Here you can find a list of the most commonly used terms in M-Files.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Metadata | Everything in M-Files is driven by
metadata. This is the most important term in M-Files. Metadata is descriptive information that you use to define the objects in M-Files. Metadata describes what the object is, what it relates to, and how it must be managed. All of this metadata is recorded on the metadata card of an object. |
| Vault | An M-Files vault is where documents and
other objects are. When you open M-Files, you can have several vaults that you can access. Each vault is configured to manage specific types of information. For example, an organization can have a vault to manage their customer project documentation and another to manage HR related documents. It all depends on the information management needs of your organization. It is important to get to know what sort of vaults your organization has and what sort of information each vault manages. Information can also be in external repositories or databases like folder drives, but it is all managed in the vault. |
| Object | Every item in M-Files is an object. And
every object has a metadata card, no matter whether it is a document,
PowerPoint presentation, JPG, PDF, or project. Everything in M-Files with a metadata card is an object. |
| Object type | Object types are used to define what sort of objects there are in
M-Files. The object types in your
vault will depend on how your organization has configured your vault.
For example, an organization can have object types for customer, project, and document. In M-Files, objects can either have a document attached or they can just be metadata. This can be tricky to understand at first. Please refer to the examples below for more clarification. |
| File vs. object | A file is anything that is saved to your local computer (or your C:
drive). Whenever you save a file to M-Files and give it appropriate metadata, it becomes an object, no matter if
it’s a Word document, PowerPoint presentation, Excel spreadsheet, image,
PDF, or any other file. Once it is saved with metadata, it is called an
object. For example, when you have a sales presentation saved on your desktop. This is a file. When you add it to M-Files, it becomes an M-Files object and it can be saved for example under the Document object type. |
| View | Views are saved searches based on metadata. Every time you open a view, M-Files searches for all the objects that match the view metadata search criteria. |
| Built-in views | M-Files comes with three built-in views: Recent, Assigned, and Checked Out. These are also called tabs in the M-Files interface. |
| Common vs. personal Views | When you work with views, you will most likely work with the common views or your own personal views. Both types of views are accessible in your All tab. Common views are created by your organization for you and your colleagues to use. You can create your own personal views. |
| Relationships | Every object in M-Files has metadata.
When multiple objects share common metadata, that is called an object
relationship. For example, two documents, a project plan and a contract, both have the same customer in the metadata. Those two documents then have a relationship. |
| Workflows | Workflows represent document lifecycles that follow real-life
processes. They make sure that documents and other objects are managed
correctly throughout their lifecycle. For example, documents that need to be reviewed and approved could be managed by a review and approval workflow. In such a workflow, the draft of the document is first sent to designated reviewers for approval or rejection. If approved, the document can be published. If not, it goes back to the author for more edits and rounds of approval. This is all controlled by workflow states that control the document step by step. |
| Permissions | Every object in the M-Files vault has its own permission settings. These settings determine who can read, edit, and delete the object in M-Files. Sometimes, your organization can establish automatic permissions for specific object types. |
| Login account | Login accounts are server-level (or in some cases vault-level) accounts that are used for authenticating users to M-Files Server. A login account can be associated with multiple users, but only one user per vault. Compare with users. |
| User | Users are vault-level objects that store user-specific settings and user history and that have permissions to perform specific operations in a vault. A user is linked to one login account. Compare with login accounts. |
| Managed object | A managed object is either an internal M-Files object stored in a document vault or a promoted external repository object. Managed objects have metadata in M-Files and can be managed using various M-Files functionalities, such as version history or workflows. A managed external repository object can be demoted to an unmanaged object by removing its metadata. |
| Unmanaged object | An unmanaged object in M-Files represents a file in an external repository. An unmanaged object does not have M-Files metadata and it cannot be managed with the M-Files version history or workflows. An unmanaged object can be promoted into a managed object by adding metadata to it. |
