Softdocs Etrieve Central

Chatham University is implementing SoftDocs to manage process workflows and forms. Please see the guide below on using SoftDocs.

It is recommended to use the Google Chrome browser.  Features may not work as well in other browsers.

How to Navigate Softdocs:

1.  Click the link https://chathamcentral.etrieve.cloud/ and login with your Chatham username and password, or access the tool via MyChatham.

2.  You’ll be presented with your home screen for SoftDocs Etrieve Central.  There are 4 main components to the SoftDocs home screen:

1. Inbox – This is where you will find forms, aka Packages that need attention. 
    
2. Activity – When you click on the “Activity” tab, you will see any previous documents you’ve worked on. When Activity is open, on the right side of the document selector, will be a date when it was last worked on, and at the bottom, you will see what stage of workflow the document is in (In Progress, Ended, etc.).
    
3. Forms – Clicking on this tab will take you to the available forms. If you want to submit a new form, this is where you go. Forms are typically broken down into groups/departments. Some contain a 3-character code (REG for Registrar, IT for IT, etc.). Clicking on the form you want will generate a new form you can complete and eventually submit.
    
4. Drafts –These are draft versions of forms that you have started. For most people, this will be empty.

3.  To view forms that need your approval, you will click on Inbox

4.  Next, the center column will appear. These are the 3 packages in my mailbox.

The top line of each package is the Title. To the right side, each package will have a date for when it was last updated. The bottom line of each package displays the person who previously performed any activity on the package, such as an approval or package creation.

5.  Next, click the ‘>’ to open the package.

6.  The form will then open and be ready for you to complete.

Just complete the fields - selecting any dropdowns, checkboxes, or radio buttons.  **If you are approving the form, this is the view you can use the preview the completed form before approving.**

7.  The bottom navigation bar has many functions, which will be reviewed below:

1. Approve/Submit – If you initiate the form, this button will show as Submit instead of Approve. The Approve/Submit button, allows the form to be sent to the next person in the workflow.
    
2. Refer – The Refer button sends the document to someone you want to show it to without them being part of the workflow. Before clicking Approve/Submit you can click Refer to send to someone else for review. **The person reviewing the document will get a notification in their inbox. They must click approve/submit after reviewing the document to send it back and allow the approval flow to continue.**  DO NOT CLICK REFER TO SEND BACK
    
3. Return – Returning is just how it sounds. You return the document to a previous submitter/approver. **To add a comment prior to return you must do so under the History option.  See D.**
    
4. History - This is where you enter comments and view the document’s history. If you want to return a document you will want to click History first and add a comment.
   

In the Comment box, simply type your comment and click Save. The comment will appear in your history with a timestamp.

In addition to comments, you will see any approvals/referrals/receipts of messages in this section, listed in chronological order.

5. Attachments – This button shows you documents that are attached to the form, as well as gives you the option to attach documents to the form. This button is a way of linking an external document to SoftDocs.
    
6. Locked/Unlocked – The Locked button will be called either Locked or Unlocked. Typically, when you open a form, it will lock the form.  If you want someone else to approve the form, click the “Locked” button and toggle it to “Unlocked.” At that point, someone else in your group can login and take control of the document.
   
   Each document can only have one person locking the document at a time. This is to prevent workflow issues.
   
   If the document is already locked, look at the History, to see the last person who accessed the document.  Contact the person to unlock the document. If that fails or if the person is unavailable, please submit an IT Support Services Ticket.
    
7. Download – This button downloads the form as a static document. When you click on this, it will take the information in the form and workflow and compile it into a PDF that contains the basic form and will append the document history to the end of the document. It should also append any PDF attachments that may be part of the workflow to the final PDF and will save it to your computer.
    
8. Print – This will send the form to a printer.

If you have any questions, please submit a ticket HERE.