Master Document Setup

A master document is the controlled identity of a document: the one record that holds everything shared across its versions: its name, type, category-based number, and who can access it, so those are settled once rather than re-decided for every file. The individual files live beneath it as versions (see Version Overview).

A master document can be created from the Master Documents list (New) or from within a category (see Categories). The record opens on the General tab, with its fields grouped into Master Document metadata and Internal Fields:

• Name
  The document's name, shared by all versions.

• QMS Category
  The category it belongs to.

• QMS Type
  SOP, Work Instruction, or Template. Choosing Template turns on the Template Settings tab, which governs where records created from the template are stored and how they are reviewed and approved (see Template Settings).

• Prefix
  Generated automatically in the pattern of category number, sequence and type (for example, 21-01-SOP). It can be changed.

• Criticality Index
  Low, Medium, or High. It drives the review cadence: at release, the Next Review Date is calculated automatically from it (see Plan a Release)

• Assignee
  Defaults to you. Held under Internal Fields, together with the optional Working Status.

• Notes
  Free text.

The required fields (Name, QMS Category, QMS Type, Prefix, Review Required, and Assignee) are marked with an asterisk. Review and approval are not set here: they follow from the reviewers and approvers assigned on the Access Management tab, no reviewer means the document does not require review, and no approver means it does not require approval. Alongside the General tab, an open master document also carries Document Versions, Access Management, and Referenced By tabs, and a Related menu.

On creation, the system offers to create the document's first version immediately, in the Initial Version Creation dialog. Select a starting file, such as Empty Word, , or one of the configured templates (for example, SOP Template (Word), defined under QMS Templates).

Then select Create Document Version; select Close to skip this step. Version creation is covered in Creating a Version.