Configure the Document Number Syntax

In Portal, you have the option to assign each document a Document Number value that is configurable. If you use one or more document numbering standards that are based on document property values and sequential numbers, you can configure the Document Number property to automatically calculate and assign values and enforce the same standard.

For each combination of Document Type, Discipline, and Classification, a unique document number sequence can be generated based on selected document properties. For this sequence to be applied to a document, the properties must be populated on the document. If they are not already populated, the user can enter values and then recalculate the document number. A generated document number can be shown on the Document page. This number is not a part of the file name, and cannot be used for matching documents.

To perform the tasks described on this page, you must be assigned to the Tenant Administrator role.

Note:

If you want to synchronize document numbers between Portal and PowerWeb, ask Accruent Support to enable the UseMasterDocNrFromMeridian feature toggle.

View or Edit Document Number Syntax Definition

To view or edit a Document Number syntax definition:

On the Meridian Portal Landing page, at the bottom of the navigation bar, click the Account Settings icon .

The Account Settings page appears.
In the menu, click Document Properties.

The Document Properties list appears and shows the properties that are available in your tenancy to all document types.
Select the Document Number Syntax tab to show the existing syntax definitions.
To view the syntax for a particular definition, click the down arrow at the end of its row.

The syntax opens below the row.
To edit the syntax definition, click the Edit icon .

The Edit Document Number Syntax dialog opens.
Click options or type values using the descriptions in the following table.

Add New Document Number Syntax Definition

Document Number syntax options

Document Number syntax options
Option	Description
Add properties	Type consecutive characters that are part of the Property name or the Internal Name of a property that you want to add to the syntax definition. The list of properties refreshes to show the valid matching properties. Select a property to add it to the syntax definition in Added Properties. The valid properties for each document type are indicated in Standard Property Descriptions. Note: The Organization Description property is not supported for Generic Document syntax definitions at this time. Only properties that have the Show option enabled as described in Manage Document Types are available for selection. Properties used in a syntax definition should also have their Required option enabled to prevent empty values from creating invalid document numbers and filenames. When a new document is uploaded to a project and one or more property values that are included in the syntax definition have not yet been set, the Document Number field will show the warning text DocumentNumber is not defined for this document. Document numbers must be assigned before a newly uploaded document can be accepted as described in Workflow Actions. After a document number has been assigned, if a user changes a property value that is included in the syntax definition, the document number can be refreshed to reflect the new value. Each unique combination of properties in the definition (including their order in the syntax) defines a separate number sequence, regardless of the location of the sequence number in the syntax definition. The same number sequences apply to all document types.
Add separator	Type a character that you want to appear as a separator between property values and then click the Add icon to append it to the syntax definition in Added Properties. Only characters that are valid in Windows file names are allowed.
Add sequence	Type a number for the length of the sequence number and then click the Add icon to append it to the syntax definition in Added Properties. The minimum character length for the sequence number is 1. You may only add one sequence per syntax definition. To change the existing sequence number length, first remove the existing sequence and then add a new one. To learn more about sequence numbers, see the How Sequence Numbers Work section below.
Starting Number	Enter a starting number for the document sequence. The default starting number is 1. If you change the starting number, an audit message is created. The Document Number syntax starting number can be used only once: at the initial configuration of the Document Number Syntax AND before the creation of a new document for the specified Document type, Discipline, and Classification. If there is already a document created for the specified Document type, Discipline, and Classification, Meridian does not consider the starting number. To learn more about sequence numbers, see the How Sequence Numbers Work section below.
Added Properties	Shows all elements of the current syntax and an example of a complete document number. To remove an element, click the Remove icon next to the element name.
Select which properties to include in calculation	Select the check boxes for the properties you want to include in your sequence number. This setting allows you to disregard certain properties in the calculation, while still including them in the document number sequence.

How Sequence Numbers Work

A document sequence is based on the unique values used in the all document properties used in the document syntax definition. This means that there are unique sequences for every combination of property values in the definition.

Sequence Numbers are optional. If you want to create document numbers without sequence numbers, ask Accruent Support to enable the AllowDocumentNumberWithoutSequence feature toggle.

In the table below, assume the document number syntax definition is equal to "Prop1" + "Prop2" + Sequence + "Prop3".

Sequence Examples
Value of Prop1	Value of Prop2	Value of Prop3	Generated Document Number	Explanation
Atlanta	Mechanical	PID	Atlanta-Mechanical-001-PID.pdf	This is the first document created with this specific combination of property values, so it has a sequence number of 001.
Atlanta	Mechanical	PID	Atlanta-Mechanical-002-PID.pdf	This is the second document created with this specific combination of property values, so the sequence number has increased to 002.
Atlanta	Mechanical	LD	Atlanta-Mechanical-001-LD.pdf	While this document uses the same file name definition as the first two documents, the value of Prop3 is different. Since this is the first document created with this specific combination of property values, it has a sequence number of 001.
New York	Mechanical	LD	New York-Mechanical-001-LD.pdf	While this document uses the same file name definition as the first three documents, the value of Prop1 is different. Since this is the first document created with this specific combination of property values, it has a sequence number of 001.