How to Use SetBuilder

User Topics

• Create a New Set
• Access a Set
• Edit Mode
• Take Actions on Elements
• Convert and Replace Elements
• Duplicate Elements
• Modify Existing Elements
• Update a Set’s Properties
• Generate, Access, and Manage Binders
• Other SetBuilder Features
• Known Issues

Create a New Set

To create a new Set:

1. Select the Add Set button.
2. Enter a name for the new Set:

3. Select Add.

A newly-created, empty Set appears in edit mode, with the status set to In Progress by default:

Note: A Set’s name cannot be the same as another Set in that workspace. (A new Set can also be created by cloning an existing Set.)

Set Folder

When a new Set is created, a corresponding folder (referred to as the Set folder) will be created.  Each Set folder is a subfolder of the Sets folder that was previously created when the Sets tab was enabled in the workspace (see Configuring SetBuilder). This Set folder will have the same name as the Set to which it is associated.

Note: When the Set is renamed through the SetBuilder application, its Set folder will be renamed accordingly.

The Set folder will be used to store all the documents added to the corresponding Set. The newly created Set folder inherits its profile values from its parent Sets folder. Documents added to a Set will inherit their profile values from the Set folder by default, although the profile values of individual documents can be changed later. To ensure that documents added to the Set are given the correct default profile values, it is strongly recommended that immediately after you create a new Set, you edit the profile of its Set folder.

If you have access to a Set then you will should access rights to its Set folder and to every document in the Set folder. To access a Set folder, select the Open Set Folder action when viewing or editing the Set. The Set folder opens in a new browser tab:

You can also go to a Set folder in the Navigation Pane:

Generally, you should not make changes directly to the contents of a Set folder. It is strongly recommended that you make the following types of changes to a Set and its documents through the Set’s index from inside the Sets tab:

• Renaming and deleting documents
• Renaming or deleting the Set

The only types of changes that you should make separately on a document in a Set are editing the document’s content (for example, using ndOffice or uploading a new version) or updating a document’s profile. You are encouraged to update the content of a Set document directly when changes are required. The only change that you should make directly to a Set folder is editing its profile.

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Access a Set

To access an existing Set, in the table in the Sets tab, select the Set’s name. The Set’s index will appear in view mode by default:

None of the editing features of a Set are available from view mode. You can perform only the following actions in view mode:

• Select a document name to preview the document in a dialog box, from where you can download the document and open the document in another browser tab, which is an easy way to access the document and edit it directly.

• Select the Set name to access the Set menu and any of its actions:

• Select the binder icon to access the list of binders previously generated for the set (see Access Binders):

• Select the  icon to view the audit trail for the Set (see Audit Trail):

• Select Back to Sets to return to the list of Sets in the workspace :

• Select the Generate Binder button to generate a binder and download it directly to your local device without saving it to the Binders folder.

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Edit Mode

• Lock the Set
• Add Elements to a Set
• Add a Header
• Add a Placeholder
• Add One or More Documents

To edit an existing Set, select the Edit button in view mode, which will put the Set into edit mode:

(When a new Set is created, it automatically opens in edit mode.)

Note: All changes made to a Set are saved immediately and automatically. You do not need to save changes manually or select the Done button to save changes.

Lock the Set

If you are editing a Set, the Edit button will be disabled for another user and no other user can edit the Set at the same time. However, other users can access the Set in view mode and will see any changes being made to the Set in real time. The Set will also show the name of the user currently editing it:

Note that editing a Set will lock it for other users. If you are editing a Set, the edit lock on a Set will be removed automatically when your device loses internet access, the browser tab or browser is closed, or your device goes to sleep.

When you have finished editing a Set, select the Done button to unlock the Set so that another user can edit it, and this will return the Set to view mode:

Alternatively, you can select Back to Sets to return to the list of Sets. This action will also unlock the Set for another user to edit:

Add Elements to a Set

When you are working on a Set, your focus will be adding headers, placeholders, and documents to the Set’s index. Below is information on how to add each type of element.

Add a Header

There are two ways to add a header to a Set:

1. Select the Add Header button:

A new header form will be added to the bottom of the index, without indentation:

To add the new header, enter the header name in the Header field and press Enter or select the checkmark icon. (To cancel adding the new header, select the x icon.) Headers that have been created appear as black text in the index.

2. Alternatively, you can position a new header anywhere in the index at the time the header is created. Drag the Add Header button to any location in the index. The new header form will be shown in that location. (You can nudge the header to the right to indent it to the same indentation as existing elements.)

Any existing element can be moved to another location in case the initial location is incorrect. 

The other two elements, placeholders and documents, are inserted into the index in a similar way, either by selecting the element’s button, which adds the element’s form to the end of the index, or by dragging the element’s button to the desired location.

Add a Placeholder

Similar to headers, a new placeholder can be added to the end of the index by selecting its button or dragging to a specific location in the index using the [-] button.

The placeholder form will then appear:

To save the placeholder, enter the placeholder name and press Enter or select the checkmark icon. Placeholders appear as bold text surrounded by brackets in the index:

Add One or More Documents

After adding documents to a Set, you can combine them together into a single PDF file called a binder.  Note: Only documents that can be converted to PDF can be included in the PDF binder.   

We recommend adding PDF documents to the Set.

New documents added to a Set will be added to your list of Recent Documents.

• Drag Documents and Folders
• Select Documents from the Computer
• Copy or Link to One or More Documents from the Workspace
• Additional Aspects of Adding Documents

Just like for headers, a new document can be added to the end of the index by selecting its button or dragging to a specific location in the index using the document icon button ().

After taking that action, you will be asked to determine how the document will be added and from where:

You have three options:

1. Drag and drop one or more documents (and/or folders) from your computer
2. Select one or more documents from your computer
3. Select one or more existing documents in the same workspace

We recommend profiling the Set folder when the Set is created. After you add a document to the Set, there will be no opportunity to profile the document. Newly-added documents will inherit the profile values from the Set folder.

However, if you have edit rights to any document that has been added, you can access a document from the Set folder. Select the document’s name in the index to preview the document in a dialog box, and then select Open document in a new tab icon or Open Set Folder. Select Edit Profile to profile the document:

Drag Documents and Folders

From Windows File Explorer or the Mac Finder application, you can select one or more documents and/or one or more folders and drag them to the browser window to add them to the Set. Dragging a folder or folder structure will convert every dropped folder into a header in the index.

One common workflow is to collect and organize the content of the Set on your local computer, maintaining the structure with folders, and then drag the entire folder structure into a blank index.

Here is what the result of dragging the content looks like in the index:

All the folders and subfolders have been added as headers, with the documents added inside them.

Content that is dragged and dropped will be added in this order:

• First, folders will be added in alphabetical order
• Next, documents will be added in alphabetical order.  Documents in folders will also be added in alphabetical order.

Note: It is also possible to drag documents and/or folder directly onto the index -- without starting with the Add Document button -- by dragging the selected content to the location in the index where the content should be added.  A blue line will appear at that location where the content will be added when you drop it:

During the process of uploading content from your local computer, the status of uploading each document will be shown. You can cancel any document before it is added and, instead, a placeholder will be inserted.

In addition, if for any reason a document cannot be added, a placeholder with the same name as the document will be added instead.

Select Documents from the Computer

Another option is to select the Upload documents button to open the native file picker to select one or more documents to insert into the index:

Copy or Link to One or More Documents from the Workspace

If one or more existing NetDocuments documents needs to be added to the Set, select Edit > Add Documents > Select Documents from the Workspace. A dialog box will appear showing all the containers and documents in the current workspace:

You can navigate through the workspace to identify the document(s) that will be copied or linked to the Set:

To copy or link documents from other workspaces, use the Select workspace search box.

Select the check box next to every document that you want to add, then select either Copy or Link. Every selected document will either be copied or linked and inserted into the end of the index.

Note: Linked documents will be added to the Set’s folder if you have sufficient access rights.
After the documents have been successfully copied or linked, you can select the Select more documents button to add more documents.

Additional Aspects of Adding Documents

Documents that are added to the index appear as blue text links:

Any type of file can be added to a Set (except certain known file types that are not allowed to be added at all to NetDocuments, like .exe files, see Supported File Types), but certain types of files cannot be converted to PDF and will not be included in any PDF binders that are generated.

Do not add documents directly to the Set Folder – either new documents from your computer or existing NetDocuments documents that are moved or copied – if you have a goal of having those documents added to the Set. Any documents added directly to the Set Folder will be ignored by the Set and will not appear in the index.

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Take Actions on Elements

Generally, actions can be taken on existing elements by hovering over an element, which will reveal the available actions. Select the ellipses to view additional actions.

Convert and Replace Elements

Any type of element added to an index can be converted to another type of element. For example, a placeholder can be converted into a document or a header, a header into a document, etc. Hover over the element, select the ellipses icon that appears, and then select the appropriate option:

• Convert to Placeholder
• Convert to Header
• Set Document

When you convert a document to another type of element, you can either delete the existing document or retain it:

You can also replace the existing element by dragging a new document to an existing element.

Alternatively, select Replace Document from the ellipses menu:

Choose either to create a new version of the existing document or delete the existing document:

Note: The existing document will be deleted if you have VESA rights to the existing document.

After making the selection, the Replace Document dialog box appears to allow you to select a document:

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Duplicate Elements

Any element can be duplicated by using the Duplicate option:

If a parent element (like a header) is duplicated, all its child elements will be duplicated as well. (Multiple unrelated elements cannot be duplicated at one time. Only one element can be selected at a time to be duplicated.) When a document is duplicated, a duplicate document will be added to the Set folder. Duplicate elements are given the same names as their original elements.

Download Documents

Any document can be downloaded, individually or in bulk, either in View or Edit mode.  If multiple documents are selected, a ZIP file with the selected documents will be downloaded.

View Mode

In View mode, hovering over a document’s name will reveal the download icon:

Or click on the download icon to download one or more selected documents:

Edit Mode

In Edit mode, click on the ellipses (…) to reveal the “Download Document” action for an individual document:

Or click on the download icon to download one or more selected documents:

Modify Existing Elements

In addition to the other actions discussed above, every type of element can be modified in the following ways, either individually or for multiple-selected elements:

• Indent/outdent – This will affect what level an element is located in the hierarchy and what numbering scheme will be applied.
  • There are two ways to indent or outdent elements. First, select the element and select the Indent or Outdent action from the ellipses menu above the index.

Alternatively, drag (nudge) the element(s) to the left or right (if possible).

An element cannot be indented more than one space further than its parent element so that it will always remain a direct child of its parent. It cannot be made a “grandchild” element without an intervening parent element.

• Move up and down (manually reorder) – This will affect the number that has been given to elements, both the ones moved and ones that were reordered by the move.
  • Moving up or down can be done by dragging one or more elements.
• Rename – Select the pencil icon after hovering over an element and the name of the element will turn into a field where the name can be edited.  Press Enter or select the checkmark icon to apply the new name.

• Turn autonumbering on and off – For individual elements, it is possible to remove any numbering from being applied.

• Delete – Select a garbage-can icon next to the element you want to delete.

Check multiple items and use the multi-select Delete option. You also must select child items if any.

• • However, an item that is the parent of another item can only be deleted using the multi-select Delete option.
  • You will always be asked to confirm the action and, in the case of documents, you will be asked whether you want to delete the documents or simply remove them from the Set:

If multiple elements are selected to be deleted (using the delete action available from above the index), the confirmation will include the number of elements selected.

Choosing to delete a document through the Set index will delete the corresponding document from the Set folder (unless you lack VESA rights to the corresponding document). Removing a document will simply remove it from the Set but not delete the document.

Most actions taken on a parent element will apply to its child elements, like moving and indent/outdent. For example, indenting a header will indent the child documents inside it.

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Update a Set’s Properties

There are several ways in which the Set as a whole can be changed:

• Change the Set’s status
• Rename the Set
• Delete the Set

Status of a Set

A Set can have one of three statuses:

• In Progress (the default status for all new Sets)
• Final
• Inactive

The status of every Set in a workspace can be accessed from the Sets tab

For an individual Set, its status is shown in the top right in view and edit modes:

A Set’s status can be changed only from edit mode. If a Set is given Final status, then the Set’s index cannot be edited unless the Set’s status is changed back to In Progress or Inactive. Selecting the Edit button in a Set with a Final status applied shows the following dialog box:  

Also, a Set cannot be placed into Final status if it contains any placeholders. This ensures that the Set is truly final and keeps you from inadvertently failing to include missing documents. You will be warned accordingly:

Rename a Set

A Set can be renamed (even a final Set), but the new name must be unique among all the Sets in the same workspace, to avoid confusion. Renaming a Set will also rename the Set’s folder.

Delete a Set

When you select to delete a Set, you will be given the option to either (a) delete only the Set index but retain the Set's content, or (b) delete the Set index, the Set folder, and all its contents, including Set documents and binders. 

This action cannot be undone. The deleted documents will be sent to the recycling bin in NetDocuments, not permanently deleted, and therefore they can be recovered. But the Set index itself cannot be recovered after it has been deleted.

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Generate, Access, and Manage Binders

• Generate Binders
• Share Binders
• Manage Binders

You can combine all the documents in the Set into a single file called a binder. It can be either a hyperlinked PDF file or a ZIP file.

The content of the hyperlinked PDF binder is organized in the same way as the index. The PDF file will also include an index page and a table of contents (bookmarks) with a hyperlink to each document. It has the same numbering scheme and hierarchy as the index.

Content of the ZIP binder can be organized in two ways:

• If the set structure is preserved, then any item that acts as a parent will appear as a folder
• If the set structure is not preserved, the output will be the same as the Download Documents action. The ZIP file will include an index page as a standalone PDF document and its contents will have the same numbering scheme and hierarchy as the index

Generate Binders

To generate a binder:

Select Generate Binder, and choose PDF File or ZIP File:

The following form appears for the PDF binder:

Alternatively, the form below appears for the ZIP binder:

If there are any placeholders in the Set at the time the binder is generated, you will receive a warning to that effect:

That way you know that the binder itself does not contain the final content of the Set.

You will have several options when generating the binder:

• Cover Page – If the first element of the Set is a document that has autonumbering disabled and contains no child elements, then you can choose to treat that document as the Cover Page of the binder. The Cover Page document appears as the first item in the PDF file, before the Index Page.

Note: Cover Page can only be created for the PDF file binder.

If this check box is clear, then the document that is the first element of the Set will be included in the binder after the Index Page, like every other document in the index. If there is no document that matches the Cover Page requirements described above, then you will be told that there is no Cover Page and how a Cover Page can be added to the binder:

• Location – You can choose either Save to Set or Save to Computer. The Save to Set option saves your binder to the Binders folder and associates it with the Set. If you create multiple binders for the same Set, each of them will be saved as a separate document in the Binders subfolder of the Set folder.

Note: The binders are considered to be part of the Set, which is why they cannot be saved to Set after the Set is marked as Final. The same applies to the View mode. In both cases, the Save to Set option will be disabled.

The Save to Computer option downloads your binder directly to the local device without saving it to the Binders folder and association with the Set. 

• Name – A name must be given to each binder. By default, the binder is given the same name as the Set, with a time date stamp added to the end. You can modify the default binder name before generating the binder.

• Index Page – You have the option to include an Index Page, which will appear after the Cover Page (if any) and before the contents of the index. The Index Page mimics the structure of the index (excluding the Cover Page document). In the PDF binder, the Index Page is hyperlinked and it contains a table of contents (also known as bookmarks) with a hyperlink to each document including the Index Page itself. You can also choose to give the Index Page a unique title, but it defaults to Index Page:

• Include Page Numbers - You can include page numbers in the binder. The enumeration starts from the first document in the set, skipping the Cover Page and the Index Page. This option is applicable only for PDF binders. If you include page numbers, choose to add page numbers or Bates numbering.
  • • Add Page Numbers - Add regular numeration to the binder.
    • Add Bates Numbering - Add Bates numbering to the binder. Additionally, set Start Number, Number Of Digits, Prefix, and Suffix. Hover over the information tooltip next to each item to learn details.
• Include the Index number for each item – Enable the Index number. If the Set structure is not preserved, then every document has its full number included in its name, for example, 1(a)(i) Document.docx. If the Set structure is preserved, then every document has its own number, because a hierarchy is saved.
  Note: This option is only applicable to the ZIP binder.
• Preserve set structure – If the set structure is preserved, then any item that acts as a parent will be shown as a folder in the ZIP file. If the set structure is not preserved, the output will be similar to Download Documents.
  Note: This option is only applicable to the ZIP binder.
• Include placeholders (as text files) – Include placeholders as empty .txt files. The file name will appear in square brackets: [Placeholder].txt.
  Note: This option is only applicable to the ZIP binder and appears when Set contains placeholders.

• Comment – You can optionally add a comment to the binder. The comment allows any user to distinguish between different binders generated for the same Set.

After completing the form and selecting Generate, the process of collecting the documents and generating the binder will commence. How long it takes to generate a binder is a function of the number of documents, the size of the documents, and how many documents need to be converted to PDF. 

If there are some documents that can't be included in the Binder, the Binder Generation Issues dialog box will appear displaying the list of those documents and reasons of impossibility including them to the Binder. 

If you saved your Binder to the Set and the Binder is generated successfully, a confirmation message will appear showing the newly generated binder and any previously generated binders:

If you saved your Binder to the computer, the Binder will be downloaded directly to your local device.

For every placeholder that was in the index, the generated binder will include a page that contains the name of the placeholder in brackets, for example, [Agreement].

Share Binders

If any binders have been generated for a Set, the binder icon () will appear for that Set in the list of Sets and in both view and edit modes for that Set:

Select the binder icon and a dialog will be displayed that lists all the binders that have been generated for that Set:

This dialog box includes the name with extension (.pdf or .zip) given to each binder, the user who created it, the date when it was created, and comment (if any).
To share a PDF binder stored in the Binders folder, select the binder name to open it in a new browser tab. From there, use any of the existing NetDocuments action to share the binder, including:

• Deliver a secured link to a third party
• Email a link to a colleague who has access rights to it
• Copy it into a CollabSpace
• Email a copy
• Download

Manage Binders

When accessing the Set in edit mode, two more options are available for each Set in the Binders dialog box: you may (1) edit the comment associated with a binder or (2) delete an individual binder:

Then you will be asked to confirm the deletion:

You will need sufficient rights to each binder document to take these actions.

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Other SetBuilder Features

There are several other unique SetBuilder features.

• Clone an Existing Set
• Access Individual Set Documents
• Access the Set Folder
• Audit Trail

Cloning an Existing Set

You can get a running start on the creation of a new Set by cloning an existing Set. Cloning results in greater efficiency and consistency. When accessing the Set in either View or Edit modes, select Clone, and the Clone Set dialog box appears:

Give the cloned Set a unique name and choose whether to (a) replace the documents from the original Set with placeholders (which is the default) or (b) copy documents from the original Set into the cloned set. 

Also, you can clone the Set to the same workspace (the default option) or select a different workspace in the same cabinet to clone it to. Select the x icon next to the current workspace name and a list of your recent workspaces in the cabinet will appear. If none of those is the correct workspace, start typing the name of the workspace you want to find until a match appears, and then choose it.  

After selecting Clone, the new Set will be created. If the new Set is created in the same workspace, it will appear in Edit mode.

If the set is cloned to another workspace, you will be asked to open the other workspace in a new browser tab.

Access the Set Folder

Whether in view or edit mode, you can access the entire Set folder and all its content by selecting Open Set Folder. The Set Folder and its contents will be displayed in a new browser tab.

The Set Folder also contains a Binders subfolder where any generated binders are stored.

Any headers or placeholders that have been added only exist virtually in the Set’s index. There is no subfolder corresponding to each Set header and no true document corresponding to each placeholder. The Set folder contains only the documents listed in the index.

If other documents are added to the Set folder, they will not appear in the Set index and are not considered part of the Set.

Audit Trail

SetBuilder maintains a detailed audit trail of every change that is made to a Set through the SetBuilder application. Select the clock icon in view and edit modes:

To reveal the audit trail:

Note that if any changes are made to the contents of a Set outside of the SetBuilder application (that means, not inside the Sets tab), such as renaming a Set document, that change will not be reflected in the audit trail.

Next to the clock icon, it shows who last updated the Set (if no one is currently editing the set) or the name of the user currently editing the Set:

If one user is editing the Set, other users may view the edits as they happen in real-time by accessing the Set in view mode.

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Known Issues

• Conflicting Changes to Underlying Set Components
• Access Rights to Set Components
• Creating New Sets

Conflicting Changes to Underlying Set Components

A Set is composed of the index that has been created and the “components” of the Set, as discussed above, including:

• the Set Folder where the Set documents are stored (which will have the same name as the Set),
• the Set documents themselves,
• the binders that are generated, and
• the “Binders” subfolder where those binders are stored.

All the Set Folders for a workspace are stored in a Sets folder that is a direct child of the workspace.

You may have edit rights (VE) or greater rights to certain Set components, allowing you to take actions directly on those components, including renaming and deleting components. (You are encouraged to edit Set documents directly, such as through ndOffice.) Through the SetBuilder application (inside the Sets tab), you can also rename and delete Set documents or rename and delete the Set itself.

It is strongly recommended that you rename and delete Set documents and the Set folder itself only through the SetBuilder application. Taking these actions directly on Set components may result in conflicts with the Set index. For example, if a document is deleted directly from the Set Folder, it will still be listed in the index.

Access Rights to Set Components

Your ability to edit the Set index may be impacted if you lack sufficient access rights to Set components.  For example, if you lack edit rights to a Set document, attempting to rename that document through SetBuilder will fail.

Creating New Sets

You must have VES rights to the Sets folder to create a new Set. At the time the Sets tab is first enabled in a workspace, all internal users and groups with access to that workspace will be given VES rights to the Sets folder. But groups added to the workspace later may not have VES rights to the Sets folder and therefore will not be able to create new Sets. In addition, if a user or group’s access rights to the Sets folder are reduced later, they will not be able to create new Sets. In that case, this error message will be shown when trying to create a new Set in the workspace:

Set cannot be created. You do not have sufficient access rights to the "Sets" folder to create a subfolder. Please contact an administrator for assistance. 

Simultaneous Access to a Set

Multiple users can access the same Set at the same time, but only one of them can edit the Set at a time.  When two users are accessing a Set and one of them is editing the Set, the other user will have this experience:

First, an eye icon will appear to the right of the Set name.  Hovering over that will reveal the other users accessing the Set:

Second, the EDIT button will appear greyed out (because the other user is editing the Set).  Hovering over that will reveal who is editing the Set:

As soon as the other user stops editing the Set, the EDIT button will be enabled.