Document Storage is the new File hosting eMaint feature that is fully integrated within the application. The Documents tab gives you access to the Document Manager, where you will have an explorer-type view of all files. You can also create multiple levels of folders, where you can store different types of files (images, excel, powerpoint, word, etc).
As part of the Document storage feature, you can create “Document fields” on any forms. These fields will allow you to select a file and display it as an image or simply as a link to an image or document.
1 - KeyFeatures
- Can create multiple levels of folders (sub-folders).
- Canstoremultipletypesoffiles - images, excel, powerpoint, word.
- Can see a preview of the file that was selected (even full PDF preview) - can zoom in/out during preview.
- You can embed an image (for photos) or a link (for Excel, Word, PDF, etc).
- Canaddmultiple “Documentfields” toyoursystemforms (Assets, WorkOrders, Request, etc).
- Can adjust image size before adding/displaying it on a record.
- Cancarrydocumentsfromassetstoworkorders/requests.
- Can reference these files on the “Asset Documents,” “PM Documents” and “Work Order Documents” Related tables, so they will print with the asset/PM/work order when needed.
2 - DocumentStorageAccess
The Document Storage feature is available to eMaint all eMaint X3 accounts. However, the amount of storage space aloted to users is based on their subscription level.
Once you go over the storage space that was initially provided to your account, you will have the ability to purchase additional storage in increments of 50GB.
For additional information and pricing visit http://www.emaint.com/cmms-pricing/
3 - X3DocumentTabandListing
After clicking the “Documents” tab, you will be taken to a screen where you can launch the X3 Document Manager. Also, at the bottom of the screen, there’s a section that displays your storage information: Amount of files, Total Space being used and Remaining Capacity.
Figure 1
In the Document Manager screen there are 3 sections:
- A - X3 Document Listing - In this explorer-type view section you will be able to view, upload and organize your files. Every account will have the “X3 Document Storage” folder by default, which is the main folder where all the other folders and files will be created and uploaded to.
- B - Image Size Editor - After Selecting an image you will be able to resize it using the horizontal bar in this section. This will control not only the preview size on this screen, but also the size you would like this image to be displayed on the record.
- C - X3 Document Viewer - After Selecting a file you will be able to preview it on this section.
Figure 2
4 - CreatingFolders
Creating folders is very easy. Click the “Folder/Plus” icon, select a Parent Folder, then type in a name for your new folder. After you click the “Create Folder” button, the screen will refresh and the folder will display on the list.
Figure 3
5 - UploadingFiles
To upload files to X3 Documents, Click the upload icon (green arrow pointing up), Click “Choose File” to select a file from your computer, Write a description, Select the folder you would like to upload it to, then hit “Upload File”. When you see the popup window with information about the file, click “Proceed” and you are done.
Figure 4
6 - AddingImagesandFilestoRecords
Document Storage fields can be added to any forms (Assets, Work Orders, Requests, etc). In the example below you can see that we created an Asset record and added an image to it. Files can be added to records when you are either creating or editing them. To do so, you will need to: A - Click the “Select File” button on the Document field (this will bring up the X3 Document Screen); B - Select an image from the list; C - Move the bar forward or backwards until you are satisfied with the image size; and D - Click the image icon at the top of the list.
Figure 5
Now that the record has been saved, you can see the image displayed on the form.
Figure 6
If the “Weblink” icon had been clicked instead of the image icon, a link to the image would display instead of the image.
Figure 7
Note - When adding other types of documents (PDF, Word, Excel, etc), you will need to use the weblink icon.
7 - CreatingDocumentFields
As mentioned before, Document fields can be created on any system forms. To do so you will need to navigate to the form you would like to add the field to, Hover over “Customize Form” and select which form you would like to customize (Default, Mobile, etc).
Click on a yellow folder, then create the new field. Make sure it’s a “Text” field and make “250” Characters, then hit “Create Field”.
Figure 8
Note - We made this field accept a lot of characters because most times it will hold long URLs.
The last step is to go into the properties of the new field and change it’s “Behavior” to “X3 Document Storage”.
Figure 9
Now you can use this field to display images or links that will direct you to the files that are stored in the X3 Document Module.
Figure 10
8 - PreviewingPDFFiles
When selecting a PDF file from the “X3 Document Listing” you should be able to preview that document on the right section of the screen. However, depending on the browser that you are using you might need to make a little adjustment in the browser settings to be able to view these documents. If you are using “Internet Explorer” you should already be able to see PDF documents. If you are using “Chrome” or “Firefox”, you will first need to enable PDF Preview in the browser settings (see steps below).
EnablingPDFpreviewforDocumentStorageinChrome
1. Type “chrome://plugins/” in the address bar (without the quotes) and hit Enter.
2. Click on details (near the top right)
3. Disable "Chrome PDF Viewer" and enable the Adobe Reader
Figure 11
EnablingPDFpreviewDocumentStorageinFirefox
1. Navigate to the Browser settings, click the “Options” button and select “Applications”.
2. Next to “Portable Document Format (PDF)” change the action from “Preview in Firefox” to “Use Adobe Acrobat (in Firefox)”.
Figure 12