Metadata and Attributes

Attributes are the extra details you record about a document beyond its name and file — things like a contract's expiry date, an invoice number, or a policy's review date. They make documents searchable, drive governance, and keep similar documents consistent. The set of attributes a document can have depends on its category.

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Where attributes appear

• On each document — open a document's detail page and look for the Attributes section.
• For administrators — the catalog of available attributes is configured under Management → Document Attributes (this requires the Manage Document Attributes permission).

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Attributes on a document

On the detail page, the Attributes section shows the fields that apply to the document, based on its category. For each attribute you'll see its name, a small type pill, and its value.

To work with them:

1. Click the pencil (edit) icon next to an attribute to change its value. The editor adapts to the attribute's type:
   • Lookup attributes show a dropdown of allowed values.
   • Yes/No attributes show a Yes/No choice.
   • Date attributes show a date picker.
   • Number and Text attributes show a typed field.
2. Click the × next to an attribute to remove its value.
3. Use Add Attribute to add another attribute to the document, with quick suggestions for common ones.

Required attributes

If the category requires certain attributes and they're empty, a banner highlights the missing required attributes so you know what still needs filling in.

AI Auto-Fill

The AI Auto-Fill button reads the document (using OCR and language analysis) and proposes values for empty attributes. Suggestions appear as strips you can Accept or Dismiss individually, so you stay in control of what gets saved.

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Configuring attributes (administrators)

The Document Attributes page is where administrators decide which attributes exist and which categories they apply to.

1. Go to Management → Document Attributes.
2. The page header reads Document Attributes, with stat cards for Total, Categories, Lookups, and Required.
3. Use the toolbar to search and filter by category or data type.

The attributes table

Column	What it shows
Name	The attribute name. Built-in attributes show a small lock badge.
Category	The category it applies to (a * / globe icon means All Categories).
Type	text, number, date, boolean, or lookup.
Values	For lookup attributes, the allowed choices (with a +N when there are many).
Required	A check when the attribute is mandatory.
Modified By / Date	Who last changed it and when.
Actions	Edit, plus a row menu for more options.

Creating or editing an attribute

1. Click New (or the edit icon on a row).
2. Fill in the editor dialog:
   • Name (required).
   • Category (required) — note this can't be changed when editing an existing attribute.
   • Description.
   • Type (required) — text, number, date, boolean, or lookup.
   • Required — tick if every document in that category must have it.
   • Lookup values — when the type is lookup, add and remove the allowed choices here.
3. Save the attribute.

Built-in attributes are locked — you can't delete or fully edit them, which keeps core fields consistent across the system.

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Tips

• Use lookup attributes wherever there's a fixed list of valid answers — they prevent typos and keep reporting clean.
• Mark an attribute Required only when it's truly mandatory; required-but-empty attributes show a warning banner on every affected document.
• Set an attribute's Category to All Categories when it applies to every document type (for example a "Confidentiality" flag).

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Troubleshooting

Problem	What to check
An attribute I expect isn't on a document	Attributes are tied to the document's category — check that the category matches.
I can't change an attribute's Category	Category is fixed once an attribute exists; create a new attribute instead.
I can't delete an attribute	Built-in attributes are locked. Only custom attributes can be removed.
A document shows a "missing required attributes" banner	One or more required attributes are empty — fill them in via the Attributes section.
The lookup dropdown has no choices	The lookup attribute has no values defined yet — add them in the attribute editor.