OS EDU: What Do I Do With this Document?

Question : Should this be an uploaded Portal Document? Or mapped to my Network Drive?

(This applies only for groups who host their own portal - Rackspace users only have Portal Docs as their option, but should keep reading!)

Answer : Well - it depends.

But before I start, let’s just quickly make sure we understand Edit vs Replace.

Edit means just that. I edit THAT document. I make a change to THAT document. Excel files are often “edited” as people add data to the columns and rows. Word documents might get “edited” for typos or a quick policy clarification.

Replace means a WHOLE NEW document. The entire old document is invalid and an entire NEW document needs to live in its place.

Let’s also understand Location Sanity. How MANY places a document is linked in (Linked at? Linked to? Not sure about grammar...) makes a real difference.  If it's ONE document that is used by lots of places, and lots of people, it makes sense to link to ONE spot - so that if it gets edited or replaced, they ALL get edited/replaced. We will give five different examples below, and the 'best practice' suggestion.

Document A is a boring, little-used word file that lives on your mapped Network Drive. In the OnSemble Employee Portal, it is only linked in one island, on one page. Yawn.

However - Document A needs completely replaced, once a year or less. Ok. Cool. Delete the old one from your mapped drive, upload the new one, and go change your one old link to the new link. Easy. (Even if the document was linked in maybe... two or three places, as long as you know where they are, this is no big deal.) 

Location Sanity : Low

Document B is a FREQUENTLY replaced document that lives on your mapped Network Drive. It also is only linked in one place. Ok. Cool. Replace it and go change your link.

However - You are taking an extra step ... and depending on HOW frequently it gets replaced, this might quickly get to be a pain. (I have to be honest - I can’t think of many Docs that need total frequent replacement) But if you have a document like this, it might be better loaded into the portal to save a step. See Document D. 

Location Sanity : Medium to High

Document C gets edited frequently (this is very real for many groups) *and* because it is SO popular, it is linked in SEVERAL places, on several pages, throughout the portal. It doesn’t really matter if Document C is on your mapped network or loaded into the portal. **Properly Performed Edits don’t break links.** (Though if you’d like access to the edit history, the portal does that - your mapped network does not)

However - Note: I said what I said - Properly Edited. Your crew needs to do it right. EDIT, not REPLACE. 

Location Sanity : HIGH

Document D will be linked in a LOT of places - it’s a very commonly accessed document. You also know that (for whatever reason) it must be replaced, not edited periodically. (Weekly, monthly, quarterly, whatever) 

Document D should be a uploaded to your Portal Docs. Check the old one out, check in the new doc. Links do not break, history is kept. All is good. 

Location Sanity : HIGH

Document E lives* on your mapped network. It is linked in SEVERAL places - in fact, you’re not even sure HOW many places link to it (it’s that common) AND, unfortunately, it needs a full replacement.

For Document E, opening a "find/replace ticket" with our Tech Support team is the only real option. Find/replace locates ALL the URL of the old document and replaces it with the new.

To be clear: Find/Replace must be performed by Passageways, in conjunction with your IT Support team. There will be a delay while this is coordinated. It's not an "easy" process, but it can be done. Thankfully, the only time we might NEED a find/replace ticket is Document E. 

Location Sanity : Total InSanITy 

Good luck - and as always, email your CSM for help!

*Or, in some awful instances... LIVED, past tense. "Someone deleted Document X off the network folder by accident," is how we normally hear it. You upload a new replacement document, but, even though it might have the same name or whatever - the portal sees it as something NEW.  You'll need that 'find-replace' ticket.