Edit a document before distribution

An authority user or system administrator can request a letter or other document and then edit it before it is distributed, provided that the template has been defined by a system administrator to allow this. A system administrator can edit other users' documents, not just the ones they request themselves.

The way you edit a document depends on whether your authority is has enabled the NEC Communications Suite or is using Microsoft Word for editing, and in the latter case whether you have the NEC DM Enterprise Desktop Integration (EDI) application installed and running on your computer.

If you are using the NEC Communications Suite

Navigate to the Documents screen and select the required template and other document properties.

Make sure that the Allow editing of produced document option is selected; otherwise, the document cannot be edited.
Click Create.

Assuming the document is produced correctly, it will be paused in the Document Queue screen with a status of Awaiting Edit. Just below its Job Reference are two links: Edit and Edit Complete.
Click Edit.

The document is checked out of the repository and opens automatically in the online Document Editor; its status changes to Checked Out.
Edit the document as required, then save and close it.

The document is automatically checked in to the repository, and its status changes to Edited.
If you decide you want to edit the document further, just repeat the last two steps.
When you have finished editing, and the document is finally checked in, click the Edit Complete link or the Edit Complete button (either works).

ASSURE resumes processing the document (printing, emailing or filing) as usual.

If you are using MS Word and have EDI installed

Ensure that you do not currently have Word open on your computer.
Navigate to the Documents screen and select the required template and other document properties.

Make sure that the Allow editing of produced document option is selected; otherwise, the document cannot be edited.
Click Create.

Assuming the document is produced correctly, it will be paused in the Document Queue screen with a status of Awaiting Edit. Just below its Job Reference are two links: Edit and Edit Complete.
Click Edit. Alternatively you can tick the document's adjacent checkbox and then click Edit in MS Word.

The document is checked out and downloaded from the repository and opens automatically in Word; its status changes to Checked Out.
Edit the document as required, then save and close it.

The document is automatically checked in to the repository, and its status changes to Edited.
If you decide you want to edit the document further, just repeat the last two steps.
When you have finished editing, and the document is finally checked in, click the Edit Complete link or the Edit Complete button (either works).

ASSURE resumes processing the document (printing, emailing or filing) as usual.

While EDI is running the Undo Check Out and Check In buttons on the Document Queue screen are not needed, and are therefore unavailable.

Important

You must finish editing one document before starting to edit the next. If you have multiple Word windows open at the same time, EDI cannot reliably check-in the correct document.

If you are using MS Word but do not have EDI installed

If you do not have EDI installed on your computer, you must do the following:

Navigate to the Documents screen (for example, from an open application or licence) and select the required template and other document properties.

Make sure that the Allow editing of produced document option is selected; otherwise, the document cannot be edited.
Click Create.

Assuming the document is produced correctly, it will be paused in the Document Queue screen with a status of Awaiting Edit.
Tick the document's adjacent checkbox and then click Download.

The document is downloaded from the repository to your computer, and its status changes to Checked Out.
Open the downloaded document in Word, edit it as required, then save and close it.

Because your browser is likely to download all documents to the same default location, it is a good idea to save the document somewhere else.
Select the document in the queue and click Check In.

A Check In dialog appears.
Click Choose file and find the edited document. Optionally, provide some comments to describe or explain your edits. Click Check In.

The document is checked in to the repository, and its status changes to Edited.
If you decide you want to edit the document further, just click Download again and repeat the last few steps (download, edit, save, close, check in).
When you have finished editing, and the document is finally checked in, click Edit Complete.

ASSURE resumes processing the document (printing, emailing or filing) as usual.

You can tell if EDI is installed and running on your computer by the presence of the EDI icon in the Windows notification area (also known as the system tray). If the notification area is full, the icon will be in the notification area overflow.

Tip

The NEC Document Management document repository retains every checked-in version of an edited document. In contrast, if ASSURE is also configured to store documents via the DME (Document Management Engine) then only the original and the final version of the document are accessible by the DME after you click Edit Complete.