Edition: Professional, Business, Enterprise
User-level: Director and System Administrators
Previous steps: Adding a new staff member.
Keep all files that relate to each of your staff members in a central location. Store any important emails, images, PDF's, documents, scanned items, letters or tax statement files. Files saved to the staff documents area are searchable within Synergy, and version control can be used with any Synergy document.
What are staff documents, and why use them?
Use the staff documents tab to store any documents, emails or images that relate to each of your staff members.
Keeping all your documentation in a central location in Synergy makes the files searchable within Synergy, and accessible when you are out of the office. Store scanned copies of signed contracts, financial year-end statements, annual review documents here in staff document folders.
The documents stored here have version control enabled, to allow tracking for your documents to see who updated a file and when. Rollback to a previous version of a file if a someone else has made incorrect changes to a document.
Staff folders are automatically created when you add a new staff record using the staff folder template. If the folder template for staff has been updated, then apply the changes to an existing staff member using the option 're-generate folders'.
This feature will add any new folders from the template that are missing in the staff record.
NOTE: Only System Administrators and directors have access to the staff documents folder of other staff members. Project managers and below only have access to their own temporary documents.
Bulk add Tags
Use tags to store extra searchable information against file(s) that are stored in Synergy. For example you can use tags to label where photos were taken, add a client name to a set of documents, add the project site address or location to a file and much more. Add tags to documents by:
From the Staff file > Documents page:
Open the folder that contains the files you want to tag.
Check the box next to each of the files that will have the same set of tags applied.
Click the multi select ellipsis > select the 'bulk tags' option.
In the tags box type each required tag into the box. Separate each new tag entered with a comma, or click the enter key to start typing the next tag. If the tag already exists then it is shown in a list, and you can choose to use the existing tag instead of creating a new tag.
Save.
Tip: Add tags to a single file by selecting the row to open the file, and adding the tags in the view document properties page.
Send a file via Email
The current version of a file can be sent to another Synergy staff member via email as an attachment. The send process allows you to select multiple contacts to send the email TO, and add a custom message to be included in the email sent.
Send a file via email by:
Open the Documents tab.
Select the folder that the file resides within in the folder list.
For the file you want to send, select the ellipsis button > 'send' option.
In the 'To' box select the contact(s) that the file will be emailed to.
(Optional) Add a message that will be included in the email for all the entered contacts.
Click the 'send' button.
The email has been sent and you will be returned to the documents list. The selected staff member(s) will receive an email from Synergy with the file included as an attachment.
Document properties (view)
Use the view document properties page to view the previous file versions, review the document audit history, or change the file details. For any image file types a small thumbnail image is shown to let you preview the current version of the image file.
Click on a file name in the list view to open the document properties page, or select the ellipsis button > and choose the 'view' option.
Actions available
Download and open a previous version - In the download history panel locate the version you want to view, and click the ellipsis and select 'download'.
File name change - Type the new required file 'name' and save. E.g. add details to the file name to describe the file or image version.
Folder move - Select the new location for the file in the 'folder' drop down list and save.
Add notes in the description - Use the description field to store any extra notes about the file, the current version, or why the rollback to previous version feature has been used.
Rollback to a previous version - Use this feature when more than one file version exists. This is used when a user has updated a file in error, or uploaded the wrong file to Synergy. Rollback to a previous version by:
Locate the file that should be the current version in the document history table. i.e. Version 2 should be the current file not the file showing as Version 3.
On the row for version 2, select the ellipsis button and choose the 'rollback to this version' option.
The history table is updated and version 2 has now been copied and it shown as the 'new' file version 5.
Add tags - Tags allow you to store extra searchable information against the file or image. Click into the tags box and the recently used tags in Synergy are shown, click on one of these items to use that tag. Or type a word or phrase into the tag box to create a new tag for this file. When multiple tags are required use a comma (,) to separate the tags, or press the enter key when typing and the form knows you are starting to type a new tag.
Tip: More of the standard row actions are available in the 'view' page within the page ellipsis button .
Lock
The 'lock' file feature is available to stop users from uploading any further file versions. Use this to stop your staff from making any further changes to files when the document is final and has been sent to the client. Locked files also cannot be deleted by staff.
Lock a file by:
Opening the folder that the file is located within.
Locate the file in the list and select the ellipsis button > choose the 'lock' option.
The list is refreshed and the file row now shows the 'locked' symbol.
The locked file (and previous versions) can be downloaded, but no further future versions can be uploaded.
Tips:
If the file was locked by mistake then use the 'unlock' option found in the ellipsis button to reverse this process.
Only the administrator or higher access levels can use the 'lock' or 'unlock' file feature.
Delete a file
Delete a file when it has been uploaded in error, or is no longer required. The file cannot be deleted if it is currently checked-out for edit, or if the file has been locked.
Open the Documents tab and use one of the following methods:
Single row - Click the ellipsis button and select 'delete'.
Open file - Click on a row to open the document edit page. Click the page ellipsis and selected the 'delete' option.
Multi-row - Select the checkbox(es) on the row left for each item you want to delete. Then click the multiple rows action button and choose 'delete'.
The documents list refreshes and the file(s) have been removed.
Version control actions
File versions overview
Each document that is uploaded to Synergy automatically includes version control. Version control on files allows you to:
Link newer versions of an updated file to the current file stored in the document library.
Work on a document as a team, using the 'check-out' feature to make sure only one staff member can edit the file at a time.
Check-in a file when changes are finished and this process lets you upload the new file version.
Request another staff member finish working on a file using 'request check-in'.
Undo a new version upload using the 'rollback to this version' option.
Check-out a file (to edit the file)
Use the check-out feature when you want to start to update a file. Checking out a file locks the file to only be available to be edited or updated by you. Checked out files are locked to you to allow you to update the file contents. Other Synergy users will only be able to download copies of the current file version until you have finished making changes to the file and have checked-in the new version of document.
Go to: Documents tab
Locate the folder that contains the file that you want to update.
Click the ellipsis button and select 'check-out for edit'.
The file is locked to you for edit, and is updated to show the checked out symbol in the list view.
Update the file as required, then save the updated file to your local device.
Next steps:
Check-in the updated file to create a new file version in Synergy.
Or cancel the file check-out to allow other users access to edit the file and upload new versions.
Check-in a file (creates a version)
Use the check-in option after you have finished updating the document or file and have made all the required changes. Other Synergy users cannot update the file until you have checked-in of your new version of the document. This option is only shown for files that are currently checked-out. When you check-in a file it will lets you select the file to be uploaded as the new version.
Go to: Documents tab.
Switch to the 'checked out documents' view.
Locate the file in the list that you want to check-in.
Click the ellipsis button > and select 'check-in'.
Click the 'choose file' button and browse to the location where you have saved the new version of this document. The document that is to be imported can be saved with any file name.
Highlight the file to import and click the 'Open' button on the 'Choose a file' window.
Click the 'save' button.
The list refreshes and the imported file is now the latest version of the document.
The original document version can still be found in the document properties window.
The edited and checked-in document will appear as the latest version of the file.
Tip: When a file has been checked-out accidentally, use the cancel check-out option to reverse the check-out and return to using the previous file version.
Upload a new version
Use the upload a version feature to create a new file version. This allows you to create the new version when the file is not checked out to you, or when the file has been saved locally to a computer using a different file name. The previous version of the file is still available to view or download in the document properties window.
The file can be saved on your PC, device or network with any file name applied, and the file can be selected and imported as the new version of the file.
Import a new file version by:
Go to: Documents tab.
Locate the document for which the imported file will be the current version.
Click the ellipsis button > select the 'upload new version' option.
Click the 'choose file' button and browse to the location where you have saved the new version of this document. The document that is to be imported can be saved with any file name.
Highlight the file to import and click the 'Open' button on the 'choose a file' window.
Click the 'save' button.
The list refreshes and the imported file is now the latest version of the document.
Tip: Use the rollback feature in the documents properties window to return to a previous file version.
Cancel check-out
If the file is checked out then this option is available to let you remove or cancel the checkout of the file. When the check-out is can canceled the file returns to the previous version of the file. Checking in the file using this feature allows other staff to be able to check-out the file and make any required changes.
Cancel a file check-out by:
Switch to the 'checked out documents' view.
Locate the document that you have checked out.
Select the ellipsis button and select the 'cancel check-out' option.
The document has been checked in.
Tip: The cancel check-out feature can only be used on documents checked out to you (not checked-out by other staff).
Request check-in (by another Synergy staff member)
If the file is being edited by another user, then you cannot check-out the file to make any changes. Request the user to check-in the controlled file so that you can then open the file for edit.
This option will send an email message to the user that has this file checked out. The automatic email created will be addressed to that user, and request that they check-in the file so that you can make changes. This option is only when the file is checked out to another user.
Request a check-in of a file by:
Go to: Documents tab.
Navigate to the folder that contains the file that you want to edit. If it is being edited by another user the checked out symbol is shown against the row.
Select the ellipsis button and select the 'request check-in ' option.
An email message is automatically sent to the user that has this file checked out. That email will ask the user to check-in the file so you can make your required changes.
Check back in the document library later on to see if the user has now finished their work on the file.
Rollback to previous version
When a user has checked in and edited file in error, you can use the ' rollback to this version' feature to undo the changes and restore the previous file. The restored file is added as the latest version number, and the old version with the incorrect change remains.
How the rollback process works
A user has checked in an edited file as version #5.
After checking in the file the user realizes that the changes made were incorrect, and they need to return to version #4.
The user opens the file properties by clicking the ellipsis button and choosing the 'view' option.
In the document history panel the user clicks the ellipsis button on the file version number row (like version 4) that they want to return to > and they select the 'rollback to this version' option.
This creates version 6 for the file. Version 6 is a copy of the version 4 file, and will be opened when users click check-out or download the file.
Tip: Download the file version first to check the details, and make sure that the fie is the one you need to rollback to.
Search
Use the search or filter options to limit the number of documents shown.
Click the search button and type a keyword into the search box. To return to seeing all items by clicking the clear button.
Filter
Filter the list by selecting the search button. Select a filter, or type the required filter text and click the 'search' button to apply the filter. The filter options are:
Start and end date - The modified date of the document is searched. This is the date that the file uploaded to Synergy, or a new file version was created. Use this filter to find all the files you updated this month or last month etc.
Tags - Search for documents or files that have tags applied. Tags are a way to add extra search information to any file. Type the tag name then click the 'enter' key or type a comma (,) separate and end the first tag and to start typing the next tag. Multiple tags can be search for together, and the results are shown with an OR rule. Meaning it looks for all items that have 'tag 1' applied or 'tag 2' applied, and both tag 1 and tag 2 results are shown in the list.
File type - Select a file extension from the list to see all the matching files of that type. e.g. See all the files that are .PDF type.
Tip: Return to the default view by choosing the clear button in the search bar.
Columns available
Folder and file panel columns
Folder file indicator
The folder image changes to show when the folder contains files or not. Folder without files , folder with files. The folder panel is shown in the default and email details views.Folder name
The name of the folder is shown. Click the folder to view the contents. Click the edit button to change the folder name or the access level required to be able to view the folder contents. The default folders shown are setup in folder templates, which can be configured for project folders, contact folders, and staff folders.
Delete or rename the folders added from the default template as required. The folder panel is shown in the default and email details views. The folder name can also be seen as a column in the files panel in the other search views.File type
An image is shown to show the file type. The color of the image varies based on the file type, e.g. green for images, red for pdf's, blue for word, and white for unknown types. This column is included in all the file view options.Name
File name of the item uploaded and saved into the Synergy document library. The file name can be edited in Synergy if required. This column is included in all the file view options.Size
The file size is shown as KB, MB, or GB. This column is included in the default, search, recently updated, downloaded and not downloaded shared documents, and the checked out documents views.Versions
The number for the latest / current version for the file. This is the version that will open by default when the view or download options are used. Check this column to see if previous versions of the file exist to roll-back to, or open to review previous versions of the file by selecting the row and using the 'document history' panel. This column is included in the default, search, recently updated, and checked out documents views.Last updated date
The last modified date of the file or the date of the most recently uploaded version of this file. This column is included in the default view. This column is included in the default, search, and recently updated views.Checked in / checked out / locked
Check if the file is checked in and available for you to update, or if another user has already checked out the file to edit, or if another staff member has locked the file to prevent further edits. This column is shown in all views.Tags
This columns is shown in the search view to let you see the tags defined for each of the files in the list. Available in the search, and recently updated views.From
Who sent the email is shown. This is the name or full from email address. Shown in email view only.To Who was included in the email to field. The multiple addresses the email was sent to are comma separated. Shown in email view only.
Subject
The subject of the email. Shown in email view only.Attachments
The number of file attachment that were included in the sent email. Shown in email view only.Checked-out by
View the Synergy staff member that has the file checked out. Shown in the checked-out documents view only.Checked-out date
View the date and time that the file was checked out to the Synergy staff member shown in the checked-out by column. Shown in the checked-out documents view only.
Tips:
Columns change in the 'files panel' based on the view selected in the top right corner.
Click on a column name to sort the list by the contents of that column in either ascending or descending order.
Where to next?
What other features does this relate to?