Document storage overview

This topic describes how PolicyCenter stores documents as configured in the base product. You can configure how PolicyCenter uses metadata properties and stores content.

In the base configuration, documents are stored as a combination of:

Metadata: Properties that specify information about a document. In the base configuration, PolicyCenter stores these properties in the database. For example, there are properties for the document’s name, the business object associated with the document, the document’s file type, an optional type classification, and so on. When you create a new document, you must specify some of its properties before you can save it.
For example, you see document properties when you click Info action for a document in the Documents screen.
Document content: A file that is stored in the PolicyCenter file system. In general, you edit document content as a file on your local system by using your editing software. Alternatively, you can create the file from a template and, in some cases, edit that file on your local system. Before uploading the content, you select or specify the metadata representing the document in PolicyCenter. You then upload the file to the server, which associates the file with its metadata and saves the file.
For example, you can view a document’s content by clicking the document name in the Documents screen.