Users can easily add documents, folders, and custom objects to an object store by using entry templates. Entry templates also make it easy to define approval workflows for these objects.
For example, the template designer of a manufacturing company can create a set of entry templates for the various types of engineering specifications that are managed in the object store. The entry templates in this example predefine the document class, all property values except the document title, the access rights, and an approval workflow. When the entry template is used to add a document to the object store, a user interacts with a wizard, which decreases the chance of invalid data entry by limiting the number of steps required and providing a more controlled entry process.
- Documents, folders, form data, and custom objects can be created with entry templates.
- Users who are not administrators can create entry templates. For example, a project manager can create the entry templates used by the project team.
- Entry templates support records management by providing a simplified and customizable method of declaring a document as a record.
- Entry templates can specify the folder in which the object will be filed, can either prevent or allow the user to change the folder, and can restrict the user to selecting a particular folder or its subfolders.
- Default property values can be specified in an entry template, and the template designer can elect to show or hide each property to users of the template.
- Entry templates can specify whether a document can be added as a major or minor version and can specify whether a user can change this setting.
- Entry templates can be set up to automatically classify the document based on its content.
- Entry templates can specify the access rights for the object, and the designer can elect to hide or show the access rights for the user to modify.
- Entry templates can serve as placeholders for documents that a user provides while processing a workflow step. When the user clicks the entry template in a workflow step processor, the entry template wizard prompts the user to add a document and the new document replaces the entry template attachment.
- Entry templates support specifying a workflow that will be launched when the user creates an object with the template, whether the workflow is a simple approval workflow that is defined in the entry template wizard or any other workflow created by using Process Designer. For workflows created by using the entry template wizard, the user can choose from a workflow with three steps (review, approve, and publish) or one with multiple, sequential approval steps. The template designer can specify the participants in advance, or let the user do so when using the template.
The following image shows the user interface for defining an entry template for a document. It is currently at the step where properties are set for the template.
