Documentum Glossary

Documentum Glossary

Document number: 18250

Cabinet - The highest level at which objects in a docbase are organized. Documents, folders, workflows, and other objects you create must be stored in a cabinet. Like the file cabinets in an office, cabinets can contain a mixture of objects.

Check In - To store the content of an object in the docbase. Check in also unlocks the object in the docbase. If the object is one you just created, checking it in stores the working file in the docbase as the new object's content. If the object is one that already existed, checking it in can overwrite what is in the docbase or create a new version. Usually the person who checked the object out is the only person who can check it in.

Check Out - To lock an object in the docbase and download a copy to your local hard drive for editing. Only one person at a time can check an object out. When you complete the check out process, the system displays the object in your Work Area window.

Desktop Client - Desktop Client is Documentum's client/server graphical user interface. Using windows and menus, Desktop Client give access to the documents and other objects in the docbase and performs a variety of operations on these quickly and easily. Note: Documentum Desktop Client is not the same application as Documentum Workspace.

Docbase - The repository for all objects created and managed using Documentum. One system can include multiple docbases.

Docbase Window - The window that represents the docbase to which you are connected when using Desktop Client. The cabinets that appear in this window are the cabinets in the docbase that are accessible to you. The Docbase window opens automatically the first time you connect to a docbase. The next time you connect to the docbase, the window opens if it was open when you disconnected. If it was closed when you disconnected, it does not open automatically when you reconnect to the docbase. You can open the Docbase window after you connect to a docbase using the Docbase command on the Window menu. The docbase name is displayed in the title bar.

Document - A single unit of information. What constitutes a unit is up to you - it can be one chapter in a book, one page in an article, or an entire book. A document does not have to contain text. It can also be a graphic, an image, or a spreadsheet, for example.

Folder - The lowest level at which objects in a docbase are organized. Folders organize the objects assigned to a cabinet. Folders can contain other folders, workflows, documents, and virtual documents. The same folder can be stored in more than one cabinet or folder through linking.

Format - Format objects are the docbase objects that represent file formats. Users can save a document to the docbase in any format that has a format object in the docbase. During installation, a large set of default format objects are created for you. You can modify these formats, delete one or more, or add new formats to your docbase.

Inbox - The window that displays any objects requiring your action or attention. These objects are tasks, notifications of events, or items that another user sent you through a custom application.

Import - To create a new document and incorporate a file external to the docbase as the content of the document. Importing does not destroy the external file. The file still exists independent of Documentum.

Lock - To write-protect an object in the docbase. The system locks an object when it is checked out to protect the data in the docbase. A locked object can only be overwritten and unlocked by the person who checked the object out or a superuser.

Object - A single entity in the docbase. Every object is categorized by object type. How the Documentum system displays and processes the object depends on the object's type.

Object Type - Defines a class of objects. The definition includes the set of properties associated with an object of that object type. Documentum provides a basic set of object types. With the proper user privileges, you can add new object types to Documentum.

Permissions - The permits associated with an object that control which users and groups can access an object and the level of access given to them. In a docbase using permission sets, object-level permissions are applied using permission sets, which define permissions for individual users or groups.

Permission Set - A permission set, previously referred to as an ACL (Access Control List), is a list that contains the names of individual users and/or groups and the object-level permission assigned to each.

Preferences - Selections that determine default system behavior for a user in certain very specific situations. Preferences control system behavior in four categories. General preferences determine such behavior as the directory in which working files are stored by default. Format preferences determine what application the system runs when the user opens an object to view or edit it. They also determine the format in which the object is displayed. Font preferences determine the font the system uses to display the contents of a window. View preferences let you choose which attributes are shown in a list view and the order in which they are listed.

Properties - Properties (formerly attributes) are descriptive characteristics that are a part of an object's definition and are either automatically or manually assigned.

Version - A variation of a document in the docbase resulting from revisions to a previous iteration of the document. When a variation to a document is checked in as a new version of the document, the previous version remains in the docbase. The new version is added. Each version carries a version label. The first edition (the original) is always labeled 1.0.

Unlock - To remove write-protection from an object in the docbase. The system unlocks an object when it is checked in (or when the checkout is canceled), making it accessible to anyone with the proper object-level permissions.