In IFS/Document Management, you can use extended EDM files to check in more than one file to a document revision. Since some applications store a couple of extra files together with the original/master file, the IFS extended EDM file feature enables you to keep track of all of them. A common example of the need for this feature is for scanned and rasterized drawings which need two extra files (with extensions .cal and .cg4) to be stored with the master .dwg file (AutoCAD drawing). The extra files are checked in and out without any user intervention.
To allow this, the document types of the files that you want to check in together with the original file must exist in EDM Basic/Document Type tab and declared for the check in process in the Document Class Process Action window.
The extended EDM file concept is closely related to the Document Class Process Action concept in which you actually configure which document types that should be checked in and out.
Be sure to read about some important terms in the Glossary section at the end of this document.
In theory, an unlimited number of files can be checked in (linked) to a document revision using this functionality. There are, however, some limitations:
First, the administrator must set up extra document types in the system. Then he or she needs to create one or more file types and connect them to the new document type. This is the same type of activity done when adding a new application that is going to be used for Original. When this is done, the administrator can connect the new document types to a Process Action configuration.
When you check out one or more files using this functionality, all file references that are configured for the check out process will receive a Checked Out file status. When you later check in the files, all files that were checked out must be present when checking in or an error message will appear.
To better understand how this works after everything has been set up, a couple of examples are provided below.
Consider the following setup:
Document Class Process Action Header:
| Document Class | Process | Macro Option |
| DRAWINGS | CheckIn | SelectAndRun |
Document Class Process Action Detail (connected document types):
| Document Type |
| Hybrid |
| Raster |
In the example above, the two new document types, Hybrid and Raster, have been created in the EDM Basic/ Document Type tab. The following file types/applications has been connected to them:
| Application | File type | Document Type |
| CALS | CAL | Raster |
| CG4 | CG4 | Hybrid |
Using this setup, when you check in a document revision that has no file reference, a file dialog box will display and you must select the file to check in. This is what we call the original, or master, file.
After you have specified the file to check in and click OK, the system will look for files having the same basename as the original file, but with different file extensions. Let's say that you have the same setup specified above, and you are checking in a file named MyDrawing.dwg. The system will look for two files called MyDrawing.cal and MyDrawing.cg4. If the system finds one or both of these file, they will be checked in with the original file.
You can connect more than one file type to the same document type (as you normally can with file types that have an Original document type). So if one extra file type, for example with the file extension .xyz, had been connected to the Raster document type above, the system would look for such a file too. However, only one file reference with a certain document type can be checked into the same document (see limitations above). This means that if there was a file called MyDrawing.cal and one called MyDrawing.xyz, the system will let you know so you can remove one of them. If, on the other hand, only one of those two files is present, it will be checked in with the .dwg and .cg4 files.
Just because three files are checked into the same document does not mean they they will be checked out/fetched when viewing or editing the document. The administrator must set up these rules too.
Also, just because three document types (the original plus the two extra, Hybrid and Raster) are used on the check in process does not mean that they will automatically checked out or fetched by the system. This means that you can have fewer (or more) document types connected to another process on the same document class.
Document Class Process Action Header:
| Document Class | Process | Macro Option |
| DRAWINGS | View | SelectAndRun |
Document Class Process Action Detail (connected document types):
| Document Type |
| Raster |
In this example, only one document type is connected to the DRAWINGS document class and View process. This means that if you view the document, only the original (extension .dwg) and the Raster (extension .cg4 or .xyz) files will be fetched from the repository. If there are no connected document types at all nor a process Action configuration for the view process, only the original file would be handled by the system.
Configuring the check out process (used when you select the Edit Document command) follows the same logic as for the view process. You just configure what document types should be handled when checking out the document.
Connecting document types to the Delete process has no meaning as no files are transported between the client and server. The Undo Check Out process, on the other hand, can be configured with the document types that you want removed when the Undo Check Out command is executed.