Understanding renditions

Meridian Enterprise is able to store and manage multiple files for each document in a vault. The primary file is the editable content of the document. Other files include hybrid document parts, a thumbnail image, electronic redlines, and renditions.

A rendition is a copy of a document in a format other than the original file. Typically, the rendition is in a non-editable format and is distributed only for reference or hard copy printing while the original, editable source document is not distributed outside of the organization. Examples of rendition formats are Adobe PDF and Autodesk DWF. Renditions can often be created by the same application that is used to edit the original document or they can be created by a different application. In some cases, the renditions are stored in a separate vault or document management system than the source documents.

Meridian integrates with BlueCielo Publisher to render and optionally publish renditions to the same or to other document management systems. Meridian Enterprise can store renditions as an alternative content stream that is equivalent to the original document. Like hybrid document parts, a document’s rendition inherits the same property values as its parent document in most cases.

Meridian Enterprise supports renditions for two scenarios based on the number of renditions that are generated from the source document:

• One rendition for each source document. This is the classic scenario for renditions and the one that is used most often. Each document file represents only one document (for example, a typical 2D drawing) and only one rendition is generated for the document. The rendition shows the same information as if the document were printed or plotted.

• More than one rendition for each source document as described in Generating multiple renditions per document.

To make changes to a rendition, a user must place the source document under change in a workflow. When the source document is routed using a transition that has been configured to update the rendition, the source document is automatically added to the Publisher queue where it will be rendered by a Publisher rendering module. If a rendition does not exist in the vault, it will be automatically created; otherwise, the existing rendition is updated.

When the Meridian FDA Module is used, document workflow transitions can be configured to require electronic signatures that can be manifested on the renditions or on signature pages attached to renditions. For information about the electronic signature options, see the BlueCielo Meridian FDA Module Administrator’s Guide.

Meridian Enterprise further supports renditions in numerous ways:

Meridian Enterprise client applications

• Advanced file properties
• Import with the Document Import Tool or drag-and-drop
• Viewing, redlining, printing, and hotspots in the viewer
• Updating on demand by users
• Meridian Explorer support
• Attachments to email messages sent from PowerUser
• Automatic inclusion with source documents in briefcases, including transmittals

Meridian Enterprise vault configuration

• Database Import Wizard
• Automatic updating upon execution of a document type workflow transition or workflow definition transition
• Specific security privileges
• Archiving support
• Restoration of renditions during vault restoration
• Recovery log support
• Hyperlinks in email notifications and reminders
• VBScript support
• Meridian Global Collaboration Framework support
• Multiple renditions per document as described in Generating multiple renditions per document

Configuring a vault to generate revisions involves the following tasks:

1. Enable the vault to use renditions as described in Configuring vault settings.
2. Configure a default publishing job name as described in the BlueCielo Publisher Administrator’s Guide.
3. Enable rendition generation for workflow transitions as described in Configuring document type workflow and Creating and editing transitions.

For more information about generating renditions, see the BlueCielo Publisher Administrator’s Guide.