Configuring your document templates

What it is for

This is where you define how the documentation of your properties is organised: the folders and their structure, and the mandatory documents.

Restricting access to a folder happens elsewhere

Reserving a folder for certain users is not configured here. It has its own screen, described in Document permissions.

It is the configuration counterpart of the Documents tab, and the source of the configuration checked by the Document tracking report.

How to get there

⚙️ Settings at the bottom of the menu › the Document management block › Document templates.

Before you start

You need the Administration permission, or the dedicated "Configure document templates" permission, included by default in the Administration group.

Step by step

Create a template

A template is defined by a name, an attachment type and one or more languages.

The attachment type is what the template applies to: properties, buildings or tenants.

The structure is shared

The folder structure of a documentation is the same for all your properties: you define it only once. It can differ for buildings, though.

Create the folders from a CSV file

Rather than creating the folders one by one, you can import your filing plan as a CSV file: all the folders and sub-folders of the template are then created in one go.

The import is offered at two moments:

• when creating the template, in the "Folder structure (optional)" block › "Import a .csv file";
• on a template already created but still empty, with the "Import a folder structure" button.

The import is only offered on an empty template

As soon as the template contains at least one folder, the import button disappears: only "Export the folder structure" remains. The import adds folders, it never replaces the existing ones. To start again from a corrected file, create a new template.

Starting from an export is the simplest way

On any template already filled in, the "Export the folder structure" button produces a CSV file that can be re-imported as is. This is the most reliable way to get a file in the right format: export it, replace the lines with your own, import it back.

The file format. A .csv encoded in UTF-8, with the semicolon ; as separator. In Excel, choose "CSV UTF-8 (semicolon delimited)" when saving: the default "CSV" format is not UTF-8 and your accented characters will be damaged.

The first line is a header line, mandatory and not imported. It carries exactly these three labels, in this order:

Folder Number;Folder Name;Document Class

Then one line per folder:

Column	Mandatory	Content
Folder Number	yes	the folder number, levels separated by dots: 1, 2, 2.1, 2.1.1
Folder Name	yes	the displayed name of the folder
Document Class	no	the code of the document class to associate with the folder, left empty if you associate none

For example:

Folder Number;Folder Name;Document Class
1;ORGANISME;
1.1;Identification;
1.2;Autorisations;
2;DESCRIPTION DU BIEN;
2.1;Note désignation;
2.2;Surface et plans géomètre;
3;DIAGNOSTICS TECHNIQUES;
3.1;DPE;DPE
3.2;Amiante;DIAGNOSTIC_AMIANTE

The numbering describes the filing plan, it is not decorative: this is what blocks people most often. Four rules, all checked on import:

• the first line carries the number 1;
• two folders at the same level follow each other without a gap: 1, 2, 3… and 2.1, 2.2, 2.3…;
• a sub-folder always starts at 1: the first sub-folder of 2 is 2.1, never 2.2;
• each folder is immediately followed by its sub-folders, before moving on to the next folder at the same level.

In other words, the order of the lines in the file is the reading order of the filing plan, from top to bottom.

If the file does not comply, no folder is created and the message displayed points to the rule at fault:

Message displayed	What to fix
The file contains a folder without a name.	A line has a number but no name, often a separator line, or an empty line at the bottom of the file left over by the spreadsheet.
The file contains a folder without a number.	A line has nothing in the first column: either a name without a number, or an empty line, including the ones your spreadsheet leaves at the end of the file.
The file contains an empty line.	Remove the empty lines, including at the end of the file.
The numbering of the first folder must start with 1.	The first line after the header must carry the number 1.
The numbering of folders at the same level must be continuous.	A number was skipped between two folders at the same level.
The numbering of child folders must be continuous.	A first sub-folder does not start at 1.
The numbering of parent folders must be continuous.	A line goes back up a level without picking up the numbering of that level.
The file selected is not in .csv format.	The file does not have the .csv extension, save it again from your spreadsheet software.

A few traps worth knowing:

• No quotation marks and no semicolon inside names. The semicolon separates columns: a name containing one is cut in two. Quotation marks are not interpreted, they would be kept as they are in the folder name.
• The header line carries only three labels, with no trailing semicolon. On folder lines, on the other hand, a final semicolon followed by nothing is normal: that is the "class" column left empty.
• Classes are not created by the import. A code unknown to your organisation is not added to the reference data. When in doubt, leave the column empty and associate the classes afterwards from the interface, folder by folder.
• Names are imported in French. If your template is multilingual, the other languages still have to be entered from the interface.
• The folders stay fully editable after the import: rename, move, delete, associate a class.

Manage the folders of a template

You can add sub-folders, rename them, move them, delete them, and associate a document class with a folder.

That association is what triggers automatic filing: every document recognised as belonging to a class goes straight to the folder associated with it. So take the time to associate a class with each of your folders — it is the condition for your documents to file themselves.

An "To be filed" folder exists by default: documents land there on upload, while the artificial intelligence processes them.

Assign the template

By default the template is made available on every property or every building in your portfolio — depending on its attachment type.

You can turn that off to make it available on a few specific properties or buildings only.

Define the mandatory documents

Select the template, open "Mandatory documents", then choose the classes matching the documents you treat as mandatory.

Two effects follow:

• a "mandatory documents unavailable" counter and the "Missing documents" detail appear on the Documents tab of your properties;
• a dedicated tab becomes active in the Document tracking report.

Two limits worth knowing

The check does not handle expiry: an out-of-date EPC counts as present. And it applies at property level only, neither to units nor to buildings.

See also

• The documents of a property — on the user side
• Document actions — bulk import and modification
• Document permissions — reserving a folder for certain groups
• User management — creating the groups