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 Introduction to Documents

   

Use Vtiger’s Documents module to solve the problems of organizing and sharing! It acts as a repository for all the documents that you create or those shared with you by your customers or sales team. 

Here are a few common problems of collaboration:

 

The Documents module in Vtiger CRM is your savior!

Here is how:

• Centralization of all your documents makes your search easy.

• Sharing documents becomes easy with the help of click-to-embed links.

• Real-time notifications keep you updated about your customers’ actions on documents. 

• Collaboration with customers becomes easy as you can comment on the document itself.

• Document analytics and sales attribution tracking 

•  Automated sharing of documents via workflows eases your tasks.

Feature Availability and Limits

 
   

Other editions:

 

Documents: Different views

   

In Vtiger CRM,  you can look at your documents in the List and Thumbnail Views.

• List View 

By default, List View is the screen that is shown when you click the Documents module. This view sorts and lists all documents based on the last modified date.

• Columns in the List View 

The columns that are displayed by default in the List View are as follows:

• Title: Displays the title of the document.

• File Name: Displays the name of the file inside the document record.

• Modified Time: Displays the time at which the document was last modified.

• Assigned To: Displays the user to whom the document is assigned. 

 

• List actions

You can perform quick actions such as Edit, Delete, Export, Print etc. on the document’s records in the List View.

To learn more about List View actions in Vtiger CRM, click here.

    
 

• Thumbnail View

Here you can see all the documents listed according to recently opened documents, files and folders.

Thumbnail View actions

Here is a list of a few primary actions you can perform on documents in the Thumbnail View. 

1. If the document record contains a .pdf file,

   1. Share

   2. Edit

   3. Delete

   4. Download

2. If the document record contains a file of other formats,

   1. Edit

   2. Delete 

   3. Download

3. If the document record does not have a file,

   1. Edit

   2. Delete

   

Tree Structure in Documents

So when you click the Documents module, you can find the tree structure of all the folders on the left-hand side of your screen. This tree structure is present both in List View and Thumbnail View of the All Documents list.

You can edit or delete a folder directly from the tree structure.

 

Ways of viewing a Document record

• Summary View

Summary View is the view that appears when you click a particular document from the List or Thumbnail View. Summary View displays a collection of all key information for the selected record.

Summary View displays data in different sections for easy viewing. Each section allows you a particular functionality.

• Summary View Actions

  If the document record does not contain a file, then you can perform the following actions:

  • Follow: You can follow any Document record to get updates on all the activities performed on that record.

  • Tags: You can add tag names to a record to identify the record easily.

  • Print: You can print a document or save it as a PDF for future references.

  • Duplicate: You can duplicate a current record and have all the details reflected in a new record.

  • Delete: You can delete a record by clicking this button.

If the document record contains a file, then you can perform all of the above actions and also the ones that are listed down:

• Download: You can download the document.

• Share: You can share the document only if it is a pdf file.

• Document

  The document file uploaded in the record will be visible here.

• Do button

  When you click on the Do button on the right-hand top corner of the Summary View, you will see the following: 

  • Add or Create- You can add or create other modules related to the document.

  • Share- You can share the document as a link or as an attachment only if it is a .pdf file.

• Widgets

• One View widget: This widget shows all the related records.

• Activity widget: This widget gives information on all the activities that have been performed on the document which will help in tracking.

• Document shared details: You can view the recipients with whom the document has been shared.

• Document stats : You can view all the details related to the recipients’ activity on the document.

• Deep Dive View

You can view and edit all the information of a document record by clicking the Deep Dive button in the Summary View of the record.

Important Fields in Documents

 

Documents management

• Types of Documents

You can categorize your documents as Public, Private, or Confidential by going to the Deep Dive View.

• Public documents can be shared, re-shared and downloaded by any contact.

• Private documents cannot be shared with contacts. They are accessible by Vtiger CRM users only.

• Confidential documents can be opened by the recipient with whom the document is shared. It restricts the download and re-share actions.

• Creating a folder

Documents module gives you the flexibility to create folders and save documents in your desired folder. It helps you in organizing your documents as well as locating them. By default, Vtiger CRM provides you three folders - Default, Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive.

Follow these steps to create a folder:

1. Click the Menu icon.

2. Go to the Essentials tab.

3. Click the Documents module.

4. Click the New button in the List View.

5. Select the New Folder.

6. Enter a folder name.

7. Enter the parent folder (optional).

8. Click Save.

After clicking Save, you will be redirected to the newly created folder.

• Creating a new document

  Creating a new document is one of the primary features of this module. 
  Follow these steps to create a document:

  • Click the Menu icon.

  • Go to the Essentials tab.

  • Click the Documents module.

  • Click the New button in the List View.

  • Select the New Document.

  • Fill in all the necessary details.

  • Click Save to create the document.

    • Click Save and Continue to fill in the other details of the document.

The document will be created in the specified folder.

From Quick Create

• Uploading a document

Apart from creating a document, you can also upload a document in Vtiger CRM. You can upload and save the document internally in Vtiger CRM or externally in Google Drive or Dropbox.

Follow these steps to upload a document:

• Click the Menu icon.

• Go to the Essentials tab.

• Click the Documents module.

• Click the New button in the List View.

• Select Upload documents. 

• Click the drop-down for upload to. 

• Select the destination where the documents have to be uploaded. ( Vtiger, Google Drive or Dropbox)

• Provide a title for the document.

• Enter the person who has to be assigned to the document.

• Select the folder in which the document has to be uploaded.

• Add the file from your computer.

• Click Upload.

The document will be uploaded to the specified folder.

• Linking folders or documents

You can link any external folder or a document to Vtiger’s Documents. 

Follow these steps:

1. Click the Menu icon.

2. Go to the Essentials tab.

3. Click the Documents module.

4. Click the New button in the List View.

5. Select Link documents or folders.

6. Click the Attach Files from the drop-down and choose one of the following document sources:

1. From File URL

   1. Provide a title for the document.

   2. Select the person who is assigned to this document.

   3. Provide the folder name where the document has to be uploaded. 

   4. Paste the URL.

   5. Click Save.

2. Google Drive Folder

   1. Login to your Google account.

   2. Select the file you want to link from the list.

   3. Click Link.

3. Dropbox 

   1. Login to your Dropbox account.

   2. Select the file you want to link from the list.

   3. Click Link.

Document viewer

You can open the Document viewer clicking on the comments button under the Document shared details widget in Summary View of any record.

Actions possible in the viewer

A Contact can perform the following actions from the Document viewer.

1. Download:  A Contact can download a document shared by the sales or marketing team.

2. Reshare: You can re-share a public document with other people.
   
   Eg, If contact Jessie shared with Mary then tracking details of Mary is also tracked. Vtiger adds Mary as a Contact with Lead source = Referral, Referred by = Contact who re-shared, Type = Lead and Source = Document Share, automatically.

An invite email is sent to the re-shared Contact as shown below.

3. Commenting: You can also comment your opinions which helps in collaborating with the other recipients.

Actions Possible on a Document record

You can perform the following actions on the document:

• Sharing a Document

To share a document with the customer, you need to first upload it to Vtiger as an internal document in .pdf format.

• From the Share icon in List View

  You can share a document with your customer directly from the List View by hovering over a particular record.

  • Click the Menu icon.

  • Go to the Essentials tab.

  • Click the Documents module.

  • In the List View, hover over a .pdf document.

  • Click the Share icon.

  • An email compose window is opened with the document link.

  • Enter the recipient/s.

  • Click Share.

• From the Share icon in Summary View

  You can share a document with your customer from the Summary View as well.

  • Click the Menu icon.

  • Go to the Essentials tab.

  • Click the Documents module.

  • Select a particular document.

  • Click the More icon.

  • Click the Share icon.

  • An Email compose window is opened with the document link.

  • Enter the recipient/s.

  • Click Share.

• From the Do button in a document record

  You can share a document with a customer sending a link to the document or by sending the document itself as an attachment.

  • As a link

Follow these steps to share the document as a link:

• Click the Menu icon.

• Go to the Essentials tab.

• Click the Documents module.

• Select any particular record.

• In the Summary View, click the Do button on the right-hand top corner.

• Select Share.

• Select Share as link.

• A mail compose window opens with the document’s link.

• Enter the recipient's details and click Send.

2. As an attachment

1. Click the Menu icon.

2. Go to the Essentials tab.

3. Click the Documents module.

4. Click any particular record.

5. In the Summary View, click the Do button on the right-hand top corner.

6. Select Share.

7. Select Share as attachment. 

8. A mail compose window opens with the document’s attachment.

9. Enter the recipient's details and click Send.

• From the Document shared details widget

  You can share a document using this option only if the document has not been shared with anyone yet
  
  Follow these steps:

  • Click the Menu icon.

  • Go to the Essentials tab.

  • Click the Documents module.

  • Click on any record.

  • In Summary View, click the Document shared details widget.

  • Select Click to Share. 

  • A mail compose window opens with the document’s link.

  • Enter the recipient's details and click Share.

• From the Email compose window

You can share the document by attaching them in the Email Compose Window. For instance, you can send a document to a contact by attaching it to an email from the Contacts module.

Follow these steps to share a document from contacts:

1. Click the Menu icon.

2. Go to the Essentials tab.

3. Click the Contacts module.

4. Click the Do button on the contact record.

5. Select Reach out now or Reach out later.

6. Select Email.

7. In the Email Compose Window, click on the Insert Links button.

8. Select any one of the below-mentioned ways to send the document.

 

 

• Downloading a Document

You can download any document in Vtiger CRM for any future references.

To download a document, make sure that the document record contains a file.

Follow these steps to download a document:

1. Click the Menu icon.

2. Go to the Essentials tab.

3. Click the Documents module.

4. Select a particular document.

5. Click the More icon in the Summary View.

6. Click the Download button. 

The document will be downloaded and stored in your local system.

• Export

Follow these steps to export a document record:

1. Click the Menu icon.

2. Go to the Essentials tab.

3. Select the Documents module.

4. In the List View, hover over any document record to display the radio button on the left side.

5. Click the radio button.

6. Click the Export button.

7. Select any one of the following options:

   1. Export Selected Records- This option will export only the selected record.

   2. Export data in current page- This option will export the records on the current page.

   3. Export all data- This option will export all the data in all the pages of the Documents module.

The exported record will be saved on your local system. 

• Print

Follow these steps to print a document record :

1. Click the Menu icon.

2. Go to the Essentials tab.

3. Select the Documents module.

4. Open any document record.

5. Click the More button.

6. Click the Print button.

7. You can perform any of the below options:

   • Edit & Export- You can edit the document and export it to your local system.

   • Email with PDF- You can email the document  record as a PDF to the contact.

   • Print- You can print the document and keep a hard copy.

   • Save as PDF- You can save the document as a PDF on your local system.

 

How to change the template of the Document? 

Follow these steps to change the template of a document:

1. Click the Menu icon.

2. Go to the Essentials tab.

3. Select the Documents module.

4. Open any document record.

5. Click the More button.

6. Click the Print button.

7. Select any template from the list of all available templates.

8. You can perform any of the below options to view the applied template on the document record.

   • Edit & Export- You can edit the document and export it to your local system.

   • Email with PDF- You can email the document record as a PDF to the contact.

   • Print- You can print the document and keep a hard copy.

   • Save as PDF- You can save the document as a PDF on your local system.
      

• Generate related documents

You can add the following modules to a document record:

• Quotes

• Contacts

• Organizations

• Deals

• Products

• Services

• Projects

• Assets

• Service Contracts

• Invoices

• Sales Orders

• Purchase Orders

• FAQs

• Cases

Follow these steps to add any of the following:

• Click the Menu icon.

• Go to the Essentials tab.

• Select the Documents module.

• Open any document record.

• Click the Do button in the Summary View.

• Click Add or Create button.

• Select any module from the list.

• In the list of all the existing records from the selected module, hover over a record to display the radio button.

• Select a record by clicking the radio button.

• Click the Add Selected button at the bottom of the list.

The selected record will be linked to the document.

Collaborations

• External Collaboration

  A Contact can give instant feedback to the sales team with a comment added to the document viewer. Users can also view and add their comments. Any User or Contact having access to the shared URL can view all previous comments.

• Internal Collaboration

Sales teams can internally collaborate using the Comments widget available on Document Summary View.

Documents Insights

Vtiger CRM provides you the flexibility to observe and track the recipients’ actions when you share a document with them. You can track the recipients’ activity when you click on the Document stats widget in the summary of a document record.

Here are the metrics that are tracked:

1. Viewer stats summary

When you click on the Document stats widget, you can view the viewer stats summary icons. This is a very brief explanation of the important metrics related to the document. 

• It gives details on the number of recipients the document has been shared with.

• When you hover over each icon, you can get an idea about the no. of document opens, views, downloads and re-shares. 

• The comments icon displays the number of in-document comments and when clicked on that button, it will take you to the document viewer.

• This section also displays the time when the document was shared with the recipients.

For more detailed information, you can jump to recipient level tracking which explains every activity of the recipient on the document.
 

2. Recipient level tracking

If you have shared a document with more than 1 contact then you can track each particular contact’s action on the document.

When you click on the Document stats widget, you can find the section which displays the tracking information. You can click on the drop-down to select the recipient whose activity you want to track.

You can track the following information in detail:

1. Stats

Stats icon lists the tracking details of each unique share with an aggregate of all contacts’ stats in the summary row.

Following stats of each unique share are shown:

• Views- Total document views.

• Downloads- Total downloads for this document.

• Reshares- Total reshares of this document from the document viewer.

• Avg time spent- Average time a contact has spent on this document.

• Total time spent- Total time spent by all contacts.

• Total Pages read- The amount of document read.

2. Views

Page level tracking stats of a particular recipient can be viewed by clicking the views icon. Pages visited and time spent on each page is shown.

3. Activities

When you click on the Activity icon, all the activities of that particular recipient on the document is visible.

One View

One View widget is a one-stop destination to view all important modules related to documents.

One view widget in the Documents module will show the following details:

• Related Contact’s details  - The details of the contact from/to which the document is shared.

• Related Organization’s details - Organizations' details from/ to which the document is linked is shown in this widget.

• Related Deal data - The deal from/to which the document is linked.

• Related Product- Related products’ details from/to which the document is linked.

• Related Service-  Related services’ details from/to which the document is linked.

• Related Assets-  Related Assets from/to which the document is linked.

• Related Service Contracts-  Related service contracts from/to which the document is linked.

• Related Quotes-  Related quote details from/to which the document is linked.

• Related Invoices-  Related invoices from/to which the document is linked.

• Related Sales Orders - Related Sales Orders from/to which the document is linked.

• Related Cases-  Related Cases from/to which the document is linked.
  
  To learn more about One view in Vtiger CRM, click here. 

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