M-Files document management in practice: setup, metadata, workflows, integrations, client applications and compliance features.
So far in this series I have covered what an end user sees, the anatomy of a dashboard definition, the seven widget types (scalar, trend, and the rest), the query side, including the aggregations. Time to look at the surface where the administrator actually spends time: the Dashboard tab in M-Files Admin. This is also where the Visual Designer lives.…
In the previous post, I walked through the query side of the dashboard JSON: objectType, class, filters, date tokens. What I deliberately left out was the aggregation block, because it deserves its own post. The aggregation is what transforms the set of matching objects into a value the widget can render. There are five aggregation types, six reducers, and one…
In the previous posts of this series, I covered the anatomy of a dashboard definition and the seven widget types (KPI & gauge, line & area, donut, bar & table) the engine supports, as of now. In this one, we will go through the Business Dashboard queries, i.e. the query section that I pretty much ignores so far. It is…
This is the third and final widget post of the series. The previous two covered scalar widgets (Post 4a) and trend widgets (Post 4b). What is left is the distribution and tabular widgets: donut, bar, and table. The grouping is loose but useful: donut and bar answer questions like “how does my population break down into categories?”, while table can…
This is the second widget post of the series, focused on the two trend widgets: line and area. The previous one covered scalar widgets (Post 4a). Since these two widgets are closely related, it made sense to bundle them together in the same post. Both surface a single value per category or per time bucket, plotted across a horizontal axis.…
In my fifteen-plus years working in the ECM world, I have seen the promise of a high ROI (return on investment) numerous times. Faster processes, fewer errors, reduced storage, and improved compliance can all be quantified and multiplied across the organization to create a compelling business case. The benefit is real; otherwise, I would have moved on to something more…
This is the first widget-specific post of the series. As a reminder, the previous post mapped the anatomy of a dashboard definition. From here on, I go widget by widget. I have grouped the seven widget types into three families: The reason kpiNumber and gauge sit together is that they accept exactly the same aggregation type (summary) and they share…
In the previous post, I walked through what an end user sees when they open the Business Dashboard pane in M-Files. From this post on, the audience shifts more towards the administrator’s side, looking at what a dashboard definition looks like. Every dashboard is a single JSON document. The Admin tab in M-Files Admin offers a Visual Designer that builds…
In the first post of this series, I introduced the Business Dashboard module I built, over the past few weeks, for M-Files. This second post is for the end user: what does it actually look like, where is it, and what can you do with it once your administrator has configured one or more dashboards for you. No JSON in…
Why user-centric thinking is the missing piece in Enterprise Content Management. Let’s set the record straight, your users don’t hate enterprise content management (ECM). They hate your ECM! That might sound harsh, but have you ever heard complaints like these? … then you’re not dealing with a technology problem. You’re dealing with an implementation problem rooted in ignoring users. This…
Some time ago, a customer asked whether it was possible, in M-Files, to have dashboards with KPIs and a global overview of what was happening in their vault. It was a topic I had in my radar for a few years already, but I never had – or took – the time to really work on it. I jumped on…
Artificial intelligence is currently at the center of every IT discussion, and enterprise content management (ECM) is no exception.Vendors frequently promote the use of “AI-powered analytics,” “intelligent automation,” and “cognitive content services.”However, if you have already implemented ECM solutions, you are aware that there is often a discrepancy between the demonstration and the actual results.Let’s address the fundamental aspects of…
