Why Revise documents?
Revising documents within a management system is crucial for ensuring that information remains current, accurate, and compliant with relevant laws and regulations. This process aids organizations in enhancing their operations, reducing the likelihood of errors, and guaranteeing that all employees have access to the most up-to-date and correct information in the management system.
Document Revision Settings
The Document Revision feature serves as a system support tool that ensures documents are kept up-to-date, accurate, and compliant with the organization's quality standards.
By notifying the appropriate users when it's time to review and update documents, this feature helps maintain traceability, organization, and consistency in information management.
- The settings for determining when and by whom documents should be revised are typically configured within the category settings. If your system has the option for document-specific revision settings enabled, you can also customize the revision settings for each individual document.
- The revision period is defined as a specific interval that begins when a new version of a document is published or when an existing published version is revised without any changes. This setting can be configured at a global level within the system, as well as more specifically for each category in the navigation settings.
- To enhance efficiency and gain a clearer overview of document revisions, we recommend utilizing the Revision Groups feature. By creating and managing revision groups, organizations can significantly reduce the risk of missed revisions, particularly during transitions when individuals responsible for revisions change roles or leave the company.
💬 What happens when it is time to revise a document?
When it is time to revise a document (i.e., when the Revision Start Date has passed), all users responsible for its revision receive a notification. The document also appears in their My Documents » To Do » Needs a new revision list with the status Revision pending in yellow, clearly indicating that action is required. This list gives users direct access to all documents for which they are revision responsible and where the revision start date has passed, making it easy to identify and prioritize documents that need attention.
If multiple users, such as members of a revision group, are assigned as responsible for revising a document, each user will receive a notification when a new revision is due. The document is also displayed in the My Documents » To Do » Needs a new revision list for all responsible users, ensuring visibility and clear task ownership.
A banner is displayed for all designated reviewers when the document is opened, providing a notification that the document is due for revision, presenting its current revision status, and offering clear action buttons. Authorized users can then select from the following options:
- Revise without change
- Create a new edition to implement the necessary changes
- Archive the document if it is no longer relevant (provided the user has archival rights according to their profile settings).
Good to know:
- Once a document has been revised without changes or archived, it is removed from the Needs a new revision list for all responsible users, as the revision is considered complete. Other designated reviewers will also receive a notification informing them that the document has been revised without changes or archived.
- When a new edition is created for a document under revision, it will only appear in the Needs a new revision list for the user who initiated the revision. Other users previously responsible for the revision will no longer see the document in their lists. If the document is shared using the Share/Collaborate function, it becomes visible again to those users, allowing continued collaboration on the revision as needed.
- When a designated reviewer creates a new edition, a notification is sent to the other reviewers indicating that the revision process has started and specifying which user initiated it.
💬 What happens if a document is not revised within the specified revision period?
If a document is not revised before its revision date, its status changes from Revision pending to Revision overdue, highlighted in red to clearly indicate it was not revised on time. This status remains until the document is revised or archived.
Please note:
- No additional notification is sent to responsible reviewers when a document changes status from Revision pending to Revision overdue.
- Depending on your revision settings, documents that have exceeded their revision date may be hidden from most users in the organization. However, these documents remain visible in the system to creators, approvers, those responsible for revisions, category owners, and users with overriding access restrictions, so they can continue to manage and process the document as needed.
When a document has the status Revision overdue, a banner is shown to reviewers when they open the document, indicating that the revision date has passed and providing clear action buttons to resolve the overdue status.
Tip:
- Using the Revision started by search option, you can quickly find documents where a new draft has been created from a published document—signaling that a revision process is underway. For further guidance and specific examples, see the article: Find documents currently under revision
- As an administrator, it is helpful to compile a list of all documents that have exceeded their revision dates. This list will give you a clear overview of which documents require timely updates. For more information on how to generate this list, please refer to the article: FAQ: How can I find all documents whose revision time has passed?
💬 Revise Documents – With or Without Changes
Starting a document revision is a straightforward process that primarily involves creating a new edition of the document. You do not have to wait for the specified revision date to initiate a revision; you can create a new edition of the document at any time.
- When you initiate the creation of a new edition, a new draft of the current version is generated, with you designated as the creator. This draft will have a new creation date and a new edition number. Once the edition is approved and published, a new revision period begins.
- Of course, you can work on this draft before publication just like any other document.
- You have the ability to share it and collaborate with colleagues,
- submit it for review,
- and ultimately publish the new edition. Once published, the new edition will receive the current date, which will be recorded as the approved and revised date.
Upon publishing the document, the user has the opportunity to record the specific changes that have been made to the document.
The system also provides a feature to Revise without change. By choosing to revise a document in this way, you confirm that the content remains accurate and relevant, even though no modifications have been made. This process is essential for demonstrating that the document is regularly reviewed and maintained in accordance with the organization's policies and requirements.
The option to revise a document without changes is available only after the document's Revision Start Date has passed. When a document is revised without changes, the user can add a comment to clarify why no modifications were made. This comment can be viewed under Show Properties » Log on the current document.
- When revising a document without changes, the creation date and creator of the edition remain unchanged, ensuring these details stay consistent.
- The document's edition number will also remain unchanged. Instead, a new revision date will be set, which initiates a new revision period for the document.
- Even if no new edition has been created, a new entry will be recorded in the Document Properties » Log, indicating that the document has undergone a revision.
Note: Only users designated as responsible reviewers have access to the Revise without change feature.
Related Content:
- Settings to Manage the Revision of Your Documents
- Create Revision Groups in Documents
- Creating a Text Document, Publishing, and Creating a New Edition
- How can I search for all documents with an overdue revision date?