Document Sets Overview

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11 months ago
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Document Sets Overview

Use document sets to manage your project’s key deliverables and keep information related to a particular task together without moving or in any way affecting the actual underlying files. Unlike conventional document management systems that require you to move files from the file system into a repository, you can use document sets to manage related sets of deliverables without moving or changing your firm’s underlying file folder hierarchy. Document sets create a set of references to a group of files, similar to shortcuts or virtual folders (depending on the term you are familiar with). They do not alter the actual source files in any way.

Use document sets to:

  • Assemble and manage your project’s key deliverables.

  • Send specific sets of information to internal project team members as a transmittal via Info Exchange or as an attachment to an email message.

Document sets are only available to internal Project Center team members on Info Exchange. Because document sets expose files from the file server, they are prevented from being accessed by external Info project team members on Info Exchange.

You can create document sets using any file types, and you can include a file in multiple document sets without creating multiple copies of the file. For example, you could include a specification section document in one document set representing submittals, and also include it in a document set for purchase orders, as well as a document set for LEED requirements. Only one version of the actual specification section file needs to exist (the source document), thereby reducing duplication and inconsistencies. Anyone who wants to see the latest specifications, or the latest LEED requirements can be assured they are getting the latest information, as the document sets all link to the same source document.

Other features

  • You can add sub-document sets to document sets to create more specific categories.

  • You can use the Set Document Order dialog box to set the order in which files are published and listed in the Project Document Sets activity center.

  • You can remove files from a document set directly from the Contents tab.

  • You can use the Record Copy > Create New task to create a record copy of the contents of a document set and add it to the project. Doing so enables you to keep a record of it at a particular point in time.

  • You can drag and drop files and sub-document sets to copy them from one document set to another. You can also use the Copy task to copy document sets. This allows you to create new documents based on already existing document sets.

  • Document sets include only files that reside in the selected folder. They do not include the files in the subfolders of the selected folder.

  • Folders do not appear in document sets. Only the files appear.

  • You can add files directly to the Document Sets activity center by clicking Add Files from the Contents tab or by using drag and drop.

  • Document sets update dynamically. For example, add the contents of a folder to a document set. If you later add new files to that folder in Windows Explorer, the files are automatically added to the document set.

  • You can add the contents of folders and individual files to a document set from outside a project. Project Center lets you copy the folder or file to a project folder before adding it to a document set.

Use cases

Create a document set consisting of all the plot files for a project. Typically, this is a single folder, containing many AutoCAD drawings numbered in a consistent manner (such as A001*). However, in Windows, this folder is typically buried many levels deep in the folder structure, and often has hundreds of junk files (such as *.bak, *.tmp, etc.) that you do not want in the document set. Also, this folder likely has large numbers of important XREFDrawing files often reference other files, including other drawings, as well as plot styles, images, standards, and font files associated with the drawing. Those references, or dependencies, are simply an embedded record of the path to the referenced objects or files. files that only CAD users would ever want to look at that should not be listed in the document set. You can quickly create a document set from that folder so that it includes the plot files in that folder, but excludes all other types of files. After you create the document set, it updates dynamically when new plot drawings are added.

You could include a specification section document in one document set representing submittals, it in a document set for purchase orders, and finally in a document set for LEED requirements. Only one version of the actual specification section document needs to exist (the source document), thereby reducing duplication and inconsistencies. Anyone who wants to see the latest specifications or the latest LEED requirements can be assured they are getting the most up-to-date information because document sets all link to the same source documents.

To use document sets

Open the Project Document Sets activity center by clicking Document Sets from the Activities list or from the Project Home activity center.

 

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