Set up Retention Periods

Settings - Documents

The Documents application allows you to set up retention periods in order to establish the retention periods of the documents.

A retention period will be defined by default and applied to all documents. However, it is possible to assign a specified retention period by job type or by tag. A user can also manually assign an expiration date to a document.

When expired, the document is moved to the Recycle Bin, and a specific retention period is applied to these documents. Once the deadline has been reached, the documents will be permanently deleted.

Note: You can restore any document that has been moved to the Recycle Bin. Consult the Use the Recycle Bin help topic for more information.

Retention period hierarchy

The expiration date of a document is based on the following logic:

• a document with the Permanent tag does not expire;
• an expiration date manually assigned takes priority over the date assigned from the settings;
• an expiration date assigned from a retention period of a tag takes priority:
• if two or more tags are applied to the same document and if more than one retention period applies, the longest period will be retained;
• if no expiration date can be assigned from a retention period of a tag, the date will be set from a retention period of a job type (this only applies to the jobs);
• if no expiration date is assigned from the items described above, the expiration date of the document will be based on the settings of the default retention period.

Back to top

Default retention period

The default retention period is set to 7 years.

You can change the period. Consult the Change a retention period help topic for more information.

Empty Recycle Bin

The default retention period of the documents moved to the Recycle Bin is set to 1 year. It starts from the moment where a document is moved to the Recycle Bin.

You can change the period. Consult the Change a retention period help topic for more information.

Please note that any document in the Recycle Bin will be permanently deleted after this deadline, and the dates that have been manually assigned, the Permanent tag, as well as any other settings will not be considered by the retention period.

Back to top

Add a retention period

To add a retention period, proceed as follows:

1. Click Settings > Documents.
2. Click Retention Settings.
3. Click the Add Retention Period button.
   The Add Retention Period dialog box displays.
4. From the Select type list, select the type for which you want to add a retention period.
5. The second list depends on your prior selection. Choose, in the list, the job type or the tag on which you want to base a retention period.
6. In the Enter retention period fields, enter the desired period.
   Note that the retention period must be at least one month long and cannot exceed 30 years.
7. Use one of the following options to save your changes:
• click Save to save your changes and close the window; or
• click the arrow on the Save button, then click Save & add to save your changes and add another retention period.

Back to top

Change a retention period

To change a retention period, proceed as follows:

1. Click Settings > Documents.
2. Click Retention Settings.
3. In the grid, click on the line corresponding to the period you want to change.
   The Edit Retention Period dialog box displays.
4. Enter the new values in the Enter retention period fields.
5. Click Save.

Back to top

Delete a retention period

To delete a retention period, proceed as follows:

1. Click Settings > Documents.
2. Click Retention Settings.
3. Click the icon of the retention period you want to delete.
4. Click Yes to confirm.