Working with Content Placeholders

Content placeholders are documents without an attached source file. Many document actions are associated with source files and are not available on content placeholders, including Create Draft, Check Out, and Upload New Version.

How to Create Placeholders

To create a new content placeholder:

  1. Choose Create > Document from the menu bar.
  2. Select Placeholder from the Create Document menu and click Continue.
  3. Select a document type using the document type selector.
  4. Click Next.
  5. Fill in document fields. Fields highlighted in yellow are required and must be populated before continuing.
  6. Click Save.

How to Associate Content

Once a placeholder exists, you can associate content with the placeholder object by uploading a source file. There are limits for source files.

On eTMF Vaults, you may also use the Automatch Content with Placeholders feature.

To add content:

  1. From the Library or Doc Info page, click the Upload File button. This icon appears where the Download Document button appears for documents with associated content.
  2. Optional: Enter information about the new source file in the Notes field.
  3. Click the upload icon and select the source file or drag and drop files from your computer into the area within the dotted border. If your Vault uses the Google Drive integration, select one of the icons.
  4. Click OK.
  5. Click Upload to upload the file. You cannot upload files larger than 4 GB.
  6. If duplicate content detection is enabled, Vault checks whether the same file already exists and notifies you.
  7. Once upload is complete, Vault generates a viewable rendition, as long as the source file uses a supported format.

How to Add Attachments to Placeholders

Once enabled on a document type, Vault allows attachments on content placeholders. A single content placeholder with attachments allows you to create an organized group of files for general sharing in much the same way as a folder in a traditional file system.

To add attachments to a content placeholder:

  1. Open the Doc Info page and expand the Attachments section in the Document Files panel.
  2. Drag and drop files from your computer into the area within the dotted border or click the Upload icon. You can upload multiple files at once; each becomes an individual attachment.
  3. Optional: Click Add Description to add a description for the attachment. When you include attachments in a search, Vault searches in the description, as well as the file name.

How to Create a Placeholder from an EDL Item

EDL Item records represent a specific type of document that you expect to collect. Vault defaults similar document fields with values from the EDL Item record. To create a placeholder from an EDL Item:

  1. Navigate to the individual EDL Item record. Depending on your Vault, this may be in a custom tab or in Business Admin > Objects.
  2. From the Actions menu, click Create Placeholder.
  3. The Create Placeholder (Step 1) page opens. Vault automatically selects the same document type as the EDL item uses. Click Next.
  4. Fill in any other fields needed and click Save. Vault auto-populates the Study, Study Country, and Study Site fields based on the EDL Item (eTMF & Study Startup only).
  5. The Doc Info page opens for your placeholder. You can now associate content with your placeholder.

You can also create placeholders for multiple EDL Items using the Create Placeholders bulk action.

Placeholders & Renditions

Vault prevents you from uploading renditions, including a Viewable Rendition, to placeholder documents. You must upload a source file before you are able to work with renditions for the document.

Placeholders & Workflows

There is no restriction preventing you from starting a workflow for a placeholder document. However, administrators may restrict this functionality through configuration.