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Getting Started - A Simple Example

Configuring AutoRecords involes creating and configuring a few AutoRecords objects in M-Files. These objects control AutoRecords as it processes the contents of your vault. The easiest way to get started with AutoRecords is with a simple example. The sample below is meant to demonstrate at a high level, how AutoRecords configurations are created and work together to deliver retention across your M-Files vault.

AutoRecords Configurations

By default, all AutoRecords Configurations are grouped under the AutoRecords view and within that view, in the Configurations View.

Configuration Overview: Delete Invoices 7 Years After The Invoice Is Created

Let's say that our organization has a rule that says we should "Delete Invoices 7 Years After The Invoice Is Created" and we want to see how this would be represented within AutoRecords. The diagram below will help us understand what needs to be set up and why. It is meant to provide a high level overview of the AutoRecords Configurations and how they are used to perform retention across the system. overview

Using the example of "Delete Invoices 7 Years After Creation Date" let's examine what configurations in AutoRecords are needed.

1. Policy- A Policy determines what content should be included and what AutoRecords should do with that content. In this case we need to know what an "Invoice" is and then we need to "Delete 7 Years After Creation Date." To keep the example simple, let's assume Invoices have their own document class in M-Files. In that case the Policy would assign all objects from the Document Class "Invoice" to a Retention Category that will delete them 7 years after creation.

2. Retention Category- A Retention Category defines what retention events should be scheduled for a piece of content. Every object on the system can have only ONE Retention Category, however, multiple Events can be scheduled by a single Retention Category (i.e. Assign For Review and then Delete). In this example we are going to schedule a single Event to Delete Invoices 7 Years After Creation Date.

tip

It's best to have Retention Category names reflect the Event that will be scheduled i.e. "Delete 7 Years After Creation Date" or "Assign To Owner Then Delete After Obsolete"

3. Event Template- The Event Template is what drives AutoRecords. The basic pattern of how it works is: After some triggering criteria is met, wait some period of time and then perform some action. In this case the triggering criteria is the creation of the document. Once the document has been created we wait 7 years. After the 7 years has passed, we Delete & Destroy the Invoice.

tip

Event Templates should be named to reflect the triggering criteria (Creation Date), period (7 years) and action (delete) so in this case "Delete 7 Years After Creation Date." However we may shorten this to simply say "Delete After 7 Years." The important thing with naming is that you are consistent. The name of the Event Template in our example will be the same as the Retention Category since the Retention Category only schedules a single Event.

The resulting AutoRecords configuration for our example is:

  • Policy: Invoices
  • Retention Category: 100 - Delete Invoices 7 Years After Creation Date
  • Event Template: Delete 7 Years After Creation Date

Getting Started With AutoRecords

Beyond merely installing the AutoRecords software, implementing AutoRecords will require three distinct efforts:

  1. Define a File Plan/Retention Policy for your organization.
  2. Reconcile the File Plan against your current M-Files vault configuration.
  3. Configure AutoRecords.
Best Practices

There is no right or wrong way to do any of these steps, however we have developed a brief set of Best Practices that may be useful.

We strongly recommend starting out with a single document and working through all three steps with that single document. Once you've been through the entire process once, then expand the process to include more documents.

Sample Configurations

We have also included a set of Sample Configurations that you can use as a starting point to pattern your retention policies after, including the sample configuration described on this page.