Files

This topic is organized into the following sections:

About files

In an eRoom you can view, add, and edit files created in other applications. Other members can share these files as long as they have the same or compatible applications (example).

When you add a file to your eRoom, you are its owner and initially the only person who can edit it. However, you can add other members' names to the list of people who can edit it. You can also keep track of different file versions.

See also: If you have eRoom Enterprise, see Working with Documentum Server-linked files.

Note: If file protection is turned on in your community, the only members who can delete a version-tracked file or turn off version-tracking for a file are the eRoom's coordinator and administrators. Further, if the related community option to version-track all new files is turned on, only the coordinator and administrators can turn it off when adding a new file, or for an existing version-tracked file.

To view a file:

Or, right-click its icon and pick "View" from the pop-up menu.

When you view a file, others can still access it. Reading a file does not reserve it for you, nor prevent others from viewing or editing the same file.

Plug-in only: If you edit a file you have open for viewing, and you have edit rights to the file, when you close the file, eRoom asks if you want to save your changes. If you click "Yes", eRoom reserves the file, uploads your changes, and releases the reservation.   

Adding files to eRoom

You can add files to eRoom either by creating them in eRoom or by adding (uploading) them from your computer or from a Documentum Server

Plug-in only: You can drag and drop a file or folder from your Windows desktop into an eRoom item or attachments box. Also, if you are using the plug-in, you can create files in eRoom.

To add a file by dragging from your Windows desktop (plug-in only):

  1. Go to where you want to add the file.

  2. Locate the file you want to copy from your desktop, or a local or network drive. (You can also use the Windows Explorer to locate the file.)

  3. Drag the file onto an eRoom item box, folder, or attachment box.

To add a file:

  1. Go to where you want to add the file.

  2. Open the Add File page directly by doing the following:

Or, open the Add File page from the Create page by doing the following:

  1. On the Add File page, do one of the following:

  1. Pick the options you want.

  2. Click "OK" to add or create the file in your eRoom, or to create a Documentum Server-linked file, depending on your choices.

Note: Your site might block some file types (for example, .bat, .exe, .doc, etc.) from being opened or put into eRoom, in case they might pose a security risk. This is an option set by your site administrator.

To add or create a file and link it to a repository:

  1. Open the Add File page.

  1. Pick either "Upload a file from my computer" or "Create a new file in eRoom" and select the "Link to the Documentum Server" check box. (This check box is already selected where Documentum Server linking is on by default.)

Note: The "Link to the Documentum Server" check box is unavailable for files in a folder or eRoom with a rights-management policy that automatically protects eligible content.

  1. After locating the file on your computer or specifying a file name and file type to create, click "OK".

  2. From the "Documentum Server Link: Pick Location" page, browse the cabinets and folders within the repository to where you want to store your file(s). Or, you can click "Change repository" to select a different one, if available.

  3. Pick the target cabinet or folder, and (if available) pick a template from the drop-down list. Click "OK" when you've make your choice.

  4. On the "Documentum Server Link" page, either pick an alternative location, or click "OK" to confirm that you want to store the file(s) in the specified repository location.

  5. If file properties are required when files are linked to the Documentum Server (a site or community setting) then the WDK Properties component opens in a new window. If you picked a template that has mandatory properties, you must specify those properties before you can store the file on the Documentum Server. If your file has no mandatory properties, you can specify properties or not, as appropriate. Click "OK" to set the properties and close the window.

  6. When you click "OK" on the Add File page, eRoom uploads the selected or created file(s) to the specified location in the repository and, at the same time, creates one or more Documentum Server-linked file icons in your eRoom.

If any of the new links have the same name as a file that already exists in the same container in your eRoom, an incremental number is appended to the name of the link (for example, filename.txt, filename (2).txt, filename (3).txt, and so on).

Note: If you click "OK" on the Add File page and then click "Cancel" on subsequent target/template picker pages, eRoom uploads or creates the file in eRoom but does not store it in a repository.

See also: To create Documentum Server-linked files from existing files in eRoom

Editing and reserving files

While you're editing a file, eRoom prevents other members from editing it by reserving it exclusively for you. When you either replace the file in the eRoom or abandon your changes, eRoom releases the reservation. After you make changes, eRoom puts an unread mark () on the file so others know it is updated. 

Note: If necessary, the eRoom coordinator can release a reservation on any file in the eRoom so that others can edit it.

If you want to hold a file for editing later, you can put a manual reservation on it. This prevents other members from editing the file until you have time to finish editing it and can release the reservation.

Note: With eRoom Enterprise, you can reserve, edit, and release reservations on Documentum Server-linked files in eRoom. When you do, the corresponding action is applied to those files in the repository. For example, if you edit a Documentum Server-linked file in the eRoom application, that file is checked out to you and locked in the repository until you save your changes and release the reservation. At that time, a new version of the file is checked back in to the repository, and the lock is removed. Conversely, actions performed on Documentum Server-linked files in the repository have the corresponding effect on those files in eRoom.

To reserve a file:

  1. Right-click the file's icon and pick "Access Control" from the pop-up menu.

    Or, in the item or attachment box in details view, select the file's check box, and then click "access" in the command bar.

  2. On the Access Control page, select the "Reserved for editing" check box.

Offline editing (plug-in only)

Reserving a file for editing copies the file to a local folder that you can access while offline by choosing Start > Programs > eRoom Files for Offline Editing

When you enter an eRoom, and if there is a changed file in your offline editing directory, eRoom asks what you want to do with that file. You can either

If you choose to upload or abandon the changes, you can also decide whether to release the reservation afterwards. If you check "Same answer for all files", eRoom handles all files the same way.

One-step editing (plug-in only):

  1. Click the file's edit icon ().

    Or, right-click the file icon (in either the item box or the map), and pick "Edit" from the pop-up menu.

    eRoom reserves the file for editing and opens it in its native application.

  1. Edit the file and save your changes.

    eRoom automatically uploads the changes and releases the reservation.

Plug-in only: To upload a file you've edited outside of eRoom, you can drag and drop it from your desktop onto the old copy in your eRoom.

To edit a file using the browser only:

  1. Click the file's edit icon ().

    Or, right-click the file icon (in either the item box or the map), and pick "Edit" from the pop-up menu.

  1. On the Edit File page, pick "Edit it." and click "OK".

    This reserves the file for you to edit.

  1. Using the link that the Edit File page provides, either open the file in the same or a new browser window.

  2. Edit the file.

  3. If you opened the file in the same browser window, click "Back" to return to the Edit File page.

    Or, if you opened the file in a different browser window, click to close the browser's window.

  1. In the prompt dialog for the modified file, click "Yes" to save your changes.

    This opens the browser's "Save As" dialog box so you can save the file to your disk.

  1. After saving the file to your computer, return to the Edit File page (in the same or different browser window).

    Note: If you close the Edit File page by clicking "OK" before adding the file back to eRoom, eRoom keeps your editing reservation on until you release it (or a coordinator or administrator releases it).

  1. On the Edit File page, click "Add" to save the edited file back to eRoom.

  2. On the Replace File page, browse for the saved file.

    To turn on version tracking for the file, select the "Track versions" check box.

    To keep your editing reservation on the file, clear the "Release the editing reservation afterwards" check box (otherwise, eRoom removes the reservation).

  1. Click "OK" to replace the file in your eRoom with the file that contains your changes.

You can keep your editing reservation on a file and edit it outside of eRoom. In this case, the next time you edit the file from eRoom, the Edit File page opens and asks if you want to Replace it with a new version or Abandon your changes and release your editing reservation. If you pick "Replace...", the Replace File page opens, as in step 9 of the preceding procedure.

Tracking file versions

eRoom can keep an automatic archive of all previous versions of a file. Files set to track versions have a version icon () next to their name in list and details view (not when viewed as large icons).

To turn on version tracking for a file:

Once version tracking is turned on for a file, a check mark appears next to the "Track Versions" command on the pop-up menu. Each time you upload changes to that file, a dialog box lets you provide a title for the version and enter notes about your changes.

To see the version history for a file:

To revert a file to an earlier version:

To add a version note:

To turn off version tracking for a file:

  1. Right-click the icon for a file that has version tracking turned on and pick "Track Versions" from the pop-up menu.

Or, go to the file's version history page and click "turn off version tracking".

  1. Confirm that you want to turn off version tracking and delete all old versions of the file.

Documentum Server-linked files and version tracking

With eRoom Enterprise, eRoom files stored on a Documentum Server are automatically version-tracked. While you can only access the most current version of those files in eRoom, the Documentum Server stores their version histories so you can access them there.

Each time you upload changes to a Documentum Server-linked file, the eRoom version-tracking dialog box has an additional option for you to flag the new version as a new major version in the Documentum Server. If you leave that check box clear, the version is saved as a minor version. The version's name is passed to the corresponding value in the Documentum Server.

If you link to the Documentum Server an existing file that is already version-tracked in eRoom, you can either move all versions to the Documentum Server, or just the current one. If you move only the current version to the Documentum Server, previous versions are discarded (that is, they do not go into the eRoom Recycle bin).

Protecting files with rights management

You can protect an eligible file (Microsoft Office or Adobe Acrobat) with rights management by creating it or moving it to a folder (including an eRoom) in which rights management is enabled and the container's effective policy is that eligible content will automatically be protected.

If you have Edit rights to the file and the container's policy is that eligible content can be protected, you can enable rights-management protection using the following procedure.

To protect a file with rights management:

  1. Open the file's Access Control page.

If rights management is enabled in your eRoom, and the file is not protected, the page includes a check box labeled "This file is permanently protected by a rights management policy."

If the file is already protected, there is no check box next to the label.

If the folder's effective policy is that it can be protected, and you have Edit rights to the file, the check box is enabled and unchecked.

  1. Select the check box labeled "This file is permanently protected by a rights management policy."

  2. Click "OK" in the confirmation dialog box.

Once you click "OK" on the Access Control page, the file is permanently protected and it cannot be reverted to an unprotected state.

  1. Click "Policy settings" to open the file's Rights Management policy settings page. Settings on this page define the file's actual policy. The restricted symbol () appears next to any setting overridden by the file's effective policy, thus rendering the actual setting ineffective.

Note: Protected files are not indexed for searching. You can, however, locate such files using the file name and properties.

Specifying rights management for a selection of multiple files

You can select multiple files and either enable rights-management protection for them or edit their policy information. If all of the protected eligible files use the same policy settings, the Access Control page and the Rights Management policy settings page appear the same as described in the procedure To protect a file with rights management.

If at least one eligible file is not already protected, the check box labeled "This file is permanently protected by a rights management policy" and the Policy settings button appear on the page.

If the selection includes both files and folders, none of the rights-management settings appear on the Access Control page because they are different for folders and files.

On the Rights Management policy settings page, if any setting is not the same for all selected files, it is cleared (check mark removed or text field emptied). Any change you make to a setting is applied to each of the selected files.  

See also: Specifying rights management for a selection of multiple folders

Editing a rights-management-protected file

If an eRoom or folder is enabled as "automatically protect" after you start editing an eligible file in that container, but before you upload your changes, eRoom automatically protects the file when you upload your changes to eRoom.

When you open a protected file, the title bar in its native application (Office application or Adobe Acrobat) includes the words "IRM Protected". If you point to these words with your cursor, a ToolTip shows the policy values protecting the file. However, the value of "Expiration" actually reflects the Refresh access to offline files setting rather than the Expire files setting for the policy. Hence, if you are viewing the file online, the value is always "None"; if you are viewing the file offline, the Expiration value shows when you must refresh the file's offline access. For information about offline access to protected files, see IRM client Help.

Authenticating with the IRM policy server

Before you can access a protected file, you must first authenticate yourself with the policy server. If you are using the eRoom plug-in, eRoom logs you in to the policy server in the background. Otherwise, the server's login dialog box appears in which you can enter your eRoom credentials.

If you perform an action on a file that is protected in eRoom without first logging into eRoom, the IRM client displays an IRM server login dialog box. You must enter your eRoom username and password in order to access the protected document.

Protected files and version tracking

eRoom version tracking  works the same for protected files as it does for unprotected files. Each version of a protected file is protected by its own policy, which is always the same as the current version’s policy. You can change the policy for the file's current version only. If you move, copy, or restore a version-tracked file to a folder or an eRoom set to automatically protect eligible files, and if any of the file's versions is ineligible for protection, the operation fails and a message appears that explains why.

File rights-management history

You can display the rights-management history for a protected file using the History command on file's the right-click pop-up menu. This command is available to administrators, coordinators, and members on the file's Edit list. Picking the History command opens the File History page, which shows the following information about rights-management-related events:

The History command is only available for protected files.

Access to a protected file outside of eRoom

A protected file’s effective policy remains in effect when you try to access the file via WebDav, SAAPI, eRoom XML, or outside of eRoom completely (for example, sending it via email or accessing it from a shared network drive). The file's access control properties specify which eRoom members can access the file, and what they can and cannot do with the file, both inside and outside of eRoom. Members without access to the file in eRoom cannot access it outside of eRoom.