I'm searching for a Document Management System (DMS) that allows me to organize our documents exactly as we want, rather than being forced into a folder-based system or rigid sorting criteria. The traditional DMS solutions I've encountered typically have documents sorted alphanumerically or by set attributes like title, author, or date. This just doesn't work for my team as we have complex files and specific ways we want to group them together – like keeping all related correspondence or documents next to each other, regardless of their names or creation dates. It's frustrating because I know there's a better way to organize our documents as we did in our paper filing system. Does anyone know of a DMS that offers this kind of flexibility?
4 Answers
Have you looked into iManage? It does use folders, but you can collapse them and view everything at once as if folders don’t matter. However, you have to keep the documents named in a way that allows them to be sorted sequentially, which might not fully address your need for customization.
I’m a big fan of Paperless-ng, which is open-source. It allows you to sort documents by a custom serial number that you define. That’s not quite the same as your desired setup, but it's a more dedicated approach than simply naming them sequentially. Plus, being open-source could mean a custom feature could be developed to fit your needs!
Thanks for the suggestion! I'll need to see if my team can handle an open-source solution.
It sounds like you're really looking for a way to organize your documents based on contextual relevance rather than just standard criteria. Generally, DMS work on fixed sorting methods because it's complicated to provide absolute customization. However, some systems allow tags, which might let you find and group documents differently without needing strict folder hierarchies. You could check out tagging systems that allow this kind of flexibility.
Tags are definitely a great idea! Plus, if implemented well, they let you label docs in whatever way you need for your projects.
One workaround I've seen is to create a wrapper HTML page or Word document that lists all your documents in the order you want and links to them. This way, you can add any descriptions you want too!
We've been doing similar things with spreadsheets and hyperlinks. I was just hoping for something a bit more streamlined!
That sequential naming is exactly the issue! It feels like we're just cramming everything into the names instead of having a meaningful way to arrange them.