The document finder lists files from the media library according to the document type, category and letters you give each file. This page covers setting up those lists and then classifying files. The (Govintra) Media A to Z plugin must be active first: see Enable the Document Finder and Media A to Z.
Set up document types
Document types are the kinds of file people look for. Go to Media, then Document types, and add each one with its name; the slug fills in by itself. A short list works best, for example:
- Forms and templates
- Policies
- Presentations
- Posters
Only Administrators can add, rename or delete types. Every type appears in the finder’s Document type filter, even one with no files yet, so add types as you need them rather than in advance. Types can be nested, but the filter shows them as one flat list.
Set up Media A to Z letters
The finder’s A to Z is separate from the A to Z used for pages and tasks, so it needs its own letters. Go to Media, then Media A to Z. Add a term for each letter you need, named with the capital letter, for example A, and check the slug is the lower-case letter, a. The letter bar on the finder lights up a letter when a term with that slug exists and greys out the rest, so a term with any other name or slug never appears. Only Administrators can add letters.
Use categories on documents
Files can carry the same categories as tasks and guides, so a form can sit in “Finance” alongside the guide that explains it. There is nothing to set up: the existing categories are available on every file once the plugin is active. The finder’s Category filter lists only top-level categories that already contain at least one file; a sub-category does not appear as a filter, so put files in the top-level category you want people to browse.
Classify a document
- Go to Media, then Library, and upload the file if it is new.
- Open the file and select Edit more details to reach its full edit screen. The classification panels are not in the pop-up.
- In the right-hand column, tick the Document types, Categories and Media A to Z letters that apply. Tick every letter people might look under: a “Flexible working request form” belongs under F and W.
- Check the Title. The finder lists files by title, in alphabetical order, so a title such as “Expenses claim form” is far more useful than the file name it was uploaded with.
- Select Update.
Contributors, Authors and Editors can classify files; only Administrators can create new types and letters.
What the finder lists
- With no filter chosen, the finder lists every file that has a document type or a category, in title order, 25 to a page. A file with only a letter, or with nothing ticked, is not in that list, though it still appears when someone picks its letter or searches. Give every document a type.
- Choosing a letter, a type and a category narrows the list to files that match all of them. A Reset filters pill clears them.
- The search box matches words in a file’s title, caption and description. It does not look inside the file, so put the key words in the title or description.
- Each file links straight to the file itself, with an icon for its kind. With Show page links on in the page’s Filters box, a “View in context” link goes to the page the file belongs to.
Keep documents up to date
When a form changes, replace the file rather than uploading a second one, so the classification, the title and every link stay the same: see Replace an existing document. Delete files that are no longer needed from the media library and they leave the finder at once.
Related
- Add links to pages including documents and email address links: linking to a file from a page.
- Display a list of documents: list files inside a page with a shortcode.