Metadata management
This section covers the following topics:
Metadata overview
The SignSpace metadata features make contract management easier and more structured. The needed information is available to the people who need it and is easy to find. Information can be organised to meet the organisation specific data management requirements. The predefined data structures can be utilised to build automated processes, such as sharing of content, automated notifications when the contracts are due for renewal and fully automated archiving.
Metadata administration
By default only the Main Users have the permission to manage metadata. Permissions can be granted to additional users or groups in the Metadata administrators section.
Metadata is managed in the Metadata settings. Users with the required permissions can enter the settings by clicking the table-like metadata icon in the top bar.
Metadata management
Predefined metadata structures allow users to add metadata when they create signing requests or share files. In order for users to add metadata, structures must be first specified.
Metadata templates are used to collect the required metadata from users. Metadata fields determine what data is collected.
Metadata fields
Metadata fields are required for templates, so they must be defined before creating templates. The metadata fields determine what data is collected from users. There are 5 types of metadata fields available; text, date, list, number and person.
New field is created by clicking +New field in the metadata fields list. The top area is the same for all the field types. The field name is filled and the field type is selected from the list. The default field type is Text.
Each type has some field specific properties. If the metadata needs to be filled in free text format, select the field type Text, where as if you need to ensure that a value is entered in a certain way, select the field type List and define the entry values. The Date metadata type allows users to enter a date and the Number type is for entering a value in numeric format. The Person type is used when there is a need to capture a specific person or group as metadata.
Metadata templates
Metadata templates are used to collect data from users in a structured way. For example, you can create one metadata template for meeting minutes and another for a specific type of contract, such as subcontracting or just a common contract template.
Once you have defined the required metadata fields, you are ready to create a metadata template that defines what information is collected from users.
New template is created by clicking +New metadata template in the metadata templates list.
Give a name and fill a description if needed. These are visible to users in the pages where metadata is entered.
Add metadata fields from the list of available metadata fields. Selected fields can be arranged by dragging and dropping to specify the display order.
You can make some or all of the metadata fields mandatory. This is recommended if the metadata is later used to share or archive documents.
Metadata template is shared with your organization by default. Sharing can be customized with certain restrictions. At the organizational level, distribution is limited to own organization and group companies.
Metadata lists
Predefined metadata lists allow you to control the content and format of metadata entered by users. These structured lists can be used when content needs to be distributed to specific groups or archived to an external system.
Select (+) to add values and (-) to remove values. Enter adds a new line.
Removing a field does not remove previously entered metadata for that value. Removed values can be viewed by selecting View removed. Use (+) if you need add a removed value back to the active list.
The Share with group column specifies the group (s) to which any new signing requests will be automatically shared when the corresponding value is filled.
When you need to share content with an external system based on certain predefined structures, you can specify the corresponding URL or reference using an External System reference.
An alternative way to enter the list values is to import the values from a file. Download the example Excel (CSV) file, fill in the values, and import the values using the import function.
Date field and automated notifications
The Date field type is used to enter metadata in date format. You can schedule automatic notifications based on the date entered in the field. As an example, you can specify a process to send an automated notification to a predefined user or group when a contract needs to be renewed.
Define the notification schedule, select the roles which will receive the notification and add a text that is displayed to the recipients on the email notification.
TIP: If you need to let the metadata creator determine who receives the notification, create a person field, add it to the same template as the date, and select the person field for the notification recipient (role). In the example below, the Contract owner (person field) is notified when the contract needs to be renewed.
Person field
The Person field type is used when a specific person or group needs to be captured as metadata. This information is useful when you need to specify the person or group that will receive automatic notifications (see: Date field).
NOTE: Only people / groups with a registered SignSpace account can be filled in this field.
Number field
The Number field type is used when metadata must be stored in numeric format. Decimals can be specified between 0-2.
Language versions
Language versions can be specified in metadata fields and templates. Supported languages are English, Finnish and Swedish.
If no language version is specified, the default text is displayed for all languages. When you fill a language version, this text is replaced with the selected language instead of the default text.
In the example below, the default text is “Confidentiality” and the language version "Luottamuksellisuus" has been added to the Finnish language. For those using the service in Finnish, the text displayed is “Luottamuksellisuus”, while in Swedish or English, the text is “Confidentiality”.
Write and edit metadata
Metadata can be filled in when a new signing request is created / edited or later in the file preview. Metadata can be written by space owners, metadata administrators, and trusted admins. Other users defined in the selected metadata template have read-only access.
Select a template from the list to add metadata.
Fill in the required fields marked with * and other fields as needed.
Metadata search
Metadata enriches the search results. When free text is typed to the search field, matching results are autosuggested in a list. The metadata search applies to those list and text fields which allow search.
Metadata in the files view
You can expand the file view with metadata columns. Choose "Edit Columns," select the metadata to display and click Apply.
The file list is populated with the chosen metadata.