Initiating a Courier transmission

A user with a role of document publisher or higher can initiate a Courier transmission. The only exception to this is if the user belongs to a group that have the “Disable sending to Courier” option enabled. The initiator of the transmission must be the owner of the documents unless the permission setting “Allow non document version owners to initialize workflows” is enabled.

Courier transmissions can be initiated on one or more document. When initiating a transmission, the sender may be able to modify some of the Courier template information such as the name of the transmission, the description, the recipient information, target date, sender notification, and additional options. The transmission cost (number of Courier units reserved for the transmission) as well as the number of remaining units are shown in the Send <Transmission Name> window.

Post-initiation, the status icon in FileHold for the documents changes to a red dot  unless the system administrator permission setting “Enable editing document metadata when workflow is active” is enabled. If enabled, then status icon changes to a red and yellow dot  indicating that the metadata can be changed while under the Courier process.

The same Courier template cannot be re-initiated on the same documents that are currently have an active Courier transmission with an approval task. However, the same documents can have a different Courier template initiated on them.

View actions can be transmitted on older versions of a document. Approval actions can only occur on the latest version of a document.

If an approval transmission has been marked as “Not Approved”, the system does not allow a second transmission to be done on the same document version. Instead, a new version of file will have to be added to the system and the Courier transmission re-initiated.

When the Courier process is initiated, Courier license units are held in reserve until the activity is completed. Once the activity has been completed, Courier usage units are consumed. One time usage is given to a specific user for a specific operation. For example, if ten users need to view single document then ten units must be granted. If a single user is given five documents to approve they will need to be granted ten units. Registered FileHold users do not consume Courier license units, only external recipients of the transmission.

All Courier transmission activity is recorded in the Courier transmission report.

You cannot start a transmission on documents when:

• It is already undergoing a regular workflow process.
• It is an older version of a document and the Courier template has an approval action.
• It is checked out.
• It is already undergoing a Courier transmission with an approval action.

The following image is a high level overview of the Courier process on documents for end users.

Image

Courier transmissions cannot be sent to internal users that use modern authentication when a password is required. Local and domain users are only supported at this time.

If a password is required in the Courier template and a transmission is being sent to an internal user or users in a group with external authentication, a warning message is displayed, “Users <user names> will be removed as recipients as they are IdP users. Only local or domain users can be sent a Courier transmission.” An error is also recorded in the event log on the server.

If a user’s authentication method changed to external authentication after a transmission is sent and the transmission requires a password, the message “This transmissions is not available anymore as your authentication method changed. Check with your FileHold administrator” is displayed. The transmission cannot be completed and may require to be cancelled.

If passwords are required on transmissions for internal users using external authorization, it is recommended to use the FileHold workflow module instead.

To initiate a Courier transmission

1. Select all of the documents to go into the Courier transmission. You can locate the documents through a search, a virtual folder, My Favorites, document tray, etc.

• In the FDA, use the CTRL + click or SHIFT + click to select multiple documents.
• In the Web Client, select the check boxes next to the document names.

2. Right-click and select Courier> Initiate Courier <template name>.

• All documents must have the same Courier template as a part of its schema. If all documents do not have the same Courier template in their schemas, then an error message appears stating that the transmission cannot be initiated.

3. The Courier template opens. You may be able to modify some or all of the template details. See the table below for information on the template details.

Field Name	Description
Recipients tab
Name	Enter a name for the workflow template.
Description	Enter a description for the Courier template. It is recommended that you enter as many details as necessary so that users will know exactly what this Courier template is for.
Recipients	The recipient’s area is used to assign users to an activity. At least one recipient is required for the Courier template. Click Add  to assign a user a task. In the Add recipients page, select an Activity type: View — Sends the documents to a user for viewing. A “view” occurs when the document is downloaded through the Courier portal. Approve —Sends the documents to a user for approving. The user can “approve” or “not approve” the documents as needed in the Courier portal. A signature can also be enforced when approving documents if the Require approval password check box is enabled. Select the Source type and assign the recipients to the activity: External —Users that do not have registered user accounts and are outside of the FileHold system. Enter the email addresses of the recipients of the activity separated by commas (,) or semi-colons (;). Internal —Internal FileHold registered users. Select the users or groups in the Details tab and click Add Group or Add User. Assigned users show in the Current Recipients list. Metadata — Select the metadata field that contains the email addresses for the users for the assigned activity. In the text type metadata field, multiple email addresses can be separated by semi-colons, comma, or new lines. The address can refer to an external user or a FileHold registered user. In the Instructions field, enter the instructions to be completed by the recipients in the activity. Click OK when done. The recipient’s activity is added to the list in the template with the action type specified: View Approve Continue to add more recipients and activities to the list by clicking Add . To edit a recipient, click Edit . To remove a recipient, click Delete .
Transmission costs
Transmission cost in Courier units	The number of Courier units held in reserve and charged if the transmission is completed.
Courier units remaining	The number of Courier units that remain in the purchased licensing packs.
Settings tab
Target date	Select the Approval or view due by check box and enter the number of days and hours the recipient has to complete the activity. Due date is calculated when the transmission is launched, so this field should be configured for the number of days or hours from launch that the first task will be due. For example, if the task needs to be completed in 5 hours, you would enter 0 days and 5 hours. An exact date and time (fixed) can be specified in the template if enabled.
	To send reminders of the activity, select the Send reminders every check box and enter the number of days and hours.
	If the transmission is to expire after a certain time period, select the Transmission expires after check box and enter the number of days. After the transmission expires, the documents are no longer accessible through the Courier portal. An exact date and time (fixed) can be specified in the template if enabled.
Sender notification	Select the Notify before transmission is overdue check box to send an email to the sender of the transmission prior to the due by date and time of the activity. Enter the number of days and/or hours.
	To repeat the overdue task email notification for the transmission sender after a specified period of time, enter the number of hours to resend the email in the Repeat notification every x days and x hours area. For example, if 8 hours is entered, an overdue email will be sent every 8 hours until the task is complete. If the repeat notification time is not set, the notification is sent only one time.
Options	Select the Allow postpone approval check box to allow documents to be marked as "Approval Postponed" for an approval activity. The “Postpone Approval” option can be used in circumstances where a document cannot be approved because some conditions have not been met but there is nothing wrong with the document itself. In the Courier portal, to postpone on an approval, click Request Changes.
	Select the Require access password check box if the user must log into the Courier portal with a password in order to see the transmission. If a password is required to log into the portal, then the first time the user accesses the portal they are required to set their password. If sent to a registered FileHold user, then their password is the same as the FileHold password.
	Select the Require approval password check box if the user must enter their password to complete the approval process. This is akin to an electronic signature and verifies the approver.
	Select the Allow attach feedback document to allow approvers to attach a document when approving a document. A feedback document can be attached to any of the approval options (Approve, Do Not Approve, Request Changes). A feedback document is a separate document from the document being approved. It can contain comments, redlined version, or supplemental information. It can be seen in the Courier transmission report.

4. Click Send on the Recipients tab to start the transmission.
5. You will receive a message stating that the transmission has been successfully initiated. Click OK.
6. If attempting to start a Courier transmission on a document that is checked out, undergoing another Courier transmission, undergoing a workflow, or an older version with an approval activity, you will receive a warning message "Courier transmission cannot be initiated for the selected documents. Ensure that they are not an older version of a document with an approval activity in the Courier template, checked out, or part of a workflow process or undergoing a transmission".