Creating and Managing Drafts in Controlled Document Management

Working with Draft Documents in Controlled Document Management

Users importing documents into Egnyte’s Controlled Document Management system now have the ability to add it as a draft. This lets teams reserve document IDs and prepare for the addition of a new Controlled Documents before it is finalized or made effective.
This article describes how to create, edit, manage, and publish draft documents.

Creating a New Draft Document

When importing a new document:

1. Open the Import to Controlled Document Management modal via the document list view or the workflows tab of the document viewer.
   
2. Select the Draft option under Import as: this will mark the document as a draft and record the date as the Draft Creation Date.
3. Choose a Document Subcategory: the system will suggest the next available Document ID based on the selection.
4. Enter or update the Document Identifier:
   • A user can manually adjust the number, as long as the ID is not already in use.
   • Document IDs must remain unique, even for drafts.
5. Provide a Document Version name
6. Enter a Document Version.
   • The default will be “0.1” for drafts, but can be manually changed.
   • Each draft version must be unique and less than 1.0.
7. (Optional) Add a Responsible Department.
8. Complete the import.
   

Once imported, the document will show as a Draft and appear in the Controlled Documents list with N/A for any effective or expiration dates.

Viewing Drafts

Drafts can only be viewed by Admins and Category Managers.  They will appear in the Status Filter under Draft.

Drafts do not include training features (such as Manage Trainings or Ad Hoc Assignments) and will not appear in any training-related searches or records.

Updating an Existing Draft

To upload a newer version of an existing draft:

1. Select Import updated draft from the import screen.
2. Choose an existing draft from the Document dropdown.
3. Enter a new unique draft version (for example, 0.2, 0.3).

Users will also see the most recent draft version listed in the dropdown for reference.

Making a Draft Effective or Future Effective

In order to promote a draft document into effective or future effective:

1. Search for the draft when importing a new version or using approval workflows.
2. The system will:
   • Show the latest draft version.
   • Prepopulate the Document version to 1.0.
3. Complete the import or approval steps to finalize the document.
   
   Example via Import window
   

Once effective, the draft version is converted and removed from draft listings. The document becomes searchable for training and reporting.

Deleting a Draft

Admins and Category Managers can delete drafts. Once deleted, the Document ID becomes available for reuse.