Managing Categories and Subcategories in the Controlled Document Management

The Egnyte Controlled Documents app organizes quality documents using categories and subcategories. Categories define who can manage and view documents, while subcategories help group documents by type and control how they’re identified.

Users can either leverage Standard Categories with a pre-baked lifecycle, or create Custom Categories with fully configurable document lifecycles—allowing organizations to tailor document processes to meet their specific quality, compliance, or departmental needs.

 

What Are Categories?

Each category is a container for related quality documents, such as those managed by a specific team (for example, Clinical, Regulatory, QA). Categories control:

• Document lifecycle (standard or custom)
• User permissions for managing or viewing documents
• Document storage location
  

There are two types of categories:

 

Who Can Manage Categories?

Only users with one of the following roles can create or edit categories:

• Egnyte Domain Administrator
  
• Controlled Documents Administrator
  
  

Viewing Existing Categories

To view existing document categories:

1. Open the Controlled Documents App.
   
   
   
2. Click Document Categories from the left navigation.
   
3. A list of all current categories will be displayed, along with:
   
   • Whether the category is Standard or Custom
     
   • Assigned managers and viewers
     
   • Status (Active or Disabled)
   
   

   

Adding a New Category

Before creating a new category, prepare the following:

1. Create or locate a folder in Egnyte where documents will be stored (for example, /Shared/Quality Documents/Clinical)
2. Create or identify two user groups:
   
   • Category Managers: Can upload and manage documents (Full or Owner access to folder required)
   • Category Viewers: Can view published documents (do not need folder permissions)
     
     

Creating the Category

1. In the Controlled Documents App, click on Document Categories from the left navigation options.
   
2. Click + Add New Category.
   
3. Choose a lifecycle type:
   
   • Standard Lifecycle
     
   • Custom Lifecycle
     

5. Fill in the required fields and click Submit:
   
   • Category name
   • Folder path
   • Manager group(s)
   • Viewer group(s)
   • Optional: Enable Event Date (for Custom Categories only)
     
6. Define the Lifecycle (for Custom Categories only):
   Create at least one Custom Status (for example, Under Review, Approved)
   
   • Drag-and-drop statuses to order them
   • Note that the Obsolete status is automatically included
   • Max 10 custom statuses per lifecycle (excluding Obsolete)
     
7. Define Subcategories as described below and click Submit.
   
   

Adding Subcategories

Subcategories help organize documents by type e.g., standard operating procedures, quality manuals, or work instructionsand are required for each category. Each category can have multiple subcategories. Defining subcategories for each document type makes it easier to find documents later because subcategories control the prefix used in document identifiers, e.g., the "SOP" in "SOP-12". 

To add a subcategory:

1. Click the category name in the Document Categories list.
2. Click Add new subcategory.
   
3. Fill in the details below and click Submit:
   
   • Subcategory name (for example, "Standard Operating Procedures")
   • Prefix (for example., "SOP") — used in document IDs like "SOP-001"
   • Optional: Allow document downloads in original file format
     

Once created, the prefix cannot be changed, as it affects document identifiers.

 

Editing Categories and Subcategories

Users can edit most fields for existing categories and subcategories:

• For categories, all fields (except type) are editable.
• For subcategories, the prefix cannot be changed.
  

For Custom Categories, users can also:

• Edit or rearrange custom statuses other than Obsolete
• Add or remove statuses (unless in use) other than Obsolete
  

 

Activating or Deactivating Categories

Categories and subcategories are created in an Active state by default. Admins and Category Managers can deactivate them if needed — but only if no documents in the category are in Effective or Future Effective statuses.

Deactivating or Activating a Category

1. Go to the Document Categories list.
2. Click the category name.
3. Select Deactivate (or Activate) at the bottom left.
   
4. Confirm the change.

Deactivating or Activating a Subcategory

1. Click into the category from the list.
2. Scroll to the Subcategories section.
3. Click Deactivate (or Activate) next to the subcategory name.
   
4. Confirm the change.

 

Adding Documents to Categories

Once a category is created, documents from the root folder can be added to it using:

• Import to Controlled Documents (from the folder view)
  
• Mark as Controlled Document (from the document viewer)