Overview

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This article explains what document types and keyword types are in the OnBase Electronic Document Management System (EDMS). We will review what these terms mean and how the OnBase team will use the information you provide to configure OnBase for your team. Correct configuration for these items is critical for your success in OnBase so please review this article carefully and reach out with any questions.

Document Types

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What are Document Types?

To put it simply, document types are the documents that your team uses. A common example would be an Human Resources Office using a different document type for resume, cover letter, offer letter, employment contract, etc. Each document type may have a different configuration with separate workflows or user security settings. For this reason, we collect a lot of information about Document Types from your team when configuring OnBase.

Document Types in action

Login to UC Learning Center and search for the "OnBase Foundation Web Client End Users Essentials" learning activity or use this link to access this learning activity directly. After launching the activity, use the left-hand side-bar to select "Retrieval" and then "Document Retrieval" as shown in the screenshot below. This two minute video will give you a quick overview of how document types are used in OnBase.

 

Information required for Document Type configuration

Step 1: Complete the Document Types sheet in the "Document & Keyword Types Configuration for Business" workbook.

Once we approve your migration to OnBase, we may request additional information to assist us in configuring your document types. This will be in the form of an excel sheet with more details the initial questionnaire. Below is a guide to help you answer this excel sheet.

• Column A: Please list all document types used in your business. This column may be pre-filled if we have prior information from you.
• Column B: Please select if this document type is live, archive, or deprecated (will not be migrated). This column may be pre-filled if we have prior information from you.
  
  • Live: This document is currently in use and new documents will be added to OnBase for storage.
  • Archive: This document is only used for historical purposes. Document retrieval is necessary, but new documents will not be added 
  • Deprecated - will not migrate: This document is no longer in use and does not require migration to OnBase.
• Column C: Please give an estimate to how many of these documents you currently have.
• Column D: Please list all file formats that each document might use separated by commas.
• Column E: Please list the way you ingest these documents. Some examples include scanning the physical form, using an online form that generates a PDF, or importing them from a 3rd party software.
• Column F: If this document type is generated from a 3rd party app, what is that app? If not, put N/A
• Column G: How is this document indexed for retrieval? If you are using a different EDMS, there may be tools that autofill keywords for you or perhaps each keyword is typed manually. If you don't currently use an EDMS, are the documents filed a certain way for retrieval later?
• Column H: Does this document require folders and subfolders? One example might be a document type that is used across multiple departments and groups like a syllabus.
• Column I: Does this document need to be cross-referenced? Cross referencing refers to a document that links to other documents. For example, a purchase order request may be linked to a subsequent invoice which may also be linked to a delivery receipt.
• Column J: Does this document go through revisions or renditions?
• Column K: Does this document have a retention policy? Yes or no?
• Column L: If the document does have a retention policy, please describe it.
• Column M: Does this document need OCR? OCR allows the system to scan a document for keyword information. This is useful if a document always has the same layout/format. The OCR scan will look in a specified area for a keyword to index.
• Column N: Does this document have any processes, lifecycles, or workflows associated with it? This could mean that the document needs to bounce between team members, needs review in junction with other documents, or maybe it goes through a revision process.
• Column O: Are there any additional notes or information we should know?

Keyword Types

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What are Keyword Types?

Keyword Types are the keywords that will be used to retrieve documents stored in the OnBase system. These keywords are indexed when a document is added to the system so it can easily be retrieved later. For example, Human Resources may have a document type for job descriptions. The job description document type may have the keywords of PID, first name, last name, department, department code, hire date, employee status, etc. Utilizing these keywords allows users to easily and efficiently retrieve documents.

Keyword Types in action

Login to UC Learning Center and search for the "OnBase Foundation Web Client End Users Essentials" learning activity or use this link to access this learning activity directly. After launching the activity, use the left-hand side-bar to select "Retrieval" and then "Document Retrieval" as shown in the screenshot below. This two minute video will give you a quick overview of how document types are used in OnBase.

 

Information required for Keyword Type configuration

Step 1: Complete the "Keyword Types" sheet in the "Document & Keyword Types Configuration for Business" workbook.

• Column A: This is where you will enter all the keywords to be used with your document types. Don't worry about which documents these will be assigned to, we'll cover that in Step 2. Simply list all keywords you require for indexing and retrieving documents one at a time.
• Column B: In this column, choose what type of data this keyword is from the options available.
  • Alphanumeric is the most commonly chosen data because it refers to data that uses the alphabet (i.e. name, usernames, title, etc.). This is also used if the keywords contain letters and numbers.
  • Numeric has multiple options depending on the number of digits in the numeric value.
  • Date refers to a keyword that is a date (i.e. date of birth or hire date).
  • Currency refers to a keyword that is a currency (i.e. check amount, invoice amount).
• Column C: If this data type is alphanumeric, is it in all upper case letters or is it mixed case with both upper and lower case letters? Please select N/A for non-alphanumeric data.
• Column D: What is the preferred length for this keyword? Think about how long this keyword typically is when indexing or searching. Note: Once chosen, the length cannot be decrease. We can increase the keyword length later.
• Column E: Is this keyword type best represented in a drop-down menu? For example, If there are only six possible keywords for a keyword type, it might be best to have a drop-down menu to prevent duplication (i.e. If the keyword type is "department", we can create a drop-down menu with all the departments listed for selection.
• Column F: Where are the values for this keyword sourced from? For example, some keywords like PID are created by UCSD and have a data system associated with them. Other keyword values may be created within the department as required. 
• Column G: Is this keyword part of a cascading data set? A cascading data set is a series of data where the initial selection changes what selections are available in subsequent selections. (i.e. selecting a "department" in the first keyword type will trigger options for "major" in the second keyword type, then selecting a major will trigger specific options for a "minor" in a third keyword type.)
• Column H: Is this keyword a primary autofill keyword? A primary autofill keyword is a keyword type that is used to pull in other keyword type values. The best example for this is a PID number which is linked to a person's name, email address, phone number, department, etc. After inputting the PID number as the primary keyword type value, the rest of those values will autofill based on the PID. Mark yes, if this keyword type will be used as a primary autofill keyword.
• Column I: Does this keyword require masking? Masking is used to format a keyword in a specific way which helps to keep indexing and retrieval organized. For example, a phone number can be entered as 123-123-4567 or (123) 123-4567. Using masking will ensure phone numbers are always entered in the same format.
• Column J: Are there any additional notes or information we should know?

Step 2: Complete the "Keyword Assignment" sheet in the "Document & Keyword Types Configuration for Business" workbook.

This tab is used to assigned keyword types (column A) to all of the document types (row 2) you have. You'll notice that your document types and keyword types autofill based on what you input in the other sheets. Now all you need to do is check off which document types require which keyword types. Multiple document types can share the same keyword types.

• Assigned indicates this keyword type is assigned to the corresponding document type.
• Required is the same as assigned, but also adds that this keyword type is required for indexing.
• Default Value is also the same as assigned, but has a default value assigned to it for indexing. If you select this option, please add a note to that cell that describes the default value.
• Hidden is used for keywords that are not visible to end users. They can be indexed by department admin or auto-populated.