# About Automatch Content with Planned Placeholders (eTMF)

eTMF customers rely heavily on planned documents to understand the content they expect to collect for a given study and site. The Automatch Content with Planned Placeholders feature saves users time and reduces the burden of document reconciliation and deletion created by duplicate documents. You no longer need to locate the correct planned document before uploading a source file. You can now simply upload and populate fields. When uploading files or when classifying documents, Vault will suggest documents that do not yet include content.

There are two parts to this feature, which an <a href="/en/gr/62981/">Admin can turn on</a> separately or together:

  * Automatch on new file upload: Finds matching placeholders when you upload a file to create a new document. This feature is not available when uploading multiple files.
  * Automatch on classify: Finds matching placeholders when you classify an unclassified document. This feature is not available when classifying multiple documents at once.

## How to Use Automatch on File Upload

When you use automatch on file upload, Vault merges your uploaded file with the selected content placeholder, making it the existing document's source file. The assigned Owner for the existing document does not change.

To use the automatch feature:

  1. Upload files as you would when creating a new document.
  2. Select a document type.
  3. Select a _Study_, (optional) _Study Country_, and (optional) _Site_. You must enter these details on the Upload Files page in order for Vault to find matches.
  4. Click **Next**.
  5. Any [matches][2] appear on the following page. Use the radio buttons to select a matching document. If you don't want to add the file to an existing document, choose **Create a new document**.
  6. Click **Next**.
  7. Populate or edit document fields as needed. Changes you make here apply to the selected placeholder.
  8. Click **Save**.

## Changes to Upload Files Page

When automatching on new file upload is enabled, there are several changes to the Upload Files page:

  * The page uses the new <a href="/en/gr/25787/#search-based-document-type-selector">searchable document type selector</a>, even if this feature is not enabled for the Vault.
  * The _Study_, _Study Country_, and _Site_ document fields may appear on this page under the document type selector if those fields exist on the selected document type, rather than on the page where users typically populate fields for a new document.

## How to Use Automatch on Classify

When you use automatch on classify, Vault merges the source file from the unclassified document with the selected placeholder, making it the placeholder's source file. There is no change to the assigned Owner for the placeholder document or the unclassified document, but the unclassified document automatically moves into _Obsolete_ status. Vault also creates a _Supporting Document_ relationship on the placeholder, which points to the unclassified document.

To use the automatch feature:

  1. Locate your unclassified document and select **Complete** from the document's **Actions** menu.
  2. Choose a document type, subtype, and classification.
  3. Click **OK**.
  4. Any [matches][2] appear on the following page. Use the radio buttons to select a matching document. If you don't want to merge with an existing document, choose **Classify existing document**.
  5. Click **Next**.
  6. Populate or edit document fields as needed.
  7. Click **Save**.

## Matching Criteria {#matching-criteria}

For Vault to suggest a matching document:

  * The document must be a content placeholder, meaning that it does not include a source file.
  * The document must have exact matches for the _Study_, _Study Country_, and _Site_ document fields.
  * The document must be in _Planned_ state or the starting state of the lifecycle. For the standard _eTMF Lifecycle_, this is either _Planned_ or _In Progress_, but may vary in your Vault's configuration.
  * You must have the **Edit Documents** permission on the matching placeholder.

 [2]: #matching-criteria