While working on a demo presentation, I discovered some things I'd like to share that may save somebody else the "time" it's taken me to figure out.
Records Management provides "native" inheritance of Retention Policy details down three levels from the Records Series. There's the Record Series folder level, then the Record folder, then the document.
If you try to go four levels deep:
- Record Series (Cemetery Records)
- Record Folder (Board Hearing Files)
- Folder (Year)
- Document (Hearing minutes)
the fourth level does NOT inherit any Retention Policy details.
You can have multiple levels of Record Series nested, but as long as the "document" is no more than 3 levels from a Record Series folder, it will automatically inherit the retention policy.
BUT, with the recent addition to Workflow 10.4 of the "Set Records Management Properties" object, the Filing Date, Cutoff, and Retention Schedule CAN be added to fourth level folders or further. Each of these three Records Management details requires a separate object in the WF. Choose from the dropdown for the single activity to set.
This new WF feature to add automatic Retention Policy details to 4th level (or lower level) documents or folders provides more possibilities for folder structure design than previously available.
Note: with the introduction of version 10.4.1 and Flexible Records Management (end of May 2019??), where Record Folders will be able to be created anywhere in the Repository, this 3-level native inheritance limitation will probably not be a constraint.