Creating Documents

There are various methods for creating documents in Sugar including via the Documents module, quick create, and via duplication. The full edit view layout opens when creating the document directly from the Documents menu and includes all of the relevant fields for your organization's documents. The Edit View layout can be configured by administrators via Admin > Studio. For more information on configuring layouts, please refer to the Studio documentation in the Administration Guide.

Creating Via Documents Module

You can create a library of documents and graphics that you can share with other users and contacts, ranging from marketing collateral to contracts. You can also create templates for frequently used documents. One of the most common methods of document creation is via the Create Document option in the Documents module tab. This opens up the edit view layout which allows you to enter in all the relevant information for the document.

Use the following steps to create a document via the Documents module:

1. Click the triangle in the Documents module tab to open the actions menu and select "Create Document".
2. Enter appropriate values for the fields in the edit view layout. All required fields are marked with a red asterisk and must be completed prior to saving.
3. Once the necessary information is entered, click "Save".
   

Creating Via Google Docs

Sugar has the ability to create documents in the system that are linked to external sources, the most popular of these is Google Docs or Google Drive.

Use the following steps to create a document linked to Google Docs via the Documents module:

1. Click the triangle in the Documents module tab to open the actions menu and select "Create Document". 
2. Select "Google Docs" from the Source dropdown to reveal the External Source selector.
   
   Note: If Google Docs is not an option in the Source dropdown, then you most likely need to connect your Sugar account to your Google Id through your user profile. For more information on how to connect to your Google Id in Sugar, please refer to the Google Docs Integration section in this documentation.
3. Click "Choose File" to navigate to a file on your local computer. The selected file will be uploaded to Google Docs. Not all file extensions are currently supported for uploading to Google Docs.
   The following file extensions are currently allowed:
   

   File	Description
   CSV	Comma Separated Values
   DOC	Microsoft Word 97-2004
   DOCX	Microsoft Word
   HTML	Web Text File
   HTM	Web Text File
   JPG	Image File
   ODS	OpenDocument Spreadsheet
   ODT	OpenDocument Text
   PDF	Portable Document Format
   PNG	Image File
   PPT	Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation
   PPS	Microsoft PowerPoint Slideshow
   RTF	Rich Text Format
   SXW	OpenOffice.org XML
   TAB	Tab Separated Values
   TXT	Plain Text
   TEXT	Plain Text
   TSV	Tab Separated Values
   XLS	Microsoft Excel 97-2004 Workbook
   XLSX	Microsoft Excel Workbook

4. Alternatively, click "File on External Source" to reveal the external source selector.
   
5. Click the arrow button to launch the selector. This window will show the 20 most recently modified documents in your Google Drive.
   Note: This will only show documents owned by you in your Google Drive, and will show documents from all folders in your drive.
6. Use the Search box to find a specific document. Select a document by clicking on the document's file name.
   
7. Enter appropriate values for the remaining fields in the edit view layout. All required fields are marked with a red asterisk and must be completed prior to saving.
8. Once the necessary information is entered, click "Save".
   

Note: Documents that link to an external account (e.g. Google Docs, IBM Smart Cloud) cannot be used as attachments in emails composed through the Sugar Email Client.

Creating Via Quick Create

The Quick Create menu allows you to easily create new records from anywhere in Sugar. Simply click the quick create button on the upper right of all Sugar pages to access the menu. You can also quick-create a document from any Documents subpanel on related module records.

Use the following steps to create a document via Quick Create:

1. Open the Quick Create menu on the upper right of any Sugar page and select "Create Document". You can also click the Plus button on any Documents subpanel on a related module's record view (for Sidecar modules) or select "Create" on any Documents subpanel on a related module's detail view (for Legacy modules). 
   From Quick Create menu:
   
   From Documents subpanel (for Sidecar modules):
   
   From Documents subpanel (for Legacy modules):
   
2. Enter appropriate values in the fields in the edit view layout. All required fields are marked with a red asterisk and must be completed prior to saving.
3. If creating the document via the Documents subpanel in a Legacy module and additional fields are desired, click the Full Form button to use edit view instead.
4. Once the necessary information is entered, click "Save".
   

Creating Via Duplication

You can also create a new document by duplicating an existing document record. The Copy option is useful if the document you are creating has similar information to an existing document. Related records on the original document will not be related to the newly created document, but the last revision of the original document will copy over to the new document with the change log contents: "Document Created".

Use the following steps to create a document by duplicating an existing record:

1. Navigate to a document record's detail view.
2. Click the Actions menu and select "Copy".
   
3. The displayed edit view is pre-populated with the original document's values. Update the necessary fields, then click "Save". 
   
   Note: The Source and File Name fields can not be modified when duplicating a document.

Viewing Documents

There are various options available for viewing document records in Sugar including via Documents list view, Documents detail view, Documents Recently Viewed menu, dashlets, and reports. Please note that you will only be able to see document records as allowed by your team membership, user access type, and assigned roles. For more information on teams and roles, please refer to the Team Management and Role Management documentation in the Administration Guide.

Viewing Via List View

The Documents list view displays all document records meeting the current search criteria. To access the list view, simply click the documents module tab. While list view shows key document fields, you can click the document's name to open the record in detail view. For more information on viewing documents via list view, please refer to the Documents List View section of this documentation.

Viewing Via Detail View

The Documents detail view displays thorough document information including all document fields followed by subpanels of the document's related records belonging to various modules. The detail view can be reached by clicking a document record's link from anywhere in the application including from the Documents list view. For more information on viewing documents via detail view, please refer to the Documents Detail View section of this documentation.

Viewing Via Recently Viewed

As you work, Sugar will keep track of which documents you have recently viewed. Click the Actions menu in the Documents module tab to see a list of your most recently viewed documents, and click each name to open the document in detail view.

Viewing Via Dashlets

Sugar Dashlets allow users to get a quick view of various records, activities, reports, etc. Dashlets may be added to a user's Home page or to the intelligence pane for Sidecar modules (e.g. Accounts, Contacts, etc.).You can view document information in document-based dashlets such as "My Documents". Clicking a document's name from any dashlet will open the document in detail view. For more information on using dashlets and viewing document records via dashlets, please refer to the Dashboards and Dashlets documentation.

Viewing Via Reports

Users with access to the Reports module can build, run, and manage reports to gather key data regarding documents and their related records. In addition to only displaying desired fields and relationships, reports can also incorporate complex filters to only display specific subsets of your records. Once the report is run, you will be able to view the document record's detail view by clicking the document's name in the report results. Please note that you can only directly access document detail views with Rows and Columns-type and Summation with Details-type reports as Summation-type and Matrix-type reports do not include hyperlinks in their display columns. For more information on using reports, please refer to the Reports documentation.

Please note that your ability to access reports may be restricted by a role. For more information on roles, please refer to the Role Management documentation in the Administration Guide. Check with your system administrator if you cannot access the Reports module.

Searching Documents

The Documents list view includes a Basic and Advanced Search to help you locate records easily and effectively in a module-specific manner. Once the search is performed, the relevant results will be displayed in the Documents list view below. Global Search allows users to search for information across their entire Sugar database as opposed to restricting search within a specific module. Please note that Sugar automatically appends the wildcard character (%) to the end of your search phrase. This allows the system to retrieve all records that start with the keyword entered in the search. If you would like to broaden the search, you can use the wildcard at the beginning of your text as well (e.g. %agreement). This will pull up any record that has the word "agreement" in the name, regardless of how it starts or ends.

For more information on using the various search methods as well as how wildcards are used in the different methods, please refer to the Search documentation.

Basic Search

Basic search offers a few, commonly used fields for a simplified search experience. From the Basic Search panel, you can click "Advanced Search" to access additional search functionality as needed.

The buttons and checkboxes available in Basic Search panel have the following functions:

• Search : Click the Search button or press your Return/Enter key to perform the search.
• Clear : Click the Clear button to clear all criteria from the searchable fields.
• My Favorites : Select this box to return only records you have marked as favorites.

When you run a search, Sugar will return records matching all (as opposed to any) of the fields and checkboxes for which you have given a value. For example, if you select "My Favorites" and enter a document name, Sugar will only return document records with a matching name that you have marked as favorites. Once the search is complete, the relevant results will populate in the list view below the search panel. To see all document records to which you have access, simply click "Clear" and then "Search" to perform a blank search with no filters. Please note that you will only be able to see document records as allowed by your team membership, user access type, and assigned roles. For more information on teams and roles, please refer to the Team Management and Role Management documentation in the Administration Guide.

Administrators can configure what fields appear on the Documents Basic Search via Admin > Studio. For more information on editing layouts, please refer to the Studio documentation in the Administration Guide.

Advanced Search

Advanced Search offers a more in-depth search experience than Basic Search including additional fields, layout options, and saved search capability. From the Advanced search panel, you can click "Basic Search" for simplified searching.

The buttons, checkboxes, and dropdowns available in Advanced Search have the following functions:

• Search : Click the Search button or press your Return/Enter key to perform the search.
• Clear : Click the Clear button to clear all criteria from the searchable fields.
• My Favorites : Select this box to return only records you have marked as favorites.
• Layout Options : Use the expandable Layout Options section to configure your list view. For more information, please refer to the Layout Options section of the Search documentation.
• Saved Searches : Save, recall, update, and delete searches that you use often. For more information, please refer to the Saved Search section of the Search documentation.

When you run a search, Sugar will return records matching all (as opposed to any) of the fields for which you have given a value. For example, if you select "My Favorites" and enter a document name to search, Sugar will only return document records with a matching name that you have marked as favorites. When searching by a multiselect or dropdown field (e.g. "Assigned to"), however, Sugar will return records matching any of these selections. Once the search completes, the relevant results will populate in the list view below the search panel. To see all document records to which you have access, simply click "Clear" and then "Search" to perform a blank search with no filters. Please note that you will only be able to see document records as allowed by your team membership, user access type, and assigned roles. For more information on teams and roles, please refer to the Team Management and Role Management documentation in the Administration Guide.

Administrators can configure what fields appear on the Documents Advanced Search via Admin > Studio. For more information on editing layouts, please refer to the Studio documentation in the Administration Guide.

Global Search

Global Search allows users to search for information across their entire Sugar database as opposed to restricting search within a specific module. Beginning with version 6.5.0, Full-Text Search may be used with Global Search to search throughout nearly all fields and modules for an enhanced search experience. The Global Search bar is located on the top right-hand side of Sugar. You can click the magnifying glass icon or hit Return/Enter to perform your search once the text string is entered in the search box.

To use global search, you need to first enter the keyword into the search box and the pop-up results will begin appearing once you enter in at least one character. Clicking the magnifying glass icon or hitting your Return/Enter key will cause Sugar to return exact matches for your keyword rather than matches with words beginning with your keyword. For more information on using and configuring Global Search, please refer to the Global Search section of the Search documentation.

Regular Sugar users can configure some aspects of global search such as what modules are displayed in the search results by clicking the down arrow within the Search box then selecting the module(s) to include in the search. For more information on configuring your Global Search, please refer to the Search documentation. Administrators can control additional elements of global search via Admin > Search and Admin > Studio. For more information on administrator configuration of Global Search, please refer to the Field Options section of the Studio documentation as well as the Search section of the System documentation in the Administration Guide.

Documents List View

The Documents list view displays all document records meeting the current search criteria and to which your user has access. You can view the basic details of each document within the field columns. Please note that you will only be able to see document records as allowed by your team membership, user access type, and assigned roles. For more information on teams and roles, please refer to the Team Management and Role Management documentation in the Administration Guide.

You have the option to change what fields are displayed in list view by configuring your layout options in the Documents Advanced Search. For more information on configuring your list view, please refer to the Layout Options section of the Search documentation. Users with administrator or developer access also have the ability to change what fields are visible in the list view via Admin > Studio. For more information on editing layouts, please refer to the Studio documentation in the Administration Guide.

Pagination

List view displays the current search results broken into pages that you can scroll through rather than displaying potentially thousands of rows at once. To the right just below the search panel you can see which records of the total results set are currently being displayed. The two single-arrow Next and Previous buttons can be used to scroll through the records page-by-page. The two double-arrow First Page and Last Page buttons allow you to skip to the beginning or the end of your current results.

By default, Sugar displays 20 records per list view page, but administrators can change the number of records displayed via Admin > System Settings. For more information on changing the number of displayed records, please refer to the System documentation in the Administration Guide.

Checkbox Selection

You can perform several actions on document records directly from the list view by first selecting the desired records. To select individual document records on the Documents list view, mark the checkbox on the left of each row. To select or deselect multiple document records on the list view, use the options in the checkbox dropdown menu:

• Select This Page : Selects all records shown on the current page of document results.
• Select All : Selects all records in the current search results across all pages of document results.
• Deselect All : Deselects all records that are currently selected.

Mass Actions Menu

The Mass Actions menu to the right of the checkbox dropdown allows you to perform various actions on the currently selected records.

The options in the Mass Actions menu allow you to perform the following operations:

Favorite Designation

Users have the option to mark document records as favorites via the list view as well as the detail view. This allows users to designate records that are important or will be viewed often so that they can easily be accessed via search or from the Documents module tab. In the Documents list view, the star on the left of each document's row is yellow once marked to indicate a favorite document. For more information on how to mark records as favorites, please refer to the Favoriting Documents section of this documentation.

Column Sorting

List view provides the ability to sort all of the current search results by a field column in either ascending or descending order. To sort by a field or switch the sort direction, click the column header noting that the fields which allow sorting will have a pair of arrows. The list view may be sorted by only one column at a time. You can also set a default order-by column using the layout options in Advanced Search. For more information on setting a default column sort, please refer to the Layout Options section of the Search documentation.

Documents Detail View

The Documents detail view displays thorough document information including all document fields which are grouped by default into the Overview and Revision Details panels. You can also view a document's related records (Document Revisions, Related Contracts, Accounts, etc.) which appear in subpanels beneath the document fields. The detail view can be reached by clicking a document record's link from anywhere in the application including from the Documents list view.

Please note that you will only be able to view a document record according to your team membership, user type, and role restrictions. For more information on teams and roles, please refer to the Team Management and Role Management documentation in the Administration Guide. Users with administrator or developer access have the ability to change the detail view by configuring the layout via Admin > Studio. For more information on editing layouts, please refer to the Studio documentation in the Administration Guide.

Actions Menu

The Actions menu on the top left of each document's detail view allows you to perform various actions on the current record. Administrator users can change the action items to be displayed as separate buttons instead of a dropdown menu via Admin > System Settings. For more information on configuring the actions menu, please refer to the System documentation in the Administration Guide.

The options in the Actions menu allow you to perform the following operations:

Favorite Designation

Next or Previous Record

On the upper right of the Documents detail view, there are two buttons that allow you to page through each document in the Documents list view's current search results. Clicking the Previous button displays the previous document of the current search results while clicking the Next button displays the next document of the current search results. The text in between shows which document result you are currently viewing within the total number of current results.

Subpanels

Beneath a document record's fields are subpanels containing related records from various modules as well as the document revision history.

Related Records Subpanels

The most common type of subpanels displayed on a document's detail view contains the document's related records belonging to various modules. The relationship type determines whether a related record will be displayed in the field listing or in a subpanel. For example, a document may be related to only one other document but related to multiple accounts. This means that the related document will be displayed amongst the document's fields while accounts will be displayed in a subpanel beneath the fields.

Users with administrator or developer access have the ability to change the fields (e.g. Name, Assigned User, etc.) and labels of each subpanel by configuring the layout via Admin > Studio to provide visibility to the most important fields. For more information modifying subpanels, please refer to the Studio documentation in the Administration guide.

Related record subpanels allow the following operations to be performed. Please note that administrators in Sugar can change the subpanel's Action menu to be displayed as separate buttons instead of a dropdown via Admin > System Settings. For more information, please refer to the System documentation in the Administration Guide.

• To view the details of a related record, click the record's name in the subpanel or choose "View" from the Actions menu on the far right of the record's row to open it in record view.
• To relate an existing record to the document, choose "Select" from the subpanel's Action menu, then locate and select the desired record.
• To relate a new record to the document, choose "Create" from the subpanel's Action menu, then complete the record view layout and click "Save".
• To delete the document's relationship to a record, choose "unlink" from the Actions menu on the far right of a record's row. This removes the relationship but does not delete the record itself.
• To collapse or expand the subpanel, click the double arrow to the left of the subpanel's name.
• To move the subpanel to a new location on the detail view, drag and drop the subpanel's header.

Please note that administrators can prevent users from moving subpanels to different locations in the detail view. For more information on preventing rearranging of subpanels, please refer to the System documentation in the Administration Guide. Check with your system administrator if you are not able to rearrange your subpanels.

Document Revisions Subpanel

The Document Revisions subpanel lists the document revisions for this document record. The revisions are sorted in descending order on the revision number by default. Each revision retains the copy of the document loaded on that revision. This provides you with the ability to look back at the history of the document to compare revisions.

Note: This does not work as expected with External Documents (e.g. Google Docs, IBM Smart Cloud) as the document is not stored in Sugar for these document sources, but only a link to the document. To retain change history, either utilize Google Doc's change features or select a different document for every revision.

You can click the Create button on this subpanel to create a new revision of the document you are currently viewing. The revision number is automatically populated with the current highest revision number plus one, but can be modified. However, once the new Document is saved, this field becomes read-only for all users.

Note: If you skip numbers, it will not go back and fill in the missing numbers.

You may also populate the Change Log field with a short description of the change being made for this revision. Click "Save" to complete the revision record.

Editing Documents

Documents may be edited at any time to update or add information to the record. You can make changes to existing document records via the Documents edit view. Edit view is available within the Documents module and includes all of the Document fields you should need.

Please note that your ability to edit documents in Sugar may be restricted by a role. For more information on roles, please refer to the Role Management documentation in the Administration Guide. Check with your system administrator if you do not see the Edit options.

Administrators in Sugar may configure the Documents edit view via Admin > Studio. For more information on configuring layouts, please refer to the Studio documentation in the Administration Guide.

Editing Via Detail View

You can edit documents via the Detail View by clicking the Edit button on the upper left of the page. Once the edit view layout is open, update the necessary fields, then click "Save" to preserve the changes made.

Editing Via List View

You can edit documents via the List View by clicking the Pencil icon to the left of each document's name. The edit view layout will open and you can update the necessary fields, then click "Save" to preserve the changes. 

Deleting Documents

If a document record is invalid or should no longer appear in your organization's Sugar instance, it may be deleted from either the Documents detail view or list view. Deleting via the detail view allows you to delete a single record while the list view allows for mass deleting multiple records at once. Deleting document records will not delete the related records and will only remove the relationship, so you may wish to also delete any related records to avoid orphaned records. Document revision records will be deleted when deleting the parent document record.
Please note that your ability to delete documents in Sugar may be restricted by a role. For more information on roles, please refer to the Role Management documentation in the Administration Guide. Check with your system administrator if you do not see the Delete options.

Deleting Via Detail View

Use the following steps to delete a document record via the detail view:

1. Navigate to a document record's detail view.
2. Select "Delete" from the Actions menu.
   
3. A pop-up message will display asking for confirmation. Click "Ok" to proceed.

Deleting Via List View

Use the following steps to delete one or more document records via the list view:

1. Navigate to the Documents list view by clicking the Documents module tab.
2. Use the Basic or Advanced Search to find the Document records you wish to delete.
3. Select the desired document records individually or using the checkbox dropdown's options.
4. Choose "Delete" from the Actions menu.
   
5. A pop-up message will display asking for confirmation. Click "Ok" to proceed.

Due to PHP memory limitations on the server, there may be occasions when the application times out while deleting a large number of document records. If you encounter an error when performing this action, we recommend selecting the records in smaller batches.

Exporting Documents

Sugar's Export option allows users to download all fields for the selected documents to their computers as a .CSV (comma-separated values) file. This may be useful when needing to use document data with other software such as Microsoft Excel. Due to PHP memory limitations on the server, there may be occasions when the application times out while exporting a large number of document records. If you encounter an error when performing this action, we recommend selecting the records in smaller batches.

Documents may be exported from the Documents list view by selecting "Export" from the Actions menu. Users with access to the Reports module also have the option of creating or accessing reports containing specifically chosen fields for documents and their related record(s). Please note that only Rows and Columns-type reports have the ability to be exported. For more information on exporting records in Sugar, please refer to the Export documentation.

Please note that your ability to export documents from Sugar may be restricted by a role. For more information on roles, please refer to the Role Management documentation in the Administration Guide. Check with your system administrator if you do not see the Export option.

Downloading Documents

Exporting a document from Sugar will only export the document record with the metadata about the document, but the document itself will not be included in the export. In order to download a document from the documents module, simply click on the File Name link in the list view or the detail view and the document will be downloaded to your computer. If the document is linked to an external source (e.g. Google Docs, IBM Smart Cloud), then the file name link will open directly to the doc inside a new window or tab.

From Documents list view:

From Documents detail view:

Mass Updating Documents

Mass Updating allows users to make the same change to multiple document records at once from the Documents list view. Users with administrator- or developer-level access can control which fields are available to change during mass update via Admin > Studio. Currently, only fields with the data type of date, datetime, dropdown, multiselect, and radio may be altered during a mass update. For more information on configuring mass update, please refer to the Studio documentation in the Administration Guide.

Due to the PHP memory limitations on the server, there may be occasions when the application times out while mass updating a large number of document records. If you encounter an error when performing this action, we recommend selecting the records in smaller batches.

Please note that your ability to mass update documents may be restricted by a role. For more information on roles, please refer to the Role Management documentation in the Administration Guide. Check with your system administrator if you do not see the Mass Update option.

Use the following steps to mass update document records from the list view:

1. Navigate to the Documents list view by clicking the Documents module tab.
2. Use the list view's Basic or Advanced Search to identify documents you wish to modify.
3. Select the desired documents individually or using the checkbox dropdown's options.
4. Choose "Mass Update" from the Actions menu.
   
5. Scroll to the Mass Update panel and set values for the fields you wish to alter.
   Note: For the Teams field, use "Replace" to remove existing team assignments before adding those specified here. Use "Add" to add the teams specified here to any existing team assignments.
   
6. Click "Update" to save the changes to all of the currently selected document records.

Favoriting Documents

Each Sugar user has the option to designate their own favorite documents which are important or will be viewed often so that they can easily be accessed via search or from the documents module tab. Once records are marked as favorites, use the My Favorites checkbox in the Documents Basic or Advanced Search to retrieve your favorites or select from your most recent favorites directly from the Documents Module Tab.

Favoriting Via List View

Use the following steps to mark records as favorites via the Documents list view:

1. Navigate to the Documents list view by clicking the Documents module tab.
2. Use the Basic or Advanced Search to find the Document records you wish to mark as favorites.
3. Mark the star icon on the left of each desired document's row.
4. To remove the document as a favorite, click the star again to revert it to white.
   

Favoriting Via Detail View

Use the following steps to mark records as favorites via the Documents detail view:

1. Navigate to a document record's detail view.
2. Click the star icon to the right of the document's name in the upper left of the detail view to designate it as a favorite.
3. To remove the document as a favorite, click the star again to revert it to white.
   

Favoriting Via Subpanel

Use the following steps to mark document records as favorites via the subpanel in related modules:

1. Navigate to a related module's record view.
2. Click the star icon to the left of the desired record's row in the Documents subpanel.
   
3. To remove the document as a favorite, click the star again to revert it to gray.

Google Docs Integration

Sugar comes with Google Docs (Google Drive) integration by default. In order to be able to create a document in Sugar from a Google Doc in your Google Drive you will first need to link your Google Account with your profile in sugar. For more information regarding setting up external accounts in your user profile, please refer to the External Accounts Tab section in the Getting Started documentation.