Vault allows you to reuse your documents or binders with the Make a Copy option. The new object can duplicate the fields, content, structure, and/or relationships of the original document. A relationship is created between the source object and its copies to allow for traceability.
How to Copy Documents
To make a copy of an existing document or binder:
- Select Make a Copy action from the Actions menu.
- In the dialog, enter a Name for the new document or binder.
- If you are executing Make a Copy for a document, use the checkboxes to choose whether to Copy content, Copy fields, or both. Contents includes the document’s source file, renditions, annotations, and references, including reference relationships. Fields includes the document fields (metadata) and (non-reference) relationships. These options are not available when copying binders or placeholder documents.
- Click Continue.
- The Doc Info page opens for the new item. Make any needed changes and click Save. If you exit without saving, Vault does not create the new item.
Copied Elements
| Object | Elements Copied | Elements Not Copied |
|---|---|---|
| Binder | * User editable fields and field values * Binder structure and document links * Version binding rules |
* Previous versions * Calculated fields (Creation Date, etc.) * Document number * Fields set as “read only” or “hidden” using field-level security * Country field (in PromoMats only) |
| Document | * User editable fields and, if Fields is selected, field values * All relationships except Based on, if Fields is selected * Source file, if Content is selected * Annotations and document references, if Content is selected * Read only Study, Study Country, and Study Site fields (in Clinical Operations only) * Read only field values (if the read only field is blank, Vault applies the default value, if any) * Manual Links and Claim Links, when Suggest Links is enabled |
* Previous versions * Based on relationships * Calculated fields (Creation Date, etc.) * Document number * Fields set as “hidden” using field-level security * Country field (in PromoMats only) * Suggested Links, Approved Links, and Auto-Accepted Links, when Suggest Links is enabled * Anchor annotations * Study, Study Country, Site, and Location fields (in Clinical Operations only) * Owning Facility, Impacted Facilities, Owning Departments, and Impacted Departments (in Quality only) |
Admins in your Vault can configure specific fields to not copy during the Make a Copy action.
Tracking Source & Copy Relationships
Vault automatically creates a new Based on relationship between the original and copy when creating the new copy. This enables traceability between the original and its copies. You can see if users have copied a document from the Where Used report for the source document.
Original Source Tracking
If enabled, Vault can also keep track of the original source document with the Original Source relationship. For example, I made a copy of my WonderDrug document, which I named WonderDrug NA. I then made two copies of WonderDrug NA, which I named WonderDrug USA and WonderDrug Canada. Both WonderDrug USA and WonderDrug Canada have a Based on relationship with WonderDrug NA, but their Original Source relationship is with WonderDrug.
Note that Original Source is version sensitive, meaning that if the Original Source relationship points to V1.0, it will always point V1.0 even if a user uploads a new version of the source. An Admin must enable this feature. When enabled, all existing documents will have the Original Source relationship applied where applicable.
Copy Depth
To keep track of how far away a document is from the Original Source, you can view the Copy Depth of a document on the Doc Info page. In the Original Source Tracking example above, both WonderDrug USA and WonderDrug Canada would have a copy depth of two (2). This field is hidden by default, but an Admin can enable it. Note that Original Source Tracking must be enabled before this field will record a document’s copy depth.
Permissions for Make a Copy Action
In order to use Make a Copy on a specific document or binder, you must have permissions to create a document or binder of the same document type. For example, you could not copy a document with the document type Promotional Piece if you are not also able to create a document of that type.
Note that you must also have the View Document and View Content permissions on the document you want to copy.