Hi,

Yes, and no :)

Yes

Yes, it happens even automatically in some cases, for example if you check in a original document (Word, Excel, AutoCAD or whatever), and there is also a "view copy" on disk, with the same name (different extension, often PDF), both files will be checked in and two files will then be kept on the same revision/sheet. We have something similar for "extended EDM files" (yes, confusing name) where the system looks for "other files with the same name" (but different file extension) and checks them in too.

We also save comment files connected to transmittals as extra files on the document revision.

So, as you can see, the database model/structure supports having more than one file checked in to one document revision.

No

No, in the sense that the end-user does not have much control over this. It would not be hard to allow manual check in of several files, but we would need to think about how we design file operations in general. For example, if you click View, which file should we open? And so on...

What is it that you want to achieve here? Possibly you should make use of document structures instead, and/or have multiple sheets for each document (title), such that the document as a whole have multiple files. Or zip files together.

Thanks!

/Mathias
 

Thanks Mathias for your swift response and detailed answer.

Requirement is that to store PDF templates in a document revision, so users can get the files from that document revision and filled and attached for example for a Change Request. There can be couple of PDF templates. One place to look for template files. 

My suggestion also was to use the multiple sheets as I could not find a way to attached more than one file for a one document sheet. My understanding is document sheet hold the document No, Revision but mostly independent when it come to other functionalities like Access, Check-in etc. Isn’t it?

Yes. A “document sheet” and a “document description” are really the same things, and if you are not using the sheet functionality (i.e. you keep it as 1 or - or whatever), you can think of revisions only.

But if you think about them as sheets, they are as separate as the revisions, when it comes to access, approval etc. When it comes to object connections a sheet is even more of its own “thing.” You can have several sheets of the same document (title) connected to the same business object, but the sheet numbers need to be different.

Also, if you use/think about the sheet concept, we are creating revisions of sheets, and not the other way around.

We think sheets are not used that much, but it can be a handy option when you want to split “a document” into several different files. The requirement came from the electrical engineering/electrical CAD people many years ago. For them, “the document” could be a multi sheet paper drawing, covering a complete electrical cabinet, where each sheet represented one part of the cabinet. Another, more made up, example is to use a sheet for each chapter of a book or manual, although that scenario fits quite well as a document structure too.

Don’t be afraid to use “strange” sheet numbers when you need to. They can contain both letters, numbers and possibly some symbols as well (but do not go too wild here, the more “special” characters we use, the higher the risk that something breaks down the line, perhaps years from now), so a sheet can represent a language code, if needed, and similar.

“Also, if you use/think about the sheet concept, we are creating revisions of sheets, and not the other way around.”

This was the other confusion I had. That also solved . Thanks Mathias.