NEW  Working with folders

If the objects in a vault are organized in a folder structure that reflects a plant breakdown structure (PBS) and if the objects in each folder are typically related to the same document, it might be more efficient to manage the links between the objects and the document using the objects' parent folder. The Asset Management Module supports implicitly linking a document to all of the objects that reside in the same folder. This feature requires that the vault be properly configured by a system administrator.

The Asset Management Module provides this functionality through a main object that resides in any folder that contains other objects. You manually link the main object to the document (that typically resides elsewhere in the vault) that you also want to be linked to the other objects that reside in the same folder with the main object. The main object acts in the place of the folder in the relationships with the objects. This is because references are not supported for folders in Meridian Enterprise. Then, when you add or remove objects from the folder, they are assumed by the Asset Management Module to also be linked to the document. No literal references exist between the normal objects and the document. It is only by the association of the normal objects with the parent folder that the references are implied.

The reverse is also possible. That is, linking an object to all of the documents that reside in the same folder. This scenario is supported by the presence of a special proxy document in a folder that contains other documents. The proxy document does not necessarily need to be an actual document. For example, it can be a virtual document that is not actually part of the set of other documents in the same folder.

Working with main objects and proxy documents is described in the following topics.