What are counters?
Basic function
Counters allow values to be incremented automatically. For example, document numbers are automatically incremented when the counter is inserted in a "Document number" field.
Create and configure counters
Basic settings
You must make the following settings for each counter:
Short name
The short name has the same format as the short name in archives or data fields.
Format: Only lower case letters, numbers and underscores are permitted.
Name
You can freely assign the name.
Start value
Define the start value at which the counter should begin.
Increment
In the "Increment" field, set the amount by which the counter should continue counting after the start (e.g. by 1, 2, 5 etc.).
Function: The increment determines by how much the value increases each time the counter is used (from the start value).
Automatic reset
Periodic reset
You can use the "Automatic reset" option to set the counter to be reset to the start value fully automatically.
Available options:
At the beginning of a month
At the beginning of a year
On a specific day
Specific day
Counters can be reset using the "Specific day" criterion.
This is how it works:
When you select this option, a mandatory field is displayed
You fill the field with the specified format with a day and a month
Example: If you want to start from 1 every year, you can set this here.
Manual reset
You can also reset a counter manually.
Security prompt: There is a security prompt when resetting the counter. The value is only reset when the counter short name is entered.
Use case: If you have defined a counter and tested it with a test document, you can reset the test value here.
Using counters in data fields
Assigning a counter to a data field
Under Archive → Data fields → Options → Default value, you can set for which data fields in which archive this counter should be set up.
Two options for use
There are two different ways to use a counter as a default value in the data fields:
1. simple counter
The "Counter" option is available in data fields of type number, integer and text. All configured counters can be selected here.
2. formatted value
In data fields of type Text, counters can also be freely formatted. This means that you can use them together with other text and other predefined values.
To activate this option: Select the "Formatted value" option.
Use formatted counters
Formatting syntax
In the text field, you must enter the text in the Python formatting syntax. Placeholders for dynamic values are entered in curly brackets.
Supported placeholders
The following placeholders are supported:
{year}for the current year
{month}for the current month
{day}for the current day
{counter.xyz}for counters, where xyz is the short name of the counter used
Special formatting
These numerical values can also be specially formatted using additional rules (e.g. with leading zeros).
Example of a formatted counter
Objective: Text such as "AB-2019-00123" should be entered in the data field.
Explanation:
2019 is the current year
00123 is the counter value, extended to 5 digits with zeros
The rule for this is:
AB-{year}-{counter.test:05d}
Explanation of the formatting:
The
:05d
after a placeholder cause the leading zeros before the counter value
The value is always 5 digits long
The counter with the short name "test" is used
Counter when archiving
Automatic filling
In the default values of the data fields, it is possible to automatically fill the data field with an incrementing value when archiving. This means that all archived processes are numbered uniquely.
Split counters
The counters used for this must be set up manually. This also makes it possible:
Use counters shared by different archives
Use different counters in different data fields
Option "No manual input"
Problem with normal default values
Normally, the default values are already pre-filled when a user opens the archive dialogue. This could lead to unsightly behaviour with counters:
Problematic behaviour:
As soon as the counter is displayed in the Archive dialogue, the last counter value is already "used up"
If the user now cancels the dialogue and reopens it later, a new counter value is entered
Gaps in the counter values can occur in the archive
Solution: "No manual entry"
In addition, it should often not be possible for users to adjust the counter value in the data field themselves.
Recommended configuration: In this case, you should configure the data field with the "No manual input" option.
Behaviour with "No manual input"
This option leads to the following behaviour:
The user can no longer enter anything here in the archive dialogue
The default value is only entered automatically at the time of actual archiving
If a user cancels archiving beforehand, no counter value is "consumed"
Recommendation
Important recommendation: It is recommended to activate the "No manual entry" option if counters are used in the data field.
Advantage: The server can thus ensure that the same counter value is never entered for two different processes.