A status network represents the entire processing cycle of a document from the beginning to the end of a phase, for example from the creation of a document to its release. The processing steps can be defined and controlled exactly.

The statuses that you set in a relationship to one another as predecessor and successor form the status network.

You can allocate a status type to a status if you want to have greater control. The status type assigns specific features to a status, for example you may only be able to set a status when you create a document for the first time (primary status), or there may be important basic data that you are not allowed to change with a certain status (lock status).

In the following processing situations, the system sets a status automatically:

• Processing an original application file

• Checking an original application file into an archive

The following graphic shows a status network.

• Two possible primary statuses are defined as the initial status: A1 and A2. This means that two different processes are represented at the start of this status network.
• Complex predecessor and successor relationships are defined for the statuses in this network. These relationships are checked every time a new status is set.

Create one or more predecessors for each status. A maximum of six predecessors is checked. When you set a new status the system checks whether the current status belongs to the number of predecessors of the new status.