Managing document types

What you'll learn#

• What a document type defines and why they're the foundation of Document Flow
• How to create, edit, copy, and delete document types
• Which settings to choose when creating one
• How document types connect to fields, workflows, and filters (covered in their own articles)

What a document type is#

A document type is a template that defines one kind of document your company handles — "Vacation Request", "Supplier Invoice", "Business Travel Authorization", "Contract", and so on. Every individual document in VAT Portal is an instance of a document type.

A document type specifies:

• What kind of document it is — file-based or request form
• What fields it captures (amount, dates, department, reason, and so on)
• Which approval workflow routes it for review
• Optional filters that pick a workflow based on the document's content (e.g., "amounts over 10,000 AZN use the CEO-approval workflow")
• Various per-type settings like attachments, versioning, and simultaneous approvals

End users can only create documents from the document types you've set up. So when a business team asks VAT Portal to handle a new kind of document, creating the document type is the admin's first job.

Opening the Document Types page#

Document Flow → Document Types in the sidebar, or direct URL /docflow/document-types.

The list shows every document type in your currently active company.

Top of the page:

• Search by name or description.
• Filter tabs: All, Document, Request Form — each shows a count.
• Create button (top-right) — opens the Create Document Type dialog.

The table:

• Name (with description preview underneath)
• Type — Document or RequestForm
• Status — Active or Inactive
• Attachments — Yes / No (whether attachments are enabled for this type)
• Created — when the type was added

Click any row to open the document type's detail page.

The three-dot menu at the end of each row offers Copy and Delete.

Creating a document type#

1. Click Create at the top of the page.
2. Fill in the dialog:
   • Name — the name users will see when they pick this type. Be clear and business-friendly.
   • Type — Document for file-based documents, or Request Form for structured forms. This choice is permanent — you can't change it later without recreating the type.
   • Description — free-text. For Request Form types, this becomes the default content template shown to creators when they open the form — so you can pre-populate the standard wording, paragraph structure, or boilerplate instructions here. For Document types, the description is just a note for admins.
   • Enable Versioning — a toggle that controls whether this document type records version numbers when documents are corrected after rejection. Leave it on unless you have a specific reason not to.
   • Allow Attachments — only available for Request Form types (it's automatically off for file-based documents, which already have a main file). Turn it on if creators should be able to upload supporting files.
3. Click Create.

The new document type appears in the list immediately. You then open its detail page to add fields and assign an approval workflow — without those, the type isn't yet usable by end users.

Editing a document type#

1. Click the document type's row to open its detail page.
2. You'll see several cards. The top one is General Information:
   • Use the Edit button in the top-right of the Description card (or the page header edit affordance, depending on how the page is laid out) to open the Edit dialog.
   • You can change the name, description, versioning toggle, and attachment toggle. You cannot change the type (Document vs. Request Form) after creation.

Changes take effect immediately after you save.

Copying a document type#

Copying a document type is a shortcut for creating a variant. Useful when:

• You want a variant of an existing type (e.g., "Vacation Request — International" based on "Vacation Request").
• You want to test changes in a safe copy before updating the original.
• A second department wants a similar type but with slightly different fields or workflow.

How to copy:

1. Click the three-dot menu on the document type's row.
2. Choose Duplicate.
3. In the dialog, enter a new name (pre-filled with "{original} (copy)").
4. Click Duplicate.

The new document type is created with all the same fields, workflow assignments, filters, and settings as the original. You can then open its detail page and edit whatever's different.

Deleting a document type#

1. Click the three-dot menu on the document type's row.
2. Choose Delete.
3. Confirm in the dialog.

What else is on the detail page#

The document type's detail page has three more cards beyond general info, each covered by its own article:

• Fields — the custom fields this document type captures (amount, date, department, etc.). See Adding fields to a document type.
• Workflows — which approval flows are assigned to this type, which one is the default, and in what order they run. See Creating approval workflows.
• Filters — routing rules that pick a workflow based on document content (e.g., amount-based routing). See Managing filters and filter rules.

Common questions#