Third Party Product Integration with FileHold
The document and record management software has been developed to support easy integration with other enterprise business applications, portals and productivity applications.
Summary of integration and customization methods
There are many ways to integrate external applications, data sources, and custom processing with FileHold. These methods can get data to use in FileHold, send data to other applications, upload or download documents to FileHold, and automate control of FileHold. The skill sets needed to setup the integration methods vary from basic Windows user to sophisticated programmer and a few can only be done by FileHold. The following table lists the various integration options available with each part of the system and include links to the specific details necessary to use the technology. Integration happens on the server, on the client, or both. Some of the features listed below are included with the standard FileHold license and others require an optional purchase. Click on the links for a detailed description of the feature and its availability.
| Feature | Skill level | Typical uses |
|---|---|---|
| Fast Find | Basic | Let users search in FileHold using information from third party CRM, accounting, or nearly any application. |
| Print to FileHold | Basic | Add documents from third party applications to FileHold by printing them. |
| FDA watched folders | Basic | Automatically import documents to FileHold when they are added to a user's workstation. |
| Manage imports | Basic to intermediate | Automatically import documents to FileHold with metadata on a user's workstation. Use this feature to connect with Capture, the included scanning software, or nearly any scanning or other application that can produce correctly formatted metadata files. |
| Automatic document importation | Intermediate | Watch folders or FTP sites for documents and metadata without any user intervention required. |
| Export to CSV | Basic | Prepare lists of metadata values for Excel reports or other applications that can import delimited files. |
| Export metadata plug-in | Intermediate | Export lists of metadata values in nearly any format and automatically launch an external application from the FDA. Great for printing labels for folders or boxes for offline record storage. |
| Batch metadata updater | Intermediate to advanced | Update metadata values in FileHold from the command line using a delimited file created by an external application. This is a part of our API kit and includes the complete source code for the tool. |
| Batch metadata extractor | Intermediate to advanced | Download metadata values in FileHold from the command line. This is a part of our API kit and includes the complete source code for the tool. |
| Search by URL | Intermediate to advanced | Get specific search results from FileHold in your CRM, accounting, or other application without needing custom programming using the FileHold API. |
| OpenSearch | Intermediate | Connect the FileHold full text search to an application or tool that supports the OpenSearch specification. |
| Locked screens | Intermediate to advanced | Without custom FileHold API programming, add screens to your CRM, accounting, or other application for adding files from your local workstation, scanning documents from your TWAIN scanner, or viewing documents in a browser. |
| Auto-filing scripts | Intermediate to advanced | Automatically put documents in the correct location in the library using metadata values associated with the document as a guide. |
| Export scripts | Intermediate to advanced | Provides a mechanism for exporting information from FileHold while processing workflow activities. |
| Database dropdown menus | Intermediate | Make pick lists for choosing metadata values using data from your CRM, accounting, HR, or other applications. |
| Schema lookups | Intermediate | Fill many fields for a document using data from your CRM, accounting, HR, or other applications. |
| External lookup provider plug-in | Intermediate to FileHold | Extend schema lookups beyond simple database inquiries to use external web services. |
| Document links | Basic | Use the metadata URL field to include relevant links to external applications or include links to specific documents in your external application's URL fields. |
| FileHold API | Advanced | Automatic repetitive tasks, build new clients, the sky is the limit. If you can do it in our standard clients, you can do it with our API. |
| Server and client side plug-ins | FileHold | Take advantage of strategically placed exit points in the application server to include a wide variety of custom actions in your processing such as sending invoice data to your accounting system when an invoice is approved to pay in a workflow, create a new document sequence numbering strategy, automatically update library structure objects, automatically generate version control numbers according to your own version numbering requirements, and many more. |
| Anonymous portal customization | Intermediate to advanced | Brand the portal to your web site or intranet site and include links or processing outside of FileHold. |
| Web client customization | Intermediate to advanced | Use your corporate logos and user instructions in the login page. |
| Courier client customization | Intermediate | New colors, new logos, titles, header and detail information, notifications, and helpful links can all be controlled to match your brand and business processes. Header and detail information and notifications can be changed for every transmission template. |
| Client rebranding | FileHold | You want FileHold to appear to be your product? This is where you get it done. |
| Language localization | Basic to intermediate | When you need the standard clients to display a language that is not available out-of-the-box with the product you need our localization tools. |
| Customized online help | Basic to intermediate | FileHold clients include integrated links to online help which by default points to our knowledge base, but it could point to your own business specific documentation. |
| Integrated reports | Intermediate to advanced | Custom report menus with user specific permissions can be seamlessly integrated with the normal client menus using Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) to generate just about any type of report or dashboard. |