Creating and Completing Assignments

Assignments transfer information and responsibility for task execution to the correct person. Assignments can be used, for instance, to request a colleague to look over a proposal before it is sent to the customer.

Assignments can be included in a workflow, or they can be independent. For more information on automatic assignments included in workflows, refer to Assign to user.

To submit a new assignment, create a new Assignment object. Because assignments are objects, you can define the same assignment for several objects. Or, inversely, add several different objects to the same assignment. For example, you can assign several drafts to a colleague for inspection with a single assignment.

Because the assignments are separate objects, they have their own version history and permissions. For this reason, the document and assignment included in it can have separate permissions, and therefore only a user who has reading rights to the document can mark the assignment completed. The user does not need to have rights to edit the document, meaning that users with a read-only license to M-Files can also mark the assignment completed.

You can add contextual information to assignments with different methods:

  • Create an assignment and add objects to it either with drag and drop or the Add File function from the context menu.
  • Select one or more documents and select Assignment in the Create menu.
  • Create an assignment without adding an object to it and define the entire task in the description field of the assignment.

Metadata related to assignments

Assignment description

Add a free-form description of the task. The assignment notice by email displays the description to the person to whom the task was assigned.

Assigned to

Select the persons you wish to assign the task to. You can add more users by clicking the plus button (+) on the toolbar. Whenever an assignment is a separate object, all persons to whom the task was assigned must mark the assignment as complete before it is switched to the "complete" state.

Deadline

If desired, you can select a deadline for the assignment. The user gets an automatic reminder if he has not marked the assignment as completed when the deadline is approaching. The reminder will be sent using a common notification rule which can be deleted by the administrator.

The deadline can also be useful for creating views. The administrator or user can create a view to display objects whose deadline is approaching. For more information about views, refer to Creating a View.

Monitored by

You can use the Monitored by field to define the users you wish to notify every time a task is marked as complete. The person submitting the assignment is automatically defined as a task monitor as soon as the object is saved for the first time. Once the property has been automatically or manually added to the metadata card, you can change or add more monitors by clicking the plus button (+) on the toolbar.

Mark as complete icon

You can mark the assignment complete by clicking the icon next to the Assigned to field.

Note: If a user creates the assignment, only this user and users with the Full control of vault rights can edit the Assigned to property value. However, if the assignment is created through a workflow, only users with full control of the vault can edit the property value.

Creating a New Assignment for an Existing Document

  1. In M-Files, locate the document for which you want to create a new assignment.
  2. Right-click the document and select Create > Assignment.
  3. In Name or title, enter a descriptive title for the assignment.
  4. In Assignment description, enter a detailed description of the assignment to ensure that the assignee is properly informed about the details of the assignment.
  5. In Assigned to, select the person to whom this assignment is assigned.
  6. Optional: In Deadline, select a deadline by which the assignment must be completed.
  7. Optional: With the workflow controls at the bottom of the New Assignment dialog, select a workflow for the assignment.
  8. Click Create.
The new assignment is shown in the Assigned to Me view of the assignee and they are informed by email about the new assignment.

Creating a New Assignment for a New Document

  1. In M-Files Desktop, click the Create button and select Assignment.
  2. In Name or title, enter a descriptive title for the assignment.
  3. In Assignment description, enter a detailed description of the assignment to ensure that the assignee is properly informed about the details of the assignment.
  4. In Assigned to, select the person to whom this assignment is assigned.
  5. Optional: In Deadline, select a deadline by which the assignment must be completed.
  6. Optional: With the workflow controls at the bottom of the New Assignment dialog, select a workflow for the assignment.
  7. Click Create.
  8. When the new assignment has been created, right-click the assignment in the listing area and select Add File.
  9. Select a format for the new file.
  10. Rename the new file.
  11. Optional: Double-click the newly added file to edit it.
The new assignment is shown in the Assigned to Me view of the assignee and they are informed by email about the new assignment.

Completing an Assignment

To mark complete an assignment:

  1. In M-Files, locate and select the assignment that has been assigned to you.
    You can find all the assignments assigned to you in the Assigned to Me view.
  2. Complete all the tasks required in the assignment.
  3. Mark the assignment complete with one of these methods:
    • On the metadata card, click the ✓ (Mark complete) icon next to your name in the Assigned to field.
      or
    • In the task area, select View and Modify > Mark Complete.
      or
    • Right-click the assignment and select Workflow > Mark Complete.
    Result:The Mark Complete dialog is opened.
  4. Optional: Write a comment to the Comment field.
  5. Click OK to close the Mark Complete dialog.
  6. Optional: Depending on the workflow settings of the assignment, you may still need to add an electronic signature to authorize the assignment completion.
The assignment is completed and it is removed from the Assigned to Me view.

Completing an Approval Assignment

To complete an approval assignment:

  1. In M-Files, locate and select the assignment that has been assigned to you.
    You can find all the assignments assigned to you in the Assigned to Me view.
  2. Complete all the tasks required in the assignment.
  3. Mark the assignment either approved or rejected:
    • On the metadata card, click either the ✓ or X icon next to your name in the Assigned to field.
      or
    • In the task area, select View and Modify > Mark Approved/Rejected.
      or
    • Right-click the assignment and select Workflow > Mark Approved/Rejected.
      or
    • Approve or reject the assignment from the notification email message.
      Note: To complete approval assignments with email links, your M-Files system administrator must add the New Approval Assignment Message template section to Notifications > Notification Templates > Email Templates in Advanced Vault Settings.
    Result:The Mark Complete dialog is opened.
  4. Optional: Write a comment to the Comment field.
  5. Click OK to close the Mark Complete dialog.
  6. Optional: Depending on the workflow settings of the assignment, you may still need to add an electronic signature to authorize the operation.
The assignment is completed and it is removed from the Assigned to Me view. The user defined in the Monitored by property gets a notification e-mail of the approval or rejection.