Auto-archive automatically moves a document out of your shared folder and into an archived folder, once you've imported it into Best Practice. This allows your team can see at a glance which files are done and keeps your folder tidy. Here's how to get it set up.

Before you start 

Requirements:

• You must be uploading documents from one shared folder 
  • Clinics on a shared database: each clinic still uses its own folder, but all of those folders need to sit under one shared parent folder that every clinic on the database can reach. EG:
    • \\fileserver\ClinicDocumentScans         ← shared parent folder
    • \Northside Test Clinic                       ← clinic folder (example name of clinic here)
    • \Southbank Family Test Clinic          ← clinic folder
    • \Riverton Test Practice                      ← clinic folder 
       
• That folder must be on a server, network drive, or practice computer. Cloud-synced folders (e.g. Dropbox, OneDrive) aren't supported.
• You'll need your IT to configure some one-off permissions so we can create the archive folder and move files. Confirm the name of your shared folder with your IT. 

Instructions:

• IT sets folder permissions once and shares the folder path with you
• You paste the folder path into the Dashboard and test the connection 
• You import a document to confirm the archive subfolder appears in your shared folder 

How automatic archiving imported documents works 

• If you meet the requirements above, HotDoc can automatically archive documents that you have imported into Best Practice using the Document Assistant tool.
   
• There is a new section in the HotDoc Dashboard called Document Assistant → Settings. You will need to complete a short set up with your IT, to direct HotDoc to the folder on your computer that you are importing your scans from. This is basically the address that tells your computer exactly where a folder lives - like \\SERVER\ClinicA\Documents.
   
• HotDoc then creates a subfolder called 'Archive - HD Dashboard Assistant' inside your scans folder and moves imported files into it automatically, so you can see which files are done and which still need importing.
  
  
   

Step 1 - For your IT: Set folder permissions (one-off)

Do the practices share a database?

If practices share a Best Practice database, they also share the connector that does the archiving — so every clinic's documents have to be reachable from a single machine. Read Practices on a shared database: how to set up your folders first, then come back and choose Option 1 or 2 below.

If each clinic has its own separate database, each site is a standard setup - skip ahead and follow Option 1 or 2 below as normal.

HotDoc needs Modify access to your scans folder so it can create the archive subfolder and move imported files into it. Read-only access isn't enough. Forward this section to whoever looks after your computers and network.

• Which option do I use? - Choose Option 1 if the scans folder is on a server or network share accessed by other computers over the network (most clinics). Choose Option 2 if the folder lives on the same PC that runs the HotDoc Sidebar.

Option 1 - Run the HotDoc Manager Service under a dedicated service account

Best when the scans folder is a network share. The auto-archive feature only needs one device that can reach and modify the share — this can be an always-on device running the Sidebar, or any reception workstation. Have a HotDoc account's login details on hand, as the Sidebar will need to be logged out and back in.

1. Create or choose a domain service account for the service to run as.
    
2. Grant that account Modify permission in two separate places, both are required:
   • On the scans folder: grant Modify on both the Share permissions tab and the NTFS/Security tab. This lets HotDoc create the archive folder and move imported scans.
   • On the HotDoc install directory: grant Modify, recursively. This is separate from the share — when running as a specific user, the HotDoc service still needs to do its normal work (rewriting and deleting files inside its own install folder as it self-updates, and writing logs).
      
3. Open Services (services.msc), find the HotDoc Manager Service, and change its Log On As account from Local System to the service account from step 1.
   • Then restart the service, and log out of the HotDoc Sidebar and log back in.
      
4. Once done, copy the folder path and give this to the practice, they will need to paste this into the HotDoc Dashboard to test the connection (see below instructions in Step 2) 
   • You'll need the UNC path of the shared folder (e.g. \\SERVER\Scans);
   • From there a test archive can be run.

Option 2: Install the connector on the host of the shared folder

• Install the HotDoc Sidebar and log in (if this isn’t already on the PC). This installs the connector, which will allow us to make changes to this folder.
• Copy the local disk path (i.e. C:\Scan) of the folder that the documents live in, and paste it into the field in the HotDoc Dashboard (see below instructions in Step 2)

Practices on a shared database: how to set up your folders

Clinics on a shared database also share the connector that does the archiving. That means every clinic's documents need to be reachable from a single machine, and how you lay out your folders is what decides whether that's possible.

Set up one parent folder with a subfolder per clinic

Create one parent folder on your network that every clinic on the shared database can access, then create a separate folder named after the practice inside it, for each practice, eg:

• \\fileserver\ClinicDocumentScans       ← parent folder

  • \Northside Test Clinic                        ← clinic folder (example name of clinic here)

  • \Southbank Family Test Clinic          ← clinic folder

  • \Riverton Test Practice                      ← clinic folder 

Each practice uploads documents from its own folder, and HotDoc archives that clinic's documents once they're imported into Best Practice. 

Each clinic's path is configured separately in the Dashboard and they work independently of each other — but a shared parent is what we'd recommend, because:

• Permissions are granted once on the parent and inherited down to each clinic folder
• Adding a new site later is just a new subfolder

Name each subfolder after the clinic as it appears in the HotDoc Dashboard, so they're easy to tell apart when you're setting the paths.

What to avoid

• Don't nest one clinic's folder inside another's. The path you configure becomes that clinic's root, so a nested folder falls inside the outer clinic's scope and the two archive trees end up tangled. Keep the clinic folders as siblings.
• Don't point two clinics at the same folder.

If your sites are on different file servers

This still works — you just need to grant access in more places.

• If the practice runs a DFS namespace, use it. It presents several servers under a single path, which gets you back to the layout above, and a future server migration won't break the paths HotDoc has stored. Note that DFS doesn't help with permissions — the account still needs the same rights on each real target.
• Sites on separate domains, or on standalone NAS boxes with local accounts, are the hard case: there may be no single account that can be granted access everywhere. Work this out before you start the rest of the setup.

Make sure one device can reach every folder

At least one always-on device needs access to every clinic's folder. Any site that no device can reach won't archive.

You don't need to work out which device — HotDoc chooses the connector based on folder access. If you're not sure what's reachable from where, test the folder path connection in the Dashboard; every connected device responds, which is also the quickest way to confirm which devices sit at which site.

Step 2 - For you (practice): Add the folder path into the HotDoc Dashboard

1. Once you have your folder path, go to the HotDoc Dashboard and go to Document Assistant → Settings
    
2. Under "Clinic folder path" paste the folder path that your IT gave you into the field and check the connection. 
   1. Clinics on a shared database: repeat these steps for each clinic, using that clinic's own subfolder path (e.g. \\fileserver\ClinicDocuments\Northside). Don't use the parent folder path, and don't use the same path for two clinics.
       
3. Tick "Automatically archive files after import"
    
4. Press Save.
   
    
5. To check if this has worked, import a document into the HotDoc Document Assistant. Once imported, go to your folder on your computer with your saved scans and there should be a subfolder called Archived - HD Document Assistant subfolder
   • Note: If you see an error message, send it through to your IT to fix.