Quick start

Tip

Before starting a production environment, you should also read the following sections:

• Essential fundamentals.
• Plan your data organization.

With OpenKM, storing and sharing information and collaborating effectively are simple.

This quick start guide gives you an introduction to some of the features of OpenKM:

• Logging in.
• Create a taxonomy.
• Add documents.
• Edit documents.
• Search documents.

Logging in

You need to log in to OpenKM.

• Enter the following on the login page:
  • Username: your username.
  • Password: your password.
• Choose your language.
• Click on the Login button.

Note

Ask your administrator for your login URL. By default, the OpenKM server URL is http://127.0.0.1:8080/openkm.

Caution

The default administrator credentials are:

• Username: okmAdmin
• Password: admin

Do not forget to change the administrator password.

Create a taxonomy

Tip

The dictionary says:

“Taxonomy (from Greek taxis meaning arrangement or division and nomos meaning law) is the science of classification according to a pre-determined system, with the resulting catalog used to provide a conceptual framework for discussion, analysis, or information retrieval. In theory, the development of a good taxonomy takes into account the importance of separating elements of a group (taxon) into subgroups (taxa) that are mutually exclusive, unambiguous, and that, taken together, include all possibilities.”

A taxonomy is a way to group things. Like a controlled vocabulary, it focuses on concepts. I_n practice, a good taxonomy should be simple, easy to remember, and easy to use._

The first step should be to analyze the company’s organization and define a folder hierarchy to store the organized documents. Take this one as a sample:

/okm:root/	2015/	invoices/
		human resources/
		marketing/
	2016/	invoices/
		human resources/
		marketing/

To create a folder:

• Select a node in the taxonomy where you want to create the folder.
• Click on the folder icon in the toolbar.
• Set the name.
• Click on the Accept button.

Caution

We suggest spending some time thinking about and designing your taxonomy. Use fewer than 20000 elements per folder for the best UI performance.

Add documents

• Select a node in the taxonomy where you want to add the document.
• Click the  add document icon on the toolbar.
• Select the document from your computer.
• Click the Upload button.

 

Edit documents

Document editing is based on the “check-out / check-in” model.

Tip

“Check-out” and “check-in” are standard terms in many document management systems, including OpenKM. Their purpose is to prevent conflicts in an environment where multiple people might want to simultaneously edit the same piece of content (a document) in OpenKM. 

The term “check-out” describes the process of getting a version of a document. By checking out a document, a user can prevent others from editing that content.

The term “check-in” describes updating a document to replace the previous version. By checking in the item, the user can allow others to edit the document without worrying about overriding changes that others have made.

When a document is checked out to a user, that user can work on that document, and other users cannot. Other users must wait for the user to check the document in before they can edit. While the document is checked out, other users can see only the last version that was checked in; they can’t see the changes the current user has made to the document while it’s been checked out.

First, you must check out the document:

• Select a document.
• Click on the Edit icon.

Finally, check the document in to upload the changes:

• Select the edited document.
• Click on the Update icon.
• Select the document from your computer.
• Click the Upload button.

Search documents

• Go to search view.
• Enter the term for the query.
• Click on the Search button.