Technical Notes, Zetadocs

INFO: Zetadocs Archive File Planning Advice for Zetadocs for NAV

ZTN4290

ID: ZTN4290

This Zetadocs technical note applies to:

  • Version 6.0 and later of Zetadocs for Microsoft Dynamics NAV

Summary

This technote is intended for Administrators and VARs who are responsible for setting up archiving to a Zetadocs Archive using Zetadocs for NAV. You should carefully plan the document archives organization and how users will access the data so as to optimize performance.

By setting your Zetadocs Archive file plan to match your expected document archive volume, you can ensure the efficient operation of the software.

More information

Zetadocs has been designed to optimize performance when working with large libraries; however, it is important that it is configured correctly to take advantage of this. The goal is to archive to document library subfolders and to avoid those subfolders becoming too full (> 1000 documents).

Step 1: Calculate the expected volume of documents that will be archived to this library.

Note: You may need to consider extreme scenarios so that you can select an appropriate file plan. Scenarios such as:

  • On the last day of the month there is batch processing of NAV records which will result in an exceptional number of documents being emailed and archived compared with other days.
  • Our biggest Customers can have up to 1000 orders processed and archived from document queues per day.
  • There will only be archiving of documents dragged and dropped onto records in the Sales Order Process.
  • Take a sample of typical documents in the archive and total their file size, divide this by the number of documents in your sample to gain an estimate of your average file size. Use this to estimate your hard disk space requirements and ensure that sufficient space is available.

Step 2: Open the Zetadocs General Settings page in NAV (9041210) and set the archive sub-foldering to the appropriate file plan for your company.

Remember that you want to aim to have the subfolders with less than 1000 documents. For example:

  • If you batch process Sales Invoices on particular days and this can be up to 3000 documents then subfolder settings:
    •  COMPANY \ DATE(YYYY-MM-DD)
  • If you can have some companies that could have more than 1000 quotes, orders and invoices processed and archived per day combined, then you may want to consider subfolder settings:
    • DATE(YYYY-MM-DD) \ COMPANY \ DOCTYPE
    • Or use the Zetadocs for NAV SDK to implement custom subfolder options specific to your business needs.

Step 3: Train your staff on best practices when using document libraries stored in Network Folders.

  • Avoid using the Zetadocs for NAV archive for storing other documents that are unrelated to the processes and workflows of Zetadocs and NAV. Instead create separate libraries for those requirements.
  • Avoid depending on browsing of your library using the subfolder names to find documents. Instead advise users to search for documents via NAV.
  • DO NOT browse the archive and delete documents from it, this places the contents of the archive and the database storing the associated metadata out of sync. This can result in errors and documents being listed in the Documents Factbox in NAV which are no longer in the archive. Instead delete the document via the Documents Factbox which will also update the database.

Maintenance

Over time your Zetadocs for NAV archive library will get larger and larger. It is worth considering creating a new library every year or every couple of years depending on the volume of documents you expect to have. Also, as your business grows, so may your document volumes. You should review your file plan every few months to ensure it is still suitable for your business requirements.

References

Last updated: 4th December  2013  (BM/MW)