Reference Documents

About Reference Documents

Reference documents allow you to associate files or websites with a record in the APM database. For example, while performing an inspection, you might take pictures of the piece of equipment that you are inspecting and save them on your local machine or company network. Then, while recording the inspection details in a General Inspection record in APM, you can link those images, as reference documents, to the General Inspection record, so that when other users open the General Inspection record, they will be able to view the images.

Each time you associate a reference document file with a record, a Reference Document record will be created and linked to that record. You can link Reference Document records to any record belonging to a family for which the Reference Documents relationship has been defined through the Configuration Manager. The APM system supports two different types of reference documents:

  • Internal Reference Documents: Reference document files that are stored in the APM database.
  • External Reference Documents: Reference document files and websites that reside outside of the APM database and are referenced in a Reference Document record. Internal reference documents can be accessed only by users who have permission to access the location in which they are stored. Other users would be able to view an external reference document that is stored in a public location, such as a network drive.

You can access the Reference document either by performing a search or through the Record Manager.

Note: You can store a reference document upto 30MB with your record.

Access Reference Documents

Procedure

  1. Access Record Manager, selecting the record whose reference documents you want to view.
  2. Select , and then select Reference Documents.

    In the drop-down menu, the number listed before the Reference Documents menu indicates the number of existing reference documents for that record. On selecting this menu, the list of available reference documents appears for that record.

Reference Documents Workflow

Note: Before manipulating Reference Documents, you must configure the Has Reference Documents relationship. Many of the baseline families in APM already possess the Has Reference Documents relationship, but it will need to be added for any new or custom families.

This workflow provides the basic, high-level steps for using Reference Documents. The steps and links in this workflow do not necessarily reference every possible procedure.

  1. Add a Reference Document.
  2. Modify a Reference Document.
  3. Unlink a Reference Document from a Record.
  4. Access a File Associated with a Reference Document.
  5. Save a Copy of a Reference Document to a Different Location.

Add a Reference Document

About This Task

You can add a new reference document or link an existing reference document to a record. Complete one of the following sequences of steps.

Procedure

  • Create a Reference Document
    1. Access Record Manager.
    2. Select , and then select Reference Documents.
    3. Select .

      The Add Reference Document window appears.

    4. In the ID box, enter a name for the reference document.
    5. In the Description box, enter a brief description.
    6. In the Document Path box, select .

      The Edit Document Path window appears.

    7. If you want to store the reference document in the APM database:
      1. Select Upload a Local File, then select , and then select a file to upload.
      2. Select Save.

      The document path is added to the datasheet.

      -or-

      To Link to an external network file:

      1. Choose the external network from the drop-down.
      2. Select the Network Path.
      3. Select Save.
      Note: Before you link a reference document to an external network file by selecting the browse button, you must configure the server credentials of your network in APM.

      The following file formats are supported:

      • Microsoft PowerPoint (.ppt, pptx, .pptm, .pps, .ppsx, or .ppsm)
      • Microsoft Word (.doc, .docx, or .docm)
      • Text files (.txt, .rtf, or .odt)
      • Adobe Portable Document Format (.pdf)
      • Images (.bmp, .dwg, .jpg, .jpeg, .jpe, .gif, .png, .svg, .tif, .vsd, .vss, .vst .vdx, or .vsx)
      • Email Messages (.msg)
      • JSON (.json)
      The following file protocols are supported:
      • HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol)
      • HTTPS (HTTP over SSL)
    8. Select .
      The reference document is saved.
    Note: The link to the document appears in the Document Path box.
  • Link a Record to a Reference Document
    1. Access Record Manager.
    2. Select , and then select Reference Documents.
    3. Select .

      The Search window appears.

    4. If you want to search reference documents of all families, select .

      -or-

      If you know the name of the reference document that you want to link, enter the name in the search box, and then press Enter.

    5. Select the check box next to the reference document that you want to link, and then select OK.

      The reference document is linked to the record.

Modify a Reference Document

Procedure

  1. Access Reference Documents for the record that you want to modify.
  2. Select the row for the reference document you want to modify, and then select .

    The datasheet for the selected reference document appears.

  3. Modify the datasheet fields as desired.
  4. Select .

    The changes you made to the reference document record are saved.

Access the File Associated with a Reference Document

Procedure

  1. Access Reference Documents.
  2. In the Document Path box, select the link.
    If the file type is supported by a web browser, the file opens in a web browser . Otherwise, the file is downloaded on your machine.
    Note: Depending on the operating system of your mobile device, Accessing Reference Documents using the APM mobile application will vary. For example, on a Window or an Android device, when you attempt to access a Reference Document for the first time, a dialog box appears, asking you to select the application in which you want to open the file. This selection will be saved as the default setting. Whereas, on an iOS device, each time you attempt to access a Reference document, the dialog box appears. When you attempt to download a file and the operating system of your mobile device does not recognize the file type, a message appears.

Save a Copy of a Reference Document to a Different Location

Procedure

  1. Access Reference Documents.
  2. Select the reference document that you want to open.

    The file is downloaded and ready to be accessed.

  3. Open the file, and then save it to your desired location.

Delete a Reference Document

Procedure

  1. Access Reference Documents for the record that you want to delete.
  2. Select , and then select Delete.

    The Alert dialog box appears, asking you to confirm the deletion.

  3. Select Yes.

    The record is deleted from the APM database.

    Note: Only Super Users are granted the privileges of deleting the global records.

Reference Document Bulk Upload

About This Task

You can upload multiple reference documents to be stored in APM in a single transaction using the Bulk Upload feature. Reference Document Bulk Upload allows you to upload multiple files of the supported types, subject to an overall maximum upload size of 100MB. If you upload a zip file, each file contained within the zip file can optionally be stored as a separate reference document. Optionally, you can select an entity record in the APM database to which all the uploaded Reference Documents will be linked.
Note: To access Reference Document Bulk Upload, you must be a member of the MI Configuration Role security group or a role that includes this group.

Procedure

  1. In the Applications menu, navigate to Admin > Operations Manager > Reference Document Bulk Upload.
    The Reference Document Bulk Upload page appears.
  2. Optionally, to link the uploaded Reference Documents to an entity record in APM:
    1. Select next to the Choose Entity to link Reference Documents box.
    2. In the Search window, search for and select the entity record to which you want to link the Reference Documents.
    3. Select OK.
    4. In the Choose Relationship to link Reference Document and Entity box, select the relationship to use to link the entity to the Reference Documents.
  3. In the Choose Files box, select .
    A window appears showing the files on your local drives.
  4. Select the files that you want to upload, then select Open.
    Tip: Hold down the Ctrl key to enable selection of multiple files.
    The number of files selected is displayed.
  5. Select Save.
    Note: Depending on your connection speed, you may experience a time out when attempting an upload less than the total allowed upload size (100MB). If a time out occurs, select fewer documents, and try again.

Results

A scheduled job is created to store the uploaded documents in APM and link them to the predecessor record, if applicable. You can check progress of the scheduled job in the Job Monitoring Dashboard.