Guide to DCN/ICN Document Management System Service

Document Management Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Index

1. What is the DCN/ICN Document Management Sytem?
   
   
2. What are some of the Key Features of the DMS?
   
   
3. What types of information can I share with the DMS?
   
   
4. How do I download a document from the DMS?
   
   
5. How do I add a document to the DMS?
   
   
6. Can I link the DMS to the Comment/Annotation System?
   
   
7. What are the client computer's system requirements?>
   
   

Answers to the Document Management System FAQs

1. What is the DCN/ICN Document Management Sytem? The DCN/ICN Document Management System (DMS) is a developmental application that allows users to share files over the web. The application looks like Microsoft's Windows Explorer Program with a folder/file structure for organizing information. DMS differs from Windows Explorer in one key respect: Users access DMS through a web browser instead of a proprietary Windows Explorer Interface. Thus any authorized user with access to the Internet, can access the DMS, browse folders and files, read descriptions about each file and download those files of interest. Figure D1 shows a demonstration of the DMS with the folder/file structure. It also shows attributes on each file such as the date, file size, and optionally, a short description of the contents of the file.

   

   Figure D1. Document Management System with Folder/File Hierarchy

   
   
   
2. What are some of the Key Features of the DMS? Some of the DMS key features include:
   1. Folder management (title, description)
   2. Folder View Expansion/Contraction
   3. File management (title, date, abstract)
   4. Hypertext links to Web Pages
   5. Basic Search (keywords)
   6. Advanced Search (keywords in title or abstract, date range)
   7. End-User and Administrator Views
   8. Remote administration
   
   
   
3. What types of information can I share with the DMS? The DMS can be tailored to meet specific project requirements. Typical information that can be shares include:
   1. Meeting Agendas, Minutes, Key presentations (typically, MS Word Documents, MS PowerPoint documents, Adobe PDF documents)
   2. Collections of Documents that have been zipped for faster downloading
   3. Specifications and Standards
   4. Budget documents (typically MS Excel files)
   5. Drawings (e.g. Visio documents)
   6. Information Models (e.g. Gensym ReThink models)
   7. Web Pages (links to web pages)
   
   
   
4. How do I download a document from the DMS? There are two ways to download a document from the DMS:
   1. Right click your mouse button on the link to the document and select the save target as item in the popup menu if using Internet Explorer as shown in Figure D2 or select the save as item of the popup menu if using Netscape Navigator as shown in Figure D3.

   

   Figure D2. Document Management System with Download Popup Menu for Internet Explorer

   

   Figure D3. Document Management System with Download Popup Menu for Netscape Navigator 6.x

   2. Left click your mouse button on the link to the document, wait for it to download and then use the File/Save As command in your browser
      
      

5. How do I add a document to the DMS? To add or modify the attributes of a document, you need to have administrative privileges for the DMS. Administrative privileges allow you to:
   1. Add/Modify a document
   2. Copy/Move a document from one folder to another
   3. Add/Modify folders
   4. Delete files or folders
   See your DCN/ICN sponsor or project manager to get administrative privileges.
   
   
6. Can I link the DMS to the Comment/Annotation System? Yes, when a file is added to the DMS, one of the questions is: Do you want to make this document available for comment?. If you check the box,next to this question, the file will be displayed with a Comment Icon next to it. Simply click on the Comment icon (a tilted letter E), and you will be linked to the Comment/Annotation System for that document.
   
   
7. What are the client computer's system requirements? The only client system requirements are a web browser (Internet Explorer 5.5 or later Netscape Navigator 4.7 or later).