By defining user actions for a lifecycle state, you allow users to perform those actions on documents in that state, for example, start a workflow or move documents into another state. Additional types of user actions are available for specific features and applications, like Send to CLM for the CLM Integration feature. Once active, the user actions appear in the Actions menu for documents or binders that are in the selected state. User actions respect the Vault’s access controls, so only users with the correct permissions for an action will see it in the menu.
Accessing User Action Administration
You can configure user actions for a specific lifecycle state from Admin > Configuration > Document Lifecycles > [Lifecycle] > States > [State] > User Actions. You must have a security profile that grants Admin: Document Lifecycles permissions.
Action Types
You can configure the following types of actions:
- Change State to
- This type of action allows the user to manually move a document into a different lifecycle state. Vault enforces entry criteria and entry actions for the state change.
- Create Related Record
- This type of action allows the user to create a related object record without leaving the document viewer. This action is only available for objects with at least one active document reference field. If the document reference field is version-specific, Vault auto-selects the current document version.
- Generate Form
- This action is only available if enabled and configured. It uses one or more configured XFA forms, XML Element object records, and data from the document/binder where users trigger the action to create and populate a new form document.
- Web Action
- Initiates a preconfigured web action. Some options may be automatically available within Web Action in your Vault.
- Workflow
- This action starts the specified workflow. Only workflows that are already configured and active for the selected lifecycle are available. Only one user action can exist in each state for a single workflow.
Your Vault may have additional custom actions which are not listed here. These actions are created by your organization with the Vault Java SDK to meet your specific business needs. Talk to your Vault Administrator to learn more about these actions.
Action Types in QualityDocs & QualityOne Vaults
- Controlled Copy
- This option is available in QualityDocs Vaults It allows the user to generate and distribute a controlled copy.
How to Create User Actions
To create a new workflow user action:
- From the User Actions tab, click Edit.
- Click Create Rule.
- Optional: Select All conditions are met or Formula evaluates to True if the user action should only appear for documents that meet certain conditions. See details.
- Under Allow the following actions, select a user action type. See details.
- Define details for the user action. For example, with a workflow action, you need to select a specific workflow and enter a label.
- Optional: Add additional actions by clicking Add action. If the rule is conditional, these additional criteria will share the same conditions.
- Click Save. The action is immediately available to users with the correct permissions.
Note: If your Vault uses Atomic Security for Documents: Document Lifecycle Actions, the new action may not be accessible to users. Navigate to the Atomic Security tab. From here, you can review the default access for the new action and set override access if needed. Learn about Atomic Security for Documents.
How to Define Conditions
Certain user actions are only available when the document meets a set of conditions. For example, different workflows could be available for US documents and UK documents, so the workflow user action could be conditional based on the document’s Country field.
To define conditions, select All Conditions are met, and then a document field, operator, and value. Some system fields and most fields associated with document types that use the lifecycle are available. You can also select Formula evaluates to True to use a formula expression that returns a boolean (true/false) expression to define the condition. The user action executes only if the formula returns a true expression. If needed, you can define multiple conditions by clicking Add condition.
A document must meet all of the conditions defined within a rule for Vault to make the user actions available. If a condition uses a field that does not apply to the document, Vault does not validate that condition.
Note: If you select Formula evaluates to True to define a condition, you can use the Fields panel to select fields and data from the User object for the current user.
About Referencing Missing Records in Criteria & Actions
When you clone a lifecycle configuration during Vault provisioning, references to specific object records in entry criteria or conditions may become invalid if those records do not exist in the new environment. If this occurs, references to missing object records are shown as empty in lifecycle configuration fields.
While Vault allows you to save configurations even with these missing records, we recommend resolving these missing references by recreating the records with the same ID values using Vault Loader or via the API if you want to use these conditions in the new environment. If you only want to update another configuration and take it back to the source environment, you can leave the missing references as is.
How to Reorder Actions
You can change the order of the options that appear in the Actions menu. To rearrange actions, click and drag the rules themselves, or click and drag the actions within a rule. You can click and drag from the upper left corner.
How to Edit or Delete User Actions
To make changes to user action rules, click Edit. Make any necessary changes. If you need to delete a rule, a condition within the rule, or a user action within the rule, click the X icon on the row. When your changes are complete, click Save.
User Action Rule Limits
For each lifecycle state, you can define up to fifty (50) user action rules. Within a rule, you can specify up to ten (10) actions. If a rule is conditional, it can have up to five (5) conditions.
Vault does not prevent Admins from creating multiple actions with the same Action Label value. When this occurs, a user may see duplicate options in their actions menu.
Controlled Copy Options (QualityDocs, QualityOne)
Note: These configuration options refer to legacy controlled copies. See Extensible Controlled Copy Configuration for information on configuring the Download Controlled Copy user action with object-based Extensible Controlled Copies. The Extensible Controlled Copies feature (released in 18R3) provides a more robust functionality set. We recommend migrating to Extensible Controlled Copies at your earliest convenience.
When creating a new controlled copy action, there are several fields available for configuration:
- Copy Number Format
- Enter a numbering format for the controlled copy action. The format value can include tokens like ${docName}. We recommend that you replace “CC” in the default number format with a value that corresponds to the menu label, for example, FPC-${docNumber}-${docMajor}-${docMinor}-${####} for the menu label “Request Facility Posting Copy.” If you use the same number format, for example, CC-{####}, for two separate user actions, they share the numbering value so that it is impossible to create two controlled copies with exactly the same copy number.
- Overlay
- Select the overlay templates to apply to the content when a user requests a controlled copying using this action. This selection overrides the lifecycle state-based overlay selection.
- Include signature page
- Specify whether or not to include a signature page with the content when a user requests a controlled copy using this action. Vault will apply the signature page template that is selected for the lifecycle. If not selected, the controlled copy omits the signature page, regardless of whether there are signatures applied.
- Audience Details Field Type
- Specify how the user is prompted for Audience Details. This can be free text or a picklist of responses. Administrators should create an object and add object records to model approved responses. These object records will display in the Request Controlled Copy dialog as Audience Details options. Admins can also configure sharing settings on the individual object records in order to only display the valid options (object records) for each user.
- Reason/Justification Field Type
- Specify how the user is prompted for Reason/Justification. This can be free text or a picklist of responses. Administrators should create an object and add records to model approved responses. These object records will display in the Request Controlled Copy dialog as Reason/Justification options. Admins can also configure sharing settings on the individual object records in order to only display the valid options (object records) for each user.
- Allow multiple copies
- Specify whether or not users can request multiple controlled copies with this action.
Generally, you’ll collect more usable data if you prompt users to select from a pre-approved set of responses. Free text may be the better option for smaller organizations where a limited number of individuals can request controlled copies.
When configuring new controlled copy options, be sure to update the lifecycle security matrix. Only users with the Distribute Controlled Copy permission can access controlled copy actions.
Create Related Document or Binder Options
There are several fields available for configuring this action:
- Action Label: Indicates how the user action appears to the user.
- Create a Document or a Binder: Specify whether or not users will create a related document or binder.
- Document Type: Specify the document type for the newly related document.
- Lifecycle: Specify the lifecycle of the newly created document. Although document types are typically associated with a single lifecycle, this action allows you to associate multiple lifecycles. Vault only lists lifecycles that are valid for the specified document type.
- Choose Template: This is an optional field that specifies a template to use when creating the document.
- Relationship Type: Specify the relationship type used to relate the new document to the source document. Vault only lists valid relationship types based on the specified document type.
When configuring the Relationship Type field, only the following relationship types are available for selection:
- Relationship types that are valid for the selected document type
- Custom relationship types, or Related Original Document relationship types
- Relationship types that are not source-specific, or if they are source-specific, they have the Carry Forward Source Relationship attribute selected.
Additional Details for Create Related Document or Binder
The Create Related Document or Binder user action does the following:
- Adds a prefix of Related Binder, Related Placeholder, or Related Template to the newly created document name (inherited from the source document). For example, Related Binder – My Presentation.
- Automatically maps all matching field values for custom fields and some standard fields on the source document to the related document.
- Executes asynchronously and sends a notification once the action is complete.
- Creates an outbound relationship from the created document to the source document. Vault bases this on the relationship type configured on the user action.
Supported Standard Fields
The Create Related Document or Binder action automatically maps the following standard object fields on the source document to the related document:
- Product
- Country
- Portal
- CLM Content
- Engage Content
- Directory
- Enable Survey Overlay
- Start Date
- EndDate
- Keyword
- Presentation Id
- Survey
- Training
- Website
- CRM Org
- CRM Product
- CRM Detail Group
Non-populated required fields or mismatched data types will cause the action to fail.