Setting up Documents and the registry

Audience

The system administrator or whoever owns document handling in the company. The initial setup takes about half an hour.

Documents in PLANA Business Cloud run on two modules:

Module	What it provides
Documents (OCA dms)	Storages, a directory tree, files, per-directory access rights, tags and categories, preview, locking, link sharing, the customer portal, an email alias per directory
PLANA DMS Registry (plana_dms_registry)	A registry (incoming/outgoing correspondence log) on the same files: document type (incoming, outgoing, inner), registry number, correspondent, project, and a printable label with a QR code

The extension is not a separate document system. Every document is an ordinary file in Documents; the registry adds a few fields and label printing to it. A file without a document type stays an ordinary file.

Set things up in this order: rights, storage, access groups, directories, then the registry and labels.

1. User rights

Open Settings, Users & Companies, Users, pick the person and in the access rights set the Documents line:

Level	What it allows
User	Sees the Documents menu and works with files in the directories they have access to
Manager	Everything a User can do, plus Configuration, System (storages, migration, access groups), hidden storages and Label Settings

The menu right is not access to the folders

The User level only opens the menu. Which directories a person sees and what they can do there is decided by access groups (step 3). A user in no access group sees an empty list.

2. Storage

A storage says where the files physically live. Open Documents, Configuration, System, Storages and click New.

• Name - e.g. "Registry".
• Save Type:
  • Database - files are stored in the database. Simple, but the database grows with every file and backups get heavier.
  • Filestore - files are stored on the server disk, like Odoo attachments. Recommended for the registry and shared folders.
  • Attachment - for documents attached to business records (invoices, orders, contacts). See Documents on business records.
• Company - with several companies in one database, the storage's directories and files are available only to the selected company. Leave empty for a shared storage.
• Storage is Hidden - directories and files are not shown to ordinary users, only to managers.

Changing the save type

The save type can be changed later, but files already uploaded stay where they were. The Migrate Files button on the storage moves them all at once, and Documents, Configuration, System, Migration lists the files still waiting. With a large volume, do it outside working hours.

3. Access groups

An access group says who can do what in a directory. Open Documents, Configuration, System, Access Groups and click New.

• Group Name - e.g. "Registry - everyone", "Accounting", "Management".
• The rights: Create Access, Write Access, Unlink Access. Read access is always on - anyone in the group sees the directory.
• Members, in three ways that add up:
  • Explicit Users - named people;
  • Groups - whole Odoo user groups (e.g. everyone in accounting);
  • Parent Group - the group inherits the members and rights of another group.

Start with one administrative group with all three rights and yourself in it, then add groups per department. A typical example:

Group	Members	Create	Write	Delete
Registry - administrator	the person in charge of documents	✓	✓	✓
Registry - staff	all internal users	✓	✓
Management	the managing director	✓	✓

Deleting

Give Unlink Access to few people. A registered document with a number should not disappear - instead of deleting, archive the file (see Working with documents).

4. Directories

Directories are the folders users see. Open Documents, Directories and click New.

Root directory (top level):

1. Name - e.g. "Registry".
2. Tick Is Root Directory and choose the Storage from step 2.
3. In the Groups tab add the access groups that should see it.
4. Save.

Subdirectory:

1. Name - e.g. "Incoming 2026".
2. Leave Is Root Directory unticked and choose the Parent Directory.
3. Inherit Groups is on by default: the subdirectory keeps the parent's rights. Add more groups in the Groups tab if other people should get in here too. Turn inheritance off only when the subdirectory must be more restricted than its parent (e.g. "Employment contracts" inside a shared folder).

The Complete Groups tab shows the end result - every group that actually has access, inherited ones included. Check it when someone "cannot see the folder".

An example registry tree:

Registry                    (staff: create and write)
├── Incoming
├── Outgoing
├── Inner (orders, minutes)
└── Contracts
    └── Employment contracts   (no inheritance, Management only)

Directory category and tags

A directory can carry a Category and Tags. They are for organising and searching only and grant no rights. Create them under Documents, Configuration, Organizing, Tags and Categories.

5. General settings

Documents, Configuration, General Settings (visible to the system administrator):

• Maximum upload size in MB - 25 MB by default. Multi-page scanned contracts sometimes exceed it.
• Forbidden file extensions - a comma-separated list, e.g. exe,msi,bat.

6. Incoming mail into a directory

Each directory can have its own email address: mail sent to it arrives as documents. It is set in the directory's Email Alias tab.

• Email Alias - the part before @, e.g. incoming gives incoming@your-domain.
• Accept Emails from - everyone, only contacts already in the system, or only the directory's followers. For a registry choose at least "known contacts" to keep spam out.
• Unpack Emails as:
  • Subdirectory - each email becomes a subdirectory named after its subject, with the attachments inside;
  • Single Files - the attachments go straight into the directory.

Incoming mail is required

The alias works only when the database has an alias domain and an incoming mail server. If the domain after @ is empty, this is not set up yet - contact PLANA.

7. Documents on business records

With a storage whose save type is Attachment, files attached to invoices, orders, contacts and so on also appear in Documents, without uploading them twice.

1. Create a storage with Save Type: Attachment.
2. In Linked Models choose the record types, e.g. Journal Entry (invoices) or Contact.
3. Optionally: Create files from message attachments - files attached in the chatter become documents too.
4. Inherit permissions from related record is switched on automatically: a file is visible only to those who can see the invoice itself. Access groups are then not set on these directories.
5. Create a root directory in this storage and in the Model field choose the same record type.

From then on, the first attachment on each invoice creates a subdirectory named after the invoice and a file for every attached document.

8. Registry numbering

The extension ships with three numberings, one per document type:

Document type	Example number	Sequence
Incoming Document	IN/2609/0001	Registry - Incoming Documents
Outgoing Document	OUT/2609/0001	Registry - Outgoing Documents
Inner Document	INR/2609/0001	Registry - Inner Documents

2609 is the year and month of filing (September 2026), 0001 is the running number. The counter carries on from month to month; it does not restart each month.

A company's own prefix (e.g. TKBG-IN/):

1. Turn on developer mode (Settings, at the bottom Activate the developer mode).
2. Open Settings, Technical, Sequences and search for "Registry".
3. Open the numbering you need and Duplicate it.
4. On the copy set the Company and change the Prefix. The sequence code stays the same.
5. Save. From now on that company's documents are numbered by the copy; other companies keep the shared numbering.

To restart the counter from 1 every year, tick Use subsequences per date_range on the same sequence and add a range for the year.

The number is final

The number is given once, the moment a type is chosen on the file. After that the type can neither be changed nor cleared, because the number is already on paper. Check the prefix before filing the first real document.

9. Printed labels

The label goes on the paper original and carries the number, the date, the correspondent and a QR code that opens the file in the system. It is set up under Documents, Configuration, Label Settings (requires the Manager level).

Paper format

Format	For
Label (62x100)	62 mm roll on a Brother QL label printer, 100 x 62 mm label - default
Label (62x29)	The same roll, small label
Label (100x50)	100 x 50 mm label
Label (A4)	Plain A4 sheet, code in the corner - for printing straight onto the document

Layout - Code Right, Code Left, Code Bottom or A4 (QR bottom-right).

Attributes to print - tick what goes on the label:

Option	What it prints
Show Name	The file name
Show Company	The document's company
Show In/Out Number	The registry number (only for documents with a type)
Show Date	The file's creation date
Show Project	The document's project
Show Partner	The correspondent; if none, the partner of the record the file is attached to
Show Barcode	A QR or linear code
Show URL	The link to the file as text

Barcode:

• Type - QR by default. Code128, EAN13 and others are available.
• Barcode Content - which field of the file is encoded. By default Document URL: scanning it with a phone opens the file in the system (after login). In/Out Number is also possible - handy with Code128 and a scanner at the front desk.
• Readability - the value is also printed as text next to the code.
• Width and Height of the code in pixels.

EAN13, EAN8 and UPCA take digits only

These types cannot encode a link or a number like IN/2609/0001. If chosen, printing stops with a message naming the file that cannot be encoded. For registry numbers use QR or Code128.

Your own paper format. If your labels have another size, in developer mode open Settings, Technical, Reporting, Paper Format, create a format with the dimensions and margins and tick Document Label - it then appears in the label settings. Check a new format with one test print on the real printer.

Next steps

• Working with documents - upload, search, locking, sharing.
• Registry and labels - filing incoming and outgoing documents and printing a label.