores both document content (a file you create using applications such as word processors or spreadsheets) and document properties (descriptive characteristics, such as the document's creation date, creator, most recent editor, versions, format, and status in a lifecycle). Document properties are sometimes called metadata, or attributes.
Content Server-linked file -- A file item stored in a Documentum repository and linked to from eRoom. The file can be opened or edited either via eRoom or another Documentum application that accesses the Content Server (such as Webtop, Desktop Client, or Web Publisher). See Working with Content Server-linked files.
Linked folder -- A folder for synchronizing files between eRoom and a Content Server location.
Template -- An empty document object used as a starting point for attributes of a particular document type. Examples of templates might be expense reports, meeting minutes, or change orders. The properties of an expense report template, for example, might be its date, name, department, and the routing tasks specific to expense reports. Administrators can provide templates with eRoom Enterprise by storing them in the "eRoom Templates" (case-sensitive) folder of the system cabinet in the repository. When such templates are available, an eRoom user creating a Content Server-linked file can select a template to associate with the document. The new document inherits the properties but not the content of the template document. Templates may be identified as having mandatory properties that members must specify in the process of creating a Content Server-linked file in eRoom.
Virtual document -- A repository document composed of other documents. A virtual document is a way to combine documents whose contents have a variety of formats.
Rendition -- A copy of a document, associated with the original, that has been converted into a different format in order to make it usable by a variety of audiences. For example, a document originally composed in Microsoft Word can have an associated Adobe PDF rendition that enables users without Microsoft Word to read it.
Check out -- Locks a document in a repository so neither its content nor its properties can be edited by other users, and downloads the document's content to your computer so that you can edit it. Changes made to a document's properties or content are not saved in the repository until the document is checked in. From the time a file is checked out of the repository until it is checked back in, all links to that file in any eRoom are reserved for editing by the person doing the check-out.
Check in -- The process of putting a checked-out file back in to the repository, thus creating a new version of the file, and at the same time, removing the file lock in the repository, and the edit reservation in eRoom, thus enabling users with proper permissions to edit the document and its properties.
Note: eRoom
Content
Server-linked files cannot be protected with eRoom rights management. Similarly, you
cannot enable rights management for folders with default storage locations in a Documentum
repository, or for eRoom linked
folder items. However, even if rights management is not enabled for
a site or eRoom, protected files linked to a repository location are shown
in those types of folders.
To use eRoom Enterprise features, you require a Content Server user name and password. The first time you access a repository through eRoom, you must provide these login credentials. If your eRoom member information includes these settings, eRoom uses them to log you in. Otherwise, a login dialog prompts you for that information. Once you are logged in to the repository, eRoom logs you in to all other repositories connected to your community for which you have the same credentials. In future eRoom sessions, you do not need to provide those login credentials again for those repositories. When you access a repository for which you have different login credentials (or if your login information changes), a login dialog prompts you to provide them. In that case, eRoom logs you in to all repositories connected to your community for which you have the same credentials.
Note: If your eRoom site is customized (via SAAPI) to
support the Content Server's single sign-on integration (with eTrust™
SiteMinder®), you are automatically logged in to a repository without
any prompting at all. This customization is available through EMC Professional
Services.
You can create a Content Server-linked file in any of the following ways:
from files on your computer (in the Files topic)
from files stored in a repository (in the Files topic)
Whether you add a file from your computer and link it to a Content Server, or you create Content Server-linked files from existing eRoom files, you choose a storage location. In eRoom, the Content Server target/template picker guides you through the repository(s), cabinets, folders and templates available to you for storing and locating files on the Content Server. Some eRooms, folders, or database-attachment fields have initial (default) target locations already specified (via their settings) where any file created, dropped, pasted, or routed there is automatically stored. In this case, you can either use the default location, or pick another one.
In list view or detail view
in an eRoom item or attachment box, Content Server-linked files have a
cabinet icon (
) next to their names. Also, for a Content Server-linked file,
a check mark appears next to the "Content Server Link" command
on the right-click file item menu.
If your site allows it, any Content Server-linked file that has a thumbnail displays the thumbnail at full native resolution (typically 100x100) instead of its regular file icon. Thumbnails are displayed only in large icon view in an eRoom item or attachment box, and you can only see thumbnails for files you have open rights to.
Files stored in the repository have the same names as their Content Server-linked eRoom counterparts, unless eRoom renames the link to avoid a naming conflict. When they are renamed in either the eRoom or in the Documentum application, names are synched in both applications.
Use this procedure for storing a previously unlinked file, or for changing where an existing Content Server-linked file is stored in the same repository. (To store the file in a different repository, you must unlink and re-link the file.)
Right-click a file icon and pick "Content Server Link..." from the pop-up menu.
Note:
The "Content Server Link..." command is unavailable for files
in a folder or eRoom with a rights-management
policy that automatically protects eligible content.
For a single file, the "Content Server Link" page opens, with the check box labeled "Store this file on the Content Server" selected.
If a target location/template
is already specified (it might be a default repository location for the
current eRoom, folder, or database
attachment field; a location you specified earlier; or where the file
is currently stored), you can either click "OK" to store your
file there (and complete the procedure), or click 
to change the location/template and continue
with the next step.
If there is no target location/template
is already specified, click and continue to the next step.
With multiple files selected (in details view), the "Content Server Link" page asks if you want to Store all the files in the repository, or Remove them. The default is to Store them all on the Content Server.
If a target location/template
is already specified, it is because all the selected files have the same
repository location/template association. In this case, either click "OK"
to store your file there (and complete the procedure), or click
to change the location and continue to the next step.
If no target location/template
is already specified, click and continue to the next step.
(You skip this step if there is a default location specified for the current eRoom, folder, or database attachment field.)
Log in if you are asked to do so -- continue otherwise.
From the "Content Server Link: Pick Location" page, browse the cabinets and folders within the repository to where you want to store your file(s). Or, you can click "Change repository" to select a different one, if available.
Pick the target cabinet or folder, and (if available) pick a template from the drop-down list. Click "OK" when you've make your choice.
Back on the "Content Server Link" page, either
pick an alternative location (by clicking ), or click "OK" to confirm that
you want to store the file(s) in the specified repository location.
If file properties are required when files are linked to the Content Server (a site or community setting) then the WDK Properties component opens in a new window. If you picked a template (in step 5) that has mandatory properties, you must specify those properties before you can store the file on the Content Server. If your file has no mandatory properties, you can specify properties or not, as appropriate. Click "OK" to set the properties and close the window.
eRoom uploads the selected file(s) to the specified location in the repository and, at the same time, creates one or more Content Server-linked file icons in your eRoom.
Note: eRoom does not store copies of
Content Server linked files, neither in its file cache nor in the recycle
bin. If you cancel or close the WDK Properties component for a file
with no mandatory properties, eRoom creates the link in eRoom and puts
the file on the Content Server. If there are mandatory properties, however,
the file is deleted from the Content Server and a broken link remains
in eRoom. However, in this case only, the eRoom server keeps a copy of
this file so that no work is permanently lost. The next time you click
such a broken link, eRoom asks if you want to replace the link with the
actual file. If you click "OK", eRoom retrieves the file from
the file server and replaces the link with it. The file exists in eRoom,
then, as an unlinked file.
On the "Content
Server Link: Pick Files" page of the target/template picker,
specify text
search criteria and click "search".
eRoom performs a full-text search in the repository and replaces the
list of cabinets with up to 250 read-only search results. The results
are initially sorted by rank and are not linked.
Select a file or click "reset" to replace the search results with the tree view of the repository.
Click "OK" to return to the "Add File" page, with the selected file, if any, shown in the "Add a file from the Content Server" box.
Once a file is stored in a repository and linked from your eRoom, you can
Copy or move existing Content Server-linked files within eRoom, while preserving the files' storage location within the repository.
Export or import eRooms or containing Content Server-linked files, while preserving the files' repository-storage settings.
Receive email notification about any updates to Content Server-linked files (and see them flagged with unread marks), whether the changes occur in eRoom or in the Content Server.
Search for the file just as you can for other eRoom items. eRoom indexes the content of all files linked to the Content Server, so while the content of those files is stored in a repository, you can still locate them in eRoom. Note, however, that renditions (if any) of Content Server-linked files are not indexed for searching.
Change the location in the repository of where the file is stored.
View default renditions of Content Server-linked files in eRoom.
Modify the file either in eRoom, or by using (if available) Documentum Webtop, Desktop Client, or Web Publisher.
Modify properties of the file in eRoom using the WDK Properties component (if available).
Unlink the file.
Share the file between eRooms by creating Content Server-linked files in different eRooms that point to the same file stored in the repository.
In eRoom, the access you have to a Content Server-linked file depends on
your eRoom role -- For example, eRoom coordinators have edit rights to all items in an eRoom.
your eRoom-specific rights to the item -- For example, you can only see hidden Content Server-linked files to which you have at least open rights.
your Content Server permissions pertaining to the file
In order to view or edit a Content Server-linked file in eRoom, you need the appropriate permissions to that file in both environments. In other words, your access rights in one environment do not override your rights in the other.
Note: eRoom community administrators
have an option
to specify who can create and edit Content Server links: either all eRoom
members in the role of participant
and above, just coordinators and above, or just facility administrators.
Even if all participants have this permission at the server level, eRoom
coordinators have an option
to restrict this permission to coordinators only. Content Server-link
restrictions do not affect eRoom
access rights, which determine who can see, open, and edit eRoom
items.
If a Content Server-linked file has any associated renditions (for example, PDF or JPG), the file's right-click menu includes a "Preview" command. Clicking this command, or the file's icon, causes eRoom to get the default rendition for the current version of the file from the Content Server, and display it using the appropriate application on the client. Clicking "View" or "Edit" opens the file itself (not the rendition) in its native application (if available), either read-only (View), or for editing (Edit).
If a custom viewer is installed, and there's a rendition available for the file, the Preview command always displays the rendition. If there's a custom viewer associated with the rendition's extension, the rendered file opens in the custom viewer. Otherwise, it opens in the application that opens that file type.
Note:
Display of renditions of Content Server-linked files requires Documentum
Media Services.
Renaming or editing a Content Server-linked file either via eRoom or another Documentum application that accesses the Content Server makes the change(s) visible in both environments.
Editing a Content Server-linked file in eRoom, or reserving it for editing, checks out the file on the Content Server. When you release the eRoom edit reservation on the file, it is checked back in. If you edit such a file without releasing the reservation, the Documentum application creates a new version of the file, but keeps it checked out. Similarly, if you check out a file from the Content Server, the linked file in eRoom is reserved for the same person, so you can edit it in either environment.
Note: When you Copy a Content Server-linked
file and paste it elsewhere, you create a new reference to where the file
is stored in the repository. Copy
Link, on the other hand, creates a URL-based link to the Content Server-linked
file in eRoom. Moving a Content Server-linked file also preserves its
link information.
See also: Content
Server-linked files and version tracking in Files
for information about specifying a major or minor revision when you edit a Content Server-linked
file in eRoom.
If your site or community specifies a Documentum Webtop/DAM or Web Publisher URL, you can access the WDK Properties component from eRoom using the "Content Properties" command on the right-click file menu. Doing so opens a new browser window with the Properties component for that file.
If your site or community specifies that file properties are required when files are linked to the Content Server, then the WDK Properties component opens during the initial linking process. If you are linking a file with mandatory properties to the Content Server, you cannot store the file on the Content Server unless you provide values for the required properties.
Note: To modify access control (ACL lists) for Content
Server-linked files directly within a repository, use the Documentum Webtop
or Web Publisher client from eRoom (via the "Go to Content Server"
command) or use another Content Server client such as Documentum Desktop
Client.
Right-click the file icon
and pick "Content Server Link" from the pop-up menu.
For a single file, the "Content Server Link" page opens with
the check box labeled "Store this file on the Content Server"
selected. Clear the check box.
With multiple files selected (in details
view), the "Content Server Link" page asks if you want to Store all the files in the repository,
or Remove them. Pick
Remove them all from the Content Server.
Click "OK" to unlink the file(s) and copy the current version(s) from the Content Server into eRoom. While the file and all its versions remain stored on the Content Server, no further synchronizing occurs between the copies, nor can unlinked files be re-linked in the future.
If you delete a Content Server-linked file from your eRoom, only the file icon is removed from the eRoom -- the actual file on the Content Server is always preserved. The deleted link does not move to the eRoom Recycle Bin, however, so if you want to restore the linked file, you must recreate it from the repository (as described above). If the file is deleted from the Content Server, the file icon remains in eRoom, but is a nonfunctional link.
You can specify a default location in a Documentum repository for automatically storing all unlinked files created, dropped, pasted, or routed to a particular folder (example) or database-attachment box (example). These default storage settings override the eRoom-wide location/template defaults.
For files linked to a Content Server in this manner, the default storage location can be changed, and the file can be unlinked, the same as for any Content Server-linked file. These automatic storage settings only affect files (no other eRoom items), and no subfolders inherit these defaults from a parent folder or database attachment field.
When a Content Server-linked file moves to a folder or an approval-process step, eRoom preserves existing link settings whether automatic/default linking is on or off.
Note: You
cannot enable rights management for folders that
have a default storage location in a repository.
With eRoom Enterprise only, database-attachment fields have an option to automatically link to a default repository location, all unlinked files created, dropped, or pasted there. For an approval-process database, you can override this setting for entries in individual steps. Here's why:
Suppose your team uses an approval-process database for tracking project issues. Its attachment field is set to store all attachments in a repository "Issues" folder. The first step in the database is called "not ready for prime time", and the Attachments option for automatic linking on the step's Field Options page is turned off. This setting overrides the option's setting in the parent database so that new issues can be entered in this step without committing their attached files to long-term storage in the repository. Some entries move to the next step, where their attached files are moved to the repository, and some are closed with no further action.
Conversely, if your team uses an approval-process database for developing proposals, for example, you might set automatic linking for attachments in the "final" step only. Thus, only final proposals are archived in the repository where they can be managed and reused for new projects.
On the folder's Create or Edit page, or on the Database Field Options page for the attachment field, select the check box labeled "Contained files are linked to the Content Server by default", and click "settings" to pick the location.
If more than one repository
is available, the "Content Server Link: Pick a repository" page
opens. Pick a repository and click "OK".
You skip this step if there is a default location specified for the
current eRoom. In this case, you can
click "Change repository" to select a different repository.)
Log in if you are asked to do so -- continue otherwise.
From the "Content Server Link: Pick Location" page, navigate to the default location in the repository you want to store files in the folder or attachment field.
Click "OK" to return to the settings page from which you started, where you can click "OK" to put the default link setting into effect for the folder or database attachment field.
If access to the Documentum Webtop or Web Publisher client is enabled for your site or community, the right-click file item menu in eRoom includes the "Go to Content Server" command. Once in Webtop or Web Publisher, you can access all functionality (based on your Content Server role and ACL permissions) including properties, version/rendition listings, object permissions, relationships, starting workflows, and lifecycle actions.
Right-click the icon for a Content Server-linked file.
Pick "Go to Content Server" from the pop-up menu.
A Webtop or Web Publisher client opens in a separate browser window and displays the selected file.