Hi All,

I thought I would share this FREE Document Register with you. My company was about to pour thousands of dollars into a system that did the same thing as this register. It is Intranet based and will accept all types of documents in all types of formats (Word, Excel, Visio, PDF etc). I had to get my IT guy to download it and set it up on the server but we now have ALL of our company documents on it. HR, IT, QA, ENV, OH&S etc over 1200 documents.
When you 'download' a document on your PC, you can do whatever you want with it but it cannot effect the master copy. We use the 'form' tool to design all our forms to make them 'electronic'. Peole can fill in documents at their PC. Anyway I'll let you all visit the site and play with this Money saving, God send. We no longer have printed copies of documents it saves me heaps of time.

http://dms.markuswestphal.de/about.html

All the Best

Greg B

I have not done the demo, but MySQL is what these forums run on as well as many major corporation's database apps. MySQL is extremely good - and FREE... You don't need Oracle, PeopleSoft or other expensive sofware. And... micky$oft will not be able to raise the price (for Access) in a year or so...

I don't know. What are you intellectuals saying? Is it going to border on the Mystic on how we log in and go on with the game? Like, what are the improvements that needed to be accomplished? Is this something for his Majestry's service? An imaginary vision of how it should look like as opposed to those that think it didn't need fixing? Enlighten me and the other ignorant Bozos as to why the current system has to be replaced. Are we behind the times? Behind the cutting edge? Just another Sunday night and wondering why we need this monumental change. I'm assuming that that the change requires a major adjustment from all of us to learn to navigate the new "system". Cripes, it's Monday already!:vfunny: :smokin:

What advantages does this have over simply saving documents to a read only folder location on your company PC server ?

Originally posted by M Greenaway
What advantages does this have over simply saving documents to a read only folder location on your company PC server ?

I second that questions.

Of course we have less than 10 regular computer users here...
and 1600 file
WOW I did not realize we had that many documents...
Note to self. Future project - Reduce documentation.

I agree with Bob and M,

I opened it up, started the demo and I immediately thought it was too complicated. I am going to have a better look at it later but I know for sure no-one in my organisation would look at it. Maybe in a larger company this type of thing might work.

What I did for my Document control was designed an intranet and saved all linked documents to read only folders. Like M says, it simple. I have made the intranet very user friendly and as interesting as possible. I use it to display photographs of nights out, make important social announcements and of course, for all QMS documentation, forms, logs, databases - the works.

It took a day to set up. That was 4 months ago and now staff from other departments are happy to log in, check out the dates for the next night out and look up the latest news on the quality front. I know its a bit of bribe...but it works.

I would be happy to share the concept and set up with anyone who is interested.

Cathy

Although I did not check out the demo, we have tried to keep our intranet simple and easy.

We have a central "Controlled Documents" directory.

I created subdirectories as needed.

All directories are read-only and can only be modified or deleted by the Quality Manager (me), the computer administrator account (me), and the President/Owner (who never will unless I leave).

All files are read-only in their orignal form (Word, Excel, etc).
Currently the documents are not internally protected, but no one currently here has any reason to modify a document without updating the process. Even though I like the idea of making PDF copys for general access, for our small company its really a waste of time and resources.

People have been instructed to forward updated documents to me for uploading and controlling. (Still need to update procedure/workinstruction though).

What advantages does this have over simply saving documents to a read only folder location on your company PC server ?

If you save a document as read only then people can change the master document by taking the read only off. This is not likely to happen but it could. With the Document Register noone but the administrator can change a master document. The system can also track changes, reasons for change, revision numbers and dates of change. It has a search function for words or documents. It supports various documents including word, excel and visio etc. It sits on the intranet. It can notify groups of a change in a document that they have an interest in (by email). Old document versions are saved automatically for easy comparison and retrieval. You can set temporary documents to expire after a given date (good for plant trials etc).

I don't say that everyone needs it but if you were looking for an instant electronic document control system you could not go past this FREE one.

All of your ideas sound great. I was just putting out some help if anyone needed it. :D

Greg B

Originally posted by Greg B
If you save a document as read only then people can change the master document by taking the read only off. This is not likely to happen but it could. With the Document Register noone but the administrator can change a master document.

It has a search function for words or documents. It supports various documents including word, excel and visio etc. Greg B

If I save a Word or Excel file as "read-only" with a password, the same thing applies -- no one but the password holder can change it -- unless your employees are into hacking or password busting or something. It has never happened to me in over a decade.

Windows has a search function that I rely on often.

It does sound like the software has some bells and whistles that some may want, though. Thanks for adding the details. Maybe someday... :bigwave:

Originally posted by Mike S.
If I save a Word or Excel file as "read-only" with a password, the same thing applies -- no one but the password holder can change it -- unless your employees are into hacking or password busting or something. It has never happened to me in over a decade.



Mike,

You want to try an experiment. Send me your Excel or Word file and let me see if I can bust it open. Energy can attest that it only takes a matter of minutes to do (I did it to him). Post it here and I'll bust it for you.

CarolX

Carol,

I understand they are bustable -- maybe even easy among hackers -- but who would want to do it in most companies? At least in the small to mid-sized companies I've been in no one has tried it in the last 10 years that I know of. The PW is simply more of a device to protect against accidental changes.

But for educational purposes for all of us, here is a file. Bust it and tell me the ENTIRE contents of the file. It might help some people who need more security realize the weaknesses of Word.

Mike S.

Mike,

Excellent - the PW is the way to go. I gave up after 2 attempts (the limit of my attention span --- LOL!!)

A while back, energy's IT guy told him "Just set it as READ ONLY". Energy posted the doc and I busted it in about 2 seconds...LOL. The PW protect is probably good enough for most small company applications. I still like the PDF format, especially if we post our QM on-line.

Thanks again, Mike!

CarolX

Carol,


Awwwww shucks. I had included a very important personal question for you. Guess I'll never know your answer. :vfunny:

At least it is nice to see that Word passwords aren't TOO easily cracked -- otherwise what's the use? :bigwave:

Hi Mike,

I like Tom and Jerry also ;)

Richard,

Uh-uh. That is only half an answer -- the easy half at that. No gold star until you can post the entire contents of the file, in which case I will know you actually got in, and aren't just being sneeky. Bonus points of you can list the actual password!

Originally posted by Mike S.
Carol,


Awwwww shucks. I had included a very important personal question for you. Guess I'll never know your answer. :vfunny:



OK....You got my curiosity up....lemme in!!!

CX
:vfunny: :vfunny:

Carol,

Nah, forget it. I guess it was not an appropriate question for a married man to be asking another (married?) woman anyhow. Someone might think I'm weird. :vfunny:

(Energy -- No need to comment on that last sentence!) :smokin:

Thanks Greg,
since your post we've DLed it, tested and put in used MyDMS. It was just was I was looking for.

Vinc

Hi All,

I thought I would share this FREE Document Register with you.

http://dms.markuswestphal.de/about.html
Excellent! These forums are running on PHP scripts calling a MySQL database. Pretty solid.

I just downloaded it and am setting it up on my Mac - probably later today - to test.

Support forum is at http://dms.markuswestphal.de/forum/index.php?site=mydms for those who might be interested.

Originally Posted by Greg B


Hi All,

I thought I would share this FREE Document Register with you.

http://dms.markuswestphal.de/about.html
Thanks for this link and recommendation, Greg. I've been struggling with a dodgy Access database I created and searched the forum for an answer. As always, I got what I was looking for!

I don't intend to use it for general access, but it looks as though it might be a useful administration system.

Thanks for this link and recommendation, Greg. I've been struggling with a dodgy Access database I created and searched the forum for an answer. As always, I got what I was looking for!

I don't intend to use it for general access, but it looks as though it might be a useful administration system.
You are most welcome. We are still using this FREE software nearly four years later and have had NO problems with it. It is regulary updated and we often send in suggestions for improvements :)

http://dms.markuswestphal.de/about.html

Greg B
Greg's link still works, but MyDMS has moved to a new provider at http://sourceforge.net/projects/mydms

Further to this, I've been playing around with MyDMS for a couple of days. It's got lots of good document management functionality, but there's NO reporting in it. :mg: I looked at the database tables and would need to develop a front end that joins several tables to produce any kind of report - even for a list of documents!

I asked the suppliers about reports and their response was:
MyDMS is a poor vehicle for what you need. We too are ISO 9K1 and use MyDMS for our DMS system (which is very good BTW) as well as out library of reference documents (AMS, ASM, ASTM, etc.). The best for a MRM application I've found is DotProject. Use the MS Project 2007 template as a guide or build your own to suit your needs. Make sure it has the required elements and you'll do fine.
You'll have to create a template complete with dates. But once made you can import it into any new project and change the dates (that's what MS 2K7 does).
I know MyDMS is free, but I can't see the point in working with multiple systems. :nope: Back to the old drawing board!

Mike wrote,

"Carol,
Here you go
Tom and Jerry is my favorite cartoon. What is yours?
Mike"

Basically, anyone can find a crack program on google, these typically will use brute force and 1 processor and beat on the password till it figures it out. RC4 has been breakable for a good long while now. The password protection on MS word documents is good (cracking this document took about 12 hours with multiple processors running it) but if you really need security on a document you're much better off with .pdf.

For the record, mine is Roadrunner and Coyote. Although I'm curious what Carol's is...I'm thinking Voltron.
:biglaugh:

:agree1:

Further to this, I've been playing around with MyDMS for a couple of days. It's got lots of good document management functionality, but there's NO reporting in it. :mg: I looked at the database tables and would need to develop a front end that joins several tables to produce any kind of report - even for a list of documents!

I asked the suppliers about reports and their response was:

I know MyDMS is free, but I can't see the point in working with multiple systems. :nope: Back to the old drawing board!

What type of reports do you require? If an auditor wants a report I just log him/her onto our system and he/she can review our documents. The reason we went electronic was so we Didn't have to produce ANY paper. As I said, it works extremely well for our company and has done for four years.

What type of reports do you require? If an auditor wants a report I just log him/her onto our system and he/she can review our documents. The reason we went electronic was so we Didn't have to produce ANY paper. As I said, it works extremely well for our company and has done for four years.
Ah, to be working in a company where we could eliminate paper! The directors here don't even have a computer on their desks. Their email addresses are redirected to secretaries who print everything! :bonk: :mg: :bonk:

I need to produce some kind of reporting for management review. At least something like a revisions register, which I currently produce from my Access database.

Is this software still out there and supported?
Jer

Is this software still out there and supported?
Jer

Greg's link still works, but MyDMS has moved to a new provider at http://sourceforge.net/projects/mydms

Yes, the link is working and there is a download button provided.

Dear Cathy,

I have no prior experience in programming. You must be a maverick to have done so much in a single day.

I sure am interested in reading about your intranet based Document Control Software. What platform is the software based on? Does it have department specific login controls etc.? I am toying with the idea of suggesting this kinda software to my company. Is it possible that you send me a copy for review?

Many thanks in advance.

Best regards,
Sajith.


I agree with Bob and M,

I opened it up, started the demo and I immediately thought it was too complicated. I am going to have a better look at it later but I know for sure no-one in my organisation would look at it. Maybe in a larger company this type of thing might work.

What I did for my Document control was designed an intranet and saved all linked documents to read only folders. Like M says, it simple. I have made the intranet very user friendly and as interesting as possible. I use it to display photographs of nights out, make important social announcements and of course, for all QMS documentation, forms, logs, databases - the works.

It took a day to set up. That was 4 months ago and now staff from other departments are happy to log in, check out the dates for the next night out and look up the latest news on the quality front. I know its a bit of bribe...but it works.

I would be happy to share the concept and set up with anyone who is interested.

Cathy

I could not agree more with Greg. For our small company of 50+ administrative employees, it is a nightmare to keep our documents up to date. We are still using the read-only, network directory approach but the nature of the automotive business has rendered this system obsolete. We have been praised by many of our customers for being an example to other suppliers but in all honesty, I believe that this can only be entirely true when we create a solid system for managing our documentation. I do not mind going through the hassle of installing this once, it will soon pay off if it delivers as it promises. I will certainly give it a try and I thank Greg for bringing it to the cove.

I think that we need to get out of the paradigms and explore new ways of doing business with a high level of confidence in our quality and documentation systems.

Regards to all

Javier