ECM smart connect - Setup

In the ECM smart connect setup, central settings are made that are valid for the entire application. All functions of ECM smart connect can be viewed and controlled via the individual menu items.

Initialize system

This action group contains all functions that support the automatic setup of the system.

The action "Set up master data" rolls out a pre-configuration of the setup data. The action "Apply transaction data" creates the current record plan for the business objects available in the system, such as quotations, orders, delivery bills, etc.

The "Create access rights" action generates roles for users and administrators, and the "Initialize number series" action creates the required number series.

In the "Translate data content" action, internally used English expressions are translated into the respective local language.

File plan

The action group contains the functions concerning the maintenance of fileplan elements and their relations to each other. The action "Set up master data" creates an initial version of the fileplan. This initial version can then be revised and adapted to the requirements of your company.

Document type

The action group includes all actions that deal with the definition of document types. Here you define which document types (order confirmation, delivery bill, invoice, etc.) are to be handled by ECM smart connect at all. The definition of the index defines the keywords (order number, customer number, date, etc.) that are to be used for a document type. An index definition, once defined, can be used for multiple document types. Calculated values are used to define keywords that cannot be determined from the database, but are calculated programmatically. Here, customers can extend the keywording by using their own code units.

The menu item "Initialize system" automatically creates a pre-configuration of the document types.

Outgoing documents

In this action group you will find the actions for handling reports that are printed by Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and are to be archived by ERCM smart connect. The action "Set up report" defines which printouts are relevant at all. The action "Set up process" is used to differentiate the creation process of the printout (print, post, mail, etc.) in order to correctly address the program parts of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central that are used in the creation process.

Under the menu item "Show analysis", the program sections that are run through by the print program during printouts can be observed. This can be useful if customer reports created in-house are to be included in ECM smart connect.

In the menu item "Display job", the filing jobs caused by printouts and their processing status can be viewed.

The menu item "Locked records" displays the records that had to be locked in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central until processing by ECM smart connect has been completed. These are so-called volatile documents such as order confirmations or purchase orders that are locked for changes by the user until the printout has been saved in ECM smart connect.

Incoming documents

This action group contains actions concerning incoming documents. Incoming documents, these can be new documents that are imported into ECM smart connect via the scanner or via the drop zone. These documents can be viewed via the menu item "Show file interface list".

They can also be return documents that were issued to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and then scanned in again, supplemented with important information. For this type of documents, the menu item "Return document" is available.

To support pre-processing systems, such as scanners and document recognition, master and transaction data can be exported from Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central via the "Data Provision" action. Pre-processing systems can use this export to increase data quality for incoming documents. The export also occurs periodically via the task queue.

File

Outgoing and incoming documents are stored in the clipboard in ECM smart connect. File and not archive because Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central does not allow audit-proof archiving. Until the documents are transferred to an audit-proof archive, they remain stored in the clipboard, from where they can be accessed and displayed.

The processing necessary for filing after catching or reading the document can be monitored in the "Filing" action group. In the menu item "Show filing preparation list" you will find all documents for which a filing entry has to be created. The entries are deleted periodically after completion. The status shows which documents still need to be processed and which already have an entry.

In the menu item "Show storage entries" you will find all documents that were finally saved in ECM smart connect. You have all the necessary data to perform archiving at a later date.

Audit-proof archiving

ECM smart connect allows different ECM systems to be connected for audit-proof archiving. Since each ECM system has different requirements for this connection, a separate connector program was created for each ECM system that meets these specific requirements.

The required connector can be selected and configured via the menu item "Set up connector". Access data, exchange drives, web service addresses, field assignments, etc. are then defined via the connector setup programs. A pre-configuration for each connector is automatically rolled out during initial setup. These preconfigurations serve only as sample configurations. They must be adapted to your company's circumstances before activation.

You can use several connectors in parallel if, for example, you want to continue using an old archive for viewing. The primary connector, which is to be used for the maintenance of setup data, can be entered via the menu item "Change default connector".

Documents are transferred from ECM smart connect to an ECM system via the task queue. The list of pending and processed documents can be viewed and checked via the menu item "Data transfer list". The entries in this list are periodically deleted after a grace period if the transfer was successful.

Display management

In the "Display management" action group, the following is set up for ECM smart connect

1. where an ECM document can be called (action "Set up mask design") and
2. how an ECM document is called (action "Set up display management").

Point 1 concerns the mask design in Dynamics 365 Business Central. The setup of ECM smart connect determines in which masks the fileplan, the dropzone or the view of the external DMS system is displayed.

Point 2 concerns the display of the document. If the document is still stored in ECM smart connect, it can be called up and displayed from there. If it is already archived in the external DMS system, the document must be called and displayed from there. The parameters for this call are stored in the connector setup.

If a document is still stored in ECM smart connect, the standard programs installed on the client are used to display the documents. Documents that have already been archived in an ECM system are displayed via the connector using the integrated viewer.

Update

If index values have to be changed after storage in ECM smart connect or after archiving in an ECM system, the menu items in the action group "Update" are used.

In the menu item "Update setup", database fields can be defined, when they are changed, a job for updating is created. The fields to be updated are also defined in the setup.

The update job created by the change can be entered via the "Show update job" action.

The update requests are processed periodically via the task queue and deleted after a grace period.

Data backup

Via the action "Show xml port list" xml ports can be selected to export or import data. A preconfigured selection of xml ports is offered for the transfer of setup data, which is necessary, for example, for a productive setup, which also takes the order of the import into account.

File plan

The fileplan is the central element of ECM smart connect. Knowing its structure, setting it up correctly and understanding how it works are of elementary importance for using the system in a company.

A file plan is the regulation of the systematic order of the entire written material of an administration, a company or another organization. The aim of the file plan is the clear, comprehensible and economical organization of the written material.

In ECM smart connect, the file plan is closely oriented to the business processes that are predefined by Dynamics 365 Business Central. The results of a business process are defined as a business object. For example, the business process of entering a quotation creates the business object quotation as a result. Or the business process of posting an outgoing invoice creates the business object customer invoice.

One or more documents can be assigned to each business object. The business object customer invoice is normally assigned only one printout of the customer invoice as a document. The business object Quotation, on the other hand, can also have several printouts assigned as versions.

There are direct relationships between the business objects that result from the Dynamics 365 Business Central business process. The creation of an order from a quote creates a relationship between the two business objects quote and order. This relationship is established via a reference field. The order contains the number of the original quote. When the order is delivered, the delivery bill business object is created, and when it is posted, the invoice business object is created. The relationship between the business objects is established via the Order number field.

In ECM smart connect, the direct relationships between the business objects can be freely defined. However, an initial definition is delivered with and can be installed at the push of a button.

By combining the business objects and their relationships, a multi-level structure is created. This is the file plan.

Through this file plan, related business processes can be displayed and analyzed across several work steps. In this example, it is very easy to determine which invoice is based on which quotation.

In contrast to the standard Dynamics 365 Business Central, a business object in the fileplan remains permanently. While in Dynamics 365 Business Central the quotation data is deleted by the business process Create order, the business object Quotation remains in the fileplan.

File plan flowchart

File plan description

When a business object, e.g. a sales order, is processed, ECM smart connect creates the fileplan in parallel. If a Dynamics 365 Business Central sales order is created, an entry is also made in the fileplan that refers to this sales order.

To make this entry, the ECM; smart connect program must first detect relevant changes in the database. Generally, database changes are registered via the Global Trigger Management of Dynamics 365 Business Central. A subscriber program of the fileplan module binds to the Global Trigger Management and thus reacts to database changes. The subscriber program recognizes what is a relevant database change based on the definitions in the setup data of ECM smart connect.

In this setup data, the elements of the fileplan are described and the relations that exist between the elements. Relations between the elements are established via database fields. The database fields themselves can be freely defined.

If a relevant database change is detected, the subscriber program creates an entry in the fileplan, as defined in the setup data. This fileplan entry contains the details of the business object to which the fileplan entry refers, as well as the relationships that are upstream or downstream of the business object. For example, when processing a sales order, the fileplan entry is made for the sales order and the references to the upstream quotation and the downstream delivery bills.

The fileplan thus builds up dynamically during the processing of a business transaction and can be displayed on the screen. In the structure view of the fileplan, the linked business objects can be determined and viewed immediately.

If documents referencing the fileplan entry are printed, these printouts are saved in ECM smart connect and attached to the fileplan entry. From there, they can be called up, displayed or printed again.

Printouts of documents require a lot of storage space in a database. To ensure that the Dynamics 365 Business Central database is not overloaded by the permanent storage of printouts, ECM smart connect provides for the periodic transfer of these printouts to a downstream ECM system, where they are archived.

After successful archiving, the stored printouts are deleted from ECM smart connect in order to relieve the Dynamics 365 Business Central database again. However, the fileplan entry itself remains intact. The display management of ECM smart connect then ensures that the archived document can be called up, displayed or printed again from the downstream ECM system from this point on.