New View

In M-Files, documents and other objects can be categorized into different views according to their metadata. The creation of views is largely based on specifying the metadata used to searching and categorizing documents.

Video: New Views

Views allow you to save frequently used searches and define grouping levels. For information about searching for documents, refer to Search Functions.

There are two phases in determining a view:

Specify a filter to ensure that the view only displays objects you want to see. Specifying filters is similar to performing searches.
Determine the folder structure of the objects. This is useful when you have a large number of objects and you want to group them into different levels according to specific properties.

The "Define View" window.

In the example shown above, the documents must be checked out to the user Andy Nash, they must not have been deleted, and they must be of the type Drawing or Model. No properties have been added to the display hierarchy in this window, so all documents that meet the criteria are displayed in the same folder.

Name

Start by assigning a name to the view. The name should be as descriptive of the contents of the view as possible, so that users can deduce from the name of the view what kind of objects it contains.

Common to all users

Normally, views are created for personal use only. If you wish, you can define the view to be a common view visible to a desired user group. In order to define a common view, you need the document vault permission for managing the common document vault's common views.

You should carefully consider which views are needed by all M-Files users. For instance, the Documents by Projects view is often necessary. The users of the client software can hide unnecessary views from their own computers, and the administrator can restrict the visibility of the views by setting appropriate permissions. The views also can be assembled in groups (view bundles) from which, for example, the views used by the sales department are easy to find.

Show documents and other objects

By default, the view shows documents and objects according to the filter settings and folder structure. This option can be deselected if, for instance, new views are created under the current view. Note: When creating a new view inside the current view, the conditions of the upper view remain simultaneously valid. In other words, the sub-view results only include objects that also meet the conditions of the upper view.

Look in all versions

If you leave the Look in all versions box unchecked, the view will only list those objects whose latest version meets the specified criteria.

If you check the box, the filtered search will be performed on all versions of each document. Only the newest version meeting the criteria will be displayed. For example, if TinaS has modified versions 1 and 2 of a document, and AndyN has updated the document to version 3, search criterion Last Modified By = TinaS will return version 2 of the document.

Show latest version

If the option Show latest version is on, M-Files will show the newest version of each returned object instead of showing the old version that actually matched the search conditions.

Example: Creating a New View for French Customers

Steps

In M-Files, open the document vault to which you want to create the view.
Press ALT to open the menu bar.
Select New > View...
The Define View dialog is opened.
In the Name field, enter the name French customers.
The name will appear in the listing area under My Views.
Optional: Check the Common to all users option check box if you want to define this view as a common view.
Click Define Filter... to specify the conditions that objects must meet to be shown in this view.
The Define Filter dialog is opened.
On the Status tab, check the Object type check box, select the equal (=) operator from the adjacent drop-down menu, and select the Customer from the rightmost drop-down menu.
Go to the Properties tab.
The Properties tab is opened.
Click Add Condition and add the following condition:
1. Use the Property drop-down menu to select the Country property.
2. Use the Operator drop-down menu to select the equal (=) operator.
3. Use the Value drop-down menu to select France as the country.
Click OK to close the Define Filter dialog and to return to the Define View dialog.
Check the Show documents and other objects option check box.
Click OK to finish creating the view.

Results

The view you have just defined appears in the listing area under My Views and it contains all the objects and documents that meet the conditions that you have specified in the filter settings of your view.

Example: Creating a Common View Containing All the Documents Created by the Current User

Before you begin

You must be either a vault administrator or a system administrator to be able to define a common view.

Steps

In M-Files, open the document vault to which you want to create the view.
Press ALT to open the menu bar.
Select New > View...
The Define View dialog is opened.
In the Name field, enter a descriptive name for the view.
The name of the view can be, for example, Documents Created by Me.
Check the Common to all users option check box.
Click the Define Filter... button.
The Define Filter dialog is opened.
Go to the Properties tab.
The Properties tab is opened.
Click Add Condition and add the following condition:
1. Use the Property drop-down menu to select the Created by property.
2. Use the Operator drop-down menu to select the equal (=) operator.
3. Use the Value drop-down menu to select the (current user) option.
Click OK to close the Define Filter dialog.
Click OK to close the Define View dialog and to finish creating the view.

Results

All users of the vault should now have a new view under Common Views. They can use the view to list all the documents that they have created in the vault.