SmartDMS
// Getting started

The SmartDMS Guide

Everything from your first upload to approval chains and plain-English search — in thirteen short chapters.

// Chapter 05

Folders & auto-filing

Folders are where documents live; routing rules are how matching documents get there automatically. Set both up once and future matches file themselves.

Folders

  1. Create a folder.

    On the Folders page, click the + button in the sidebar, name the folder, and optionally pick a color. Industry setup extends classification vocabulary and applies retention defaults; it does not create folders automatically (see chapter 12).
  2. Browse by folder.

    Select any folder to see its documents; All documents at the top shows everything. Rename, recolor, or delete a folder from its row.
  3. Deleting a folder is safe by default.

    You choose what happens to its documents: Move to Uncategorized keeps every document, or Delete all documents removes them permanently (a separate, deliberately restricted permission).

Auto-filing with routing rules

Routing rules connect the AI's classification to your folders: "when a document is classified as an invoice, file it in Invoices." You'll find them on the Workflows page under Advanced.

  • Each rule has a run order, the document type it matches, a destination folder, and an on/off toggle.
  • Rules run top-down by run order, and the first match wins — when a rule matches, the document is filed once.
  • No matching rule? The document simply stays put until you add one — nothing is ever misfiled by guesswork.

Workflows: the bigger picture

Routing rules are the simplest automation. Full workflows — built on the same page — record how a document arrived and what the processing pipeline produced, then create configured review or sign-off tasks and send configured Slack notifications. A workflow can target one document type or all document types, and it runs once per matching document for that document's lifetime.

A workflow that isn't finished yet can be saved as a paused draft — it won't touch documents until you activate it. Approval steps and sign-off chains are covered in chapter 7.