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Setting up Repository

Document Central supports different repository types. For a productive environment, it is recommended to use SharePoint or Azure Blob Storage. For a quick setup and testing, the Database type can be used. However, the Database type should not be used for a productive environment as documents are stored directly in the Business Central database. Document Central provides wizards to configure the different repository types.

Setting up SharePoint Repository

SharePoint can be deployed on-premise or online in Office 365. The setup needs to be specified depending on which SharePoint is available.

Creating an new SharePoint site

To create a new SharePoint repository, follow these steps:

  1. Start in the Document Central - Administrator role.
  2. Click on Setup in the ribbon bar and execute the action Repository.
  3. Execute the action New in the ribbon bar.
  4. Start the wizard with the Begin action.
  5. Specify the repository code by entering a code in the Repository Code field.
  6. Select the repository type SharePoint in the Repository Type field and click on Next.
  7. Activate the Create a New SharePoint subsite checkbox.
  8. The system will check if the app registration still exists. If not, the app registration wizard will be executed. Please complete the app registration wizard first.
  9. Specify the SharePoint sitename by entering a Sitename in the Sitename field.
  10. Specify the privacy settings of the SharePoint site in the Privacy Settings field.
  11. Specify the language ID of the SharePoint site in the Language ID field and click on Next.
  12. Select the authentication type of the SharePoint site in the Authentication Type field and click on Next.
  13. Add some more users to the SharePoint site or click on Skip.
  14. Activate the Set as Active Repository checkbox to make this repository active.
  15. The SharePoint site is now created and activated as the active repository.

Information

The creation of a new SharePoint site from Document Central is only possible in SaaS environments. The option to create a new SharePoint site is not available in on-premise environments. If an on-premise SharePoint site should be used, select the Use an Existing SharePoint Subsite option.

Use existing SharePoint site

If an existing SharePoint site is to be used in an on-premise environment, the relevant information to connect to the SharePoint site must be entered manually.

To use an existing SharePoint site in SaaS or On-Premise, follow these steps:

  1. Start in the Document Central - Administrator role.
  2. Click on Setup in the ribbon bar and execute the action Repository.
  3. Execute the action New in the ribbon bar.
  4. Start the wizard with the Begin action.
  5. Specify the repository code by entering a code in the Repository Code field.
  6. Select the repository type SharePoint in the Repository Type field and click on Next.
  7. Activate the Use a Existing SharePoint subsite checkbox and click on Next.
  8. Enter the name of the SharePoint Site in the Sitename field.
  9. Enter the SharePoint site url in the Web Application URL field.
  10. Enter the language ID in the Language ID field.
  11. Enter the authentication mode of the SharePoint site in the Authentication Mode field.
  12. Enter the authentification information depending on the authentication mode.
  13. Activate the Set as Active Repository checkbox to make this repository active.
  14. The SharePoint site is now connected and activated as the active repository.

Basic

Basic authentication uses the O365/Azure AD credentials to authenticate to the SharePoint.

Modern

Modern authentication uses the App Registration in Azure AD to authenticate to the SharePoint. If the App Registration was not created prior in the Document Central module setup, this setup wizard will automatically create a new app registration.

Well Done!

After you have successfully created your SharePoint repository, you are ready to continue to publish metadata, content types and document libraries to the SharePoint Site.

Microsoft 365 Group from the SharePoint

When a SharePoint site is created from Document Central, a Microsoft 365 Group with the same name as the SharePoint site will be automatically generated. This group allows Document Central to manage permissions for Document Central users on the SharePoint site.

Upon activating a new SharePoint Repository, Document Central users will be checked for membership in the SharePoint group and marked as synchronized in the User List. Additionally, users can be added manually from the Document Central user list or during the licensing process of a new user for Document Central.

Troubleshooting

If errors occur during the synchronization of Document Central users with the Microsoft 365 SharePoint group, please check whether the sitename in the repository matches exactly with the name of the SharePoint site.

Setting up Azure Blob Storage Repository

Azure Blob Storage can only be deployed online in Azure. To configure a storage account in Azure, a valid subscription is needed.

To create a new Azure Blob Storage container, follow these steps:

  1. Start in the Document Central - Administrator role.
  2. Click on Setup in the ribbon bar and execute the action Repository.
  3. Execute the action New in the ribbon bar.
  4. Start the wizard with the Begin action.
  5. Specify the repository code by entering a code in the Repository Code field.
  6. Select the repository type Azure Blob Storage in the Repository Type field and click on Next.
  7. Select the subscription where the Azure Blob Storage should be created in the Subscription ID field.
  8. The system will check if the company app still exists. If not, the comapany app will be created.
  9. Activate the Create New Storage Account checkbox and click on Next.
  10. Specify whether to use multiple container for the Storage Account.
  11. Specify the container name in the Container Name field.
  12. Specify whether to use an existing Resource Group or create a new one.
  13. Specify the storage account name in the Storage Account Name field.
  14. Specify the region where the ressource should be created in the Region field.
  15. Specify the redundancy if the ressource should be created redundant in the Redundancy field.
  16. Specify the access tier in the Default Blob Access Tier field and click on Next.
  17. Upon clicking Next a Storage Account will be created in Azure. It might take a few seconds up to a few minutes, do not close the dialog until the process is finished.
  18. Activate the Set as Active Repository checkbox to make this repository active.
  19. The Azure Blob Storage is now connected and activated as the active repository.

Info

For the Creation through Document Central, the azure subscription needs to have the "Microsoft.Storage" Resource Provider registered. To register the Resource Provider, navigate to the Azure Portal, then go to Subscriptions, select the subscription that will be used, then go to Resource providers. Search for "Microsoft.Storage" and click on the Register button.

Warning

Storage Account with multiple containers will have effect on the full text search functionality of Azure Blob Storage. Azure Blob Storage needs to utilize the Azure Cognitive Search, to be able to use the full text search function. To be able to utilize the full text search, an indexers from Azure Cognitive Search needs to be assigned to a container in Azure Blob Storage. By using multiple containers, the more indexers will be needed, as each container needs to be assigned it's owwn indexers. The number of indexers that can be created is limited by the Tier of the Azure Cognitive Search. The Tier can be changed in the Azure Portal, however it will affect the cost of the Azure Cognitive Search.

Use existing Azure Blob Storage Account

If an existing storage account is to be used, the relevant information to connect to the storage account must be entered manually.

To use existing Azure Blob Storage Account, follow these steps:

  1. Start in the Document Central - Administrator role.
  2. Click on Setup in the ribbon bar and execute the action Repository.
  3. Execute the action New in the ribbon bar.
  4. Start the wizard with the Begin action.
  5. Specify the repository code by entering a code in the Repository Code field.
  6. Select the repository type Azure Blob Storage in the Repository Type field and click on Next.
  7. Select the subscription where the Azure Blob Storage should be created in the Subscription ID field.
  8. The system will check if the company app still exists. If not, the comapany app will be created.
  9. Activate the Use Existing Storage Account checkbox and click on Next.
  10. Specify the existing Storage Account name in the Storage Account Name field, or use the (...) to choose your Storage Account.
  11. Specify the key in the Storage Account Key field.
  12. If the Storage Account Name and Storage Account Key are correct. The connection status will be written as Connected.
  13. Specify whether to use multiple container for the Storage Account and click on Next.
  14. Activate the Set as Active Repository checkbox to make this repository active.
  15. The Azure Blob Storage is now connected and activated as the active repository.

Info

To get the Storage Account Key, navigate to the Storage Accounts tab in the Azure Portal, then go to Access keys tab. There will be key1 and key2 which can be used as Storage Account Key.

Warning

The Storage Account will need Versioning and Version-level immutability support turned on to be able to work properly with Document Central. It is recommended to create the Storage Account via Document Central.

Database Repository

The Database option should only be used for testing or demonstration purposes. All documents will be stored directly in the database, which could dramatically increase the database size.

To create the Database repository type, follow these steps:

  1. Start in the Document Central - Administrator role.
  2. Click on Setup in the ribbon bar and execute the action Repository.
  3. Execute the action New in the ribbon bar.
  4. Start the wizard with the Begin action.
  5. Specify the repository code by entering a code in the Repository Code field.
  6. Select the repository type Database in the Repository Type field and click on Next.
  7. Activate the Set as Active Repository checkbox to make this repository active.
  8. The database is now set as active repository.

Warning

The files and documents are stored in the BLOB field when Database is selected as the repository type. This can cause a strong growth of the database.