Working with Structured Objects 

Purpose

You can start working with structured objects in the following way:

·        If you are a cFolders administrator, you can define which object types are to be used across the entire system on the General tab page under cFolders Administration.

If you are not a cFolders administrator but have administration authorization for a collaboration, you can change this default setting for the relevant collaboration. To do this, proceed as follows:

Go to the collaboration detail screen and choose Object Types. A list of all object types appears. By default, the objects that have been selected under cFolders Administration are already selected. You can select the objects that have not been selected under cFolders Administration as required.

Change this selection if necessary. You can select exactly those object types that you want to be used in your collaboration. The system-wide default is not affected by this.

·        On the collaboration detail screen, you can also define which categories are available in this collaboration by choosing Categories. There is no system-wide default for categories.

·        If you activate the Subscribe function for any object, you are automatically informed by means of a notification when a change has been made to that object.

·        Many objects, for example, documents, notes, and bookmarks can be displayed directly in the Current Version column, by selecting the link. The system opens the object in an additional browser window.

·        If the object has a time stamp (that is, the time when the object was created or an entry is made), the time is valid for the time zone of the user who created the document or entry.

·        The alias names function allows you to use different enterprise-specific names for the objects without overwriting their original name. These names are known as labels.

Prerequisites

You have created one or more of the following objects:

Structured Objects

Object	Definition
Folders and Subfolders	Folders are the same as those found in most current operating systems. You use folders to structure a collaboration. They are a type of container for objects. Folders of any type can contain any number of objects (folder objects). To change the name of a folder after you have created it, select the Show Details button on the Folder screen.
Documents	Any type of file can be a document. A document can also have versions to make sure you can track who created it and when. For more information about documents, see Document.
Bookmarks	Bookmarks are quick links to websites, documents, and other collaborations.
Materials	A material is an item (product, goods, and so on) that is created, used in production, traded, or consumed.
Bills of Material	A bill of material structures materials and represents a directory of all parts (items) that belong to a material.
Data Sheets	Data sheets are based on XML and structured to contain specifications and classification information. In competitive scenarios, data sheets make sure that information from bidders arrives in a usable structured format. For more information about data sheets, see Data Sheet.
Discussions	Discussions are user-friendly forums for making entries and queries about a collaboration and its objects. Any entries posted here for the discussion cannot be deleted.
Notes	Notes are short descriptive texts. Their length is unlimited and they can have versions.
Generic Objects	Generic objects can be any type of object that you require to collaborate with your business partners and run business processes, for example, industry-specific reports, such as the 8D report used in the automotive industry, or functional locations. Generic object types are created by your system administrator. For more information about generic objects, see Generic Object.