Administrative units
  • 18 Oct 2022
  • 5 Minutes to read
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Administrative units

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Article summary

1. Administrative units (AU)

An administrative unit can mean, depending on the case, a department, a division or a section of an organization. In Constellio, administrative units should be the first structure to be created, because the latter is somewhat independent.

In this case, the use of the term "independence" means that the administrative unit is not a structure that depends on others, it is rather the opposite. In the image opposite, we can see that the AU structure does not point to any other structure. In fact, it would be counterproductive to start populating the database with conservation rules, for example, knowing that they point to the AUs in order to determine which ones are responsible for the mass of documents produced according to the rule. 

Several operations will have to be carried out in relation to the structure of the AUs: the creation, consultation, modification and deletion of administrative units. As regards the allocation of access and roles per administrative unit, reference should be made to the documentation on security and user management.


1.1 Creating an administrative unit

In order to create an administrative unit, you must complete the following steps:

  1. Click on "Administration" in the navigation menu;
  2. Click on "Departments";
  3. In the "Departments" window, click on "Add";
  4. In the "Add/Modify a concept" window, complete the metadata and click on "Save".

Basic metadata for the creation of an administrative unit
Element
Description
Code
Obligatory
Enter a code to identify the administrative unit.
Title
Obligatory
Clear and concise title that makes it easy to identify the administrative unit.
ParentOptionalThis field is used to indicate the parent administrative unit of the unit being created if that unit is to be nested within another. For example, the Staffing Department would be nested within the parent unit Human Resources.
Month of disposal
Optional
Allows you to select the month in which the administrative unit is to be decommissioned as an indication. The actual decommissioning month is selected in the system configuration.
AdresseOptional
Allows you to indicate the address of the administrative unit.

1.2 Consulting an administrative unit

  1. Click on "Administration" in the navigation menu;
  2. Click on "Departments";
  3. In the "Departments" window, click on the magnifying glass to the right of the administrative unit's name.

The consultation form for an administrative unit has three tabs. The metadata tab allows you to know the metadata, but also the administrative sub-units of the consulted unit. The folders tab lists all the folders contained in this administrative unit while the consultation rules tab lists the rules related to the unit. In addition to being able to consult all this information, it is also possible to perform several actions: manage authorizations, manage roles, modify, delete the administrative unit and clean it up.


1.3 Managing the roles of an administrative unit

Add a role on an administrative unit to users/groups. 

  1. Click on "Administration" in the navigation menu;
  2. Click on "Departments";
  3. Click on the magnifying glass to the right of the name of the administrative unit or sub-unit for which you wish to add a role;
  4. In the administrative unit's file, click on "Manage roles";
  5. Click on "Add a role". In the "Add a role" window, indicate the information necessary to add a role to the administrative unit to users or groups.
Field name
Description
Authorized user(s) OptionalSelect one or more users
Authorized group(s)OptionalSelect one or more groups
RolesObligatoryAssign the desired role(s)
Start dateOptionalEnter a start date for this role
End dateOptional

Enter an end date for this role
*If there is no end date in the "End Date" field, roles added to users or groups will never end.


1.4 Modifying an administrative unit

  1. Click on "Administration" in the navigation menu;
  2. Click on "Departments";
  3. Click on the notepad to the right of the name of the administrative unit to be modified. It is also possible to click on "Modify concept" in the metadata sheet of the administrative unit;
  4. In the "Add/Modify Concept" window, modify the metadata and click on "Save".

1.5 Cleaning up an administrative unit

An administrative unit must be cleaned up before it can be deleted. Clearing an administrative unit allows you to permanently destroy the folders, subfolders, documents, containers, tasks and declassification lists that are associated with this administrative unit. If you don't want to destroy all these elements, perform batch processes to modify the administrative unit metadata of these different elements.

  1. Click on "Administration" in the navigation menu;
  2. Click on "Departments";
  3. Click on the magnifying glass to the right of the name of the administrative unit to be cleaned;
  4. In the record of the administrative unit, click on "Clean the unit";
  5. Confirm your action, click on "Yes".

1.6 Deleting an administrative unit

It is impossible to destroy an administrative unit that contains elements (files, sub-files, documents, containers, etc.). It is therefore necessary to perform a cleanup of the administrative unit or batch processing on these various elements prior to the destruction of the administrative unit.

  1. Click on "Administration" in the navigation menu;
  2. Click on "Departments";
  3. Click on the X to the right of the name of the administrative unit to be deleted;
  4. A confirmation window appears, click on "Yes".

2. Configurations

In this section you will find all the system configurations that affect the administrative units. To learn more about the configurations, consult the article "System configurations".

Disposal Tab
ConfigurationDescriptionPossible values
Impacts
Mixed boxes
This configuration allows files with different archival status or from different administrative units to be contained.
Activated
Allows you to create containers with files belonging to several administrative units and archival statues.
Deactivated
Allows you to create containers with a single administrative unit.
Others tab
ConfigurationDescriptionPossible values
Impacts
Default taxonomy
This configuration allows you to define the default taxonomy that is displayed in the "Virtual spaces" section
admUnitsAdministrative units
PlanClassification plan

Network shares
Automatically fill the department of new folders and boxes

This configuration allows you to automatically add a value in the "Administrative Unit" field when creating a record (folder, document, container, task).

*Important : The value is set based on the accesses assigned to a user. Assignment errors can occur if the user has access to several administrative units.


Activated

The administrative unit is entered automatically.
Deactivated
The administrative unit is not entered automatically.
Taxonomy order, separated by commasThis configuration allows you to define the order of the tabs displayed by default on the Constellio home page. Each user can configure the order of the tabs in "Edit my profile".
admUnitsAdministrative units
planClassification plan
containersLocations
smbFoldersNetwork shares
sharepointFoldersSharepoint site
Trees tab
ConfigurationDescriptionPossible values
Impacts
Display boxes
This configuration allows you to display the containers and taxonomies of the home screen (virtual spaces).
Activated
The containers will be displayed in the trees (classification plan, administrative units) of the virtual spaces.
Deactivated
The containers will not be displayed in the trees (classification plan, administrative units) of the virtual spaces.
Display deposited records
This configuration allows you to display the transfered folders in the home screen (virtual spaces).
Activated
The transfered files will be displayed in the trees (classification plan, administrative units) of the virtual spaces.
Deactivated
The transfered files will not be displayed in the trees (classification plan, administrative units) of the virtual spaces.
Display destroyed records
This configuration allows to display the destroyed folders in the home screen (virtual spaces).
Activated
The destroyed folders will be displayed in the trees (classification plan, administrative units) of the virtual spaces.
Deactivated
The destroyed folders will not be displayed in the trees (classification plan, administrative units) of the virtual spaces).
Show semiactive records
This configuration allows you to display the semi-active folders in the home screen (virtual spaces).
Activated
The semi-active folders will be displayed in the trees (classification plan, administrative units) of the virtual spaces.
Deactivated
The semi-active folders will not be displayed in the trees (classification plan, administrative units) of the virtual spaces.

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