So, we are in the process of switching to Kinetic and we just realized the attachments we put into kinetic end up being temporary files when you open them through kinetic? Is there not a way around this? When opening drawing file attachments, we are used to doing mark ups in Epicor this way and saving this drawing and going about our business. Now that they appear to be temporary files there is no point in opening the attachment we might as well search for the file on the system itself. Kind of a bummer if there is no way around this.
Unfortunately, this is a limitation of the file system when using a browser. Switching to ECM or SharePoint is the only solution I can think of, but others may offer alternative solutions.
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What is ECM?
Epicor Content Management the artist formerly known as DocStar.
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Would ECM allow us to attach files from our server to a job/quote without affecting the link to the original file?
We attach a lot of manufacturing prints to our parts and jobs. A lot of the time they are accessed by clicking the attachment in a job so you can view the drawing make revisions save and close. This means the attachment needs to open the actual file on our server so it can be modified and saved.
I notice when attaching things in kinetic it actually makes a copy of the file in a random folder on our server… this is no good.
Does that make sense?
That’s because you have it set to make a copy like that.
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ECM and SharePoint have their own storage. They have way more capabilities than a (Novell) file share. They store the files with meta data, have security policies, manage versions, have retention policies, and execute workflow.
The File System attachment type is the one that copies the file up to the server. It was created a long, long, time ago. For SharePoint and ECM files, Kinetic stores the link to their storage area. These attachment types will not require the Edge Client to access folders since they are browser native.
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I met a dude at tech week in GR who told me he still has the novell file server running and hates the thought of switching from it.
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Where can this setting be found?
Just to make sure I understand… we would still not be able to store our files in our normal server location they would have to be uploaded to ECM in order to be attached to a job or part?
Yeah you can store the original wherever and then you “upload it” to ECM where it stays and does the things Mark just talked about. The real question is why would you store it in two places and why wouldn’t you just control the permissions that the people opening the file have so that you don’t give people the ability to change the file, only to view it.
Sure. Maybe not the best practice, but that will work. The share is read/write enabled to everyone. There is no fine-grain security if you use Epicor’s File System attachment scheme.
In the future, the issue is going to be with the browser. For very good security reasons, you cannot use a web browser to access files on your machine or local network. Imagine having all of your files exfiltrated by a malicious website. Epicor can give this capability back to you by using the Edge Client they created. It is basically a local webserver on your machine that has the same rights as you do. Your browser makes a web request to it and it gets the resources on your behalf. Starting with Kinetic 2026.1, you’ll have to install it in order to do local printing and access files on your network. If you use any web service to display files, like ECM or SharePoint, you won’t need the Edge Client for file access.
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ECM is a Content Management System. It will be the repository for all the files. it will be the “source of truth”. Whether or not you want to keep BACKUPS on your local file system would be your choice, but the actual files themselves will be “in” ECM storage.
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Thanks for all the help Mark, I think I am beginning to understand. We actually have edge agent running and honestly would be fine for our company to access files but it doesn’t actually pull up the true file for us to easily edit and save, it pulls up a temporary file which really doesn’t work well for our workflow.
When using ECM do you access the attachments through kinetic in the same fashion using the paperclip icons? And when you do this as long as its opening the actual file and not a temporary one then I think I might push for us to go with ECM… this will also give us some extra security options as you guys have stated.
Yes, but you get an Edit button along with the View and Download. Instead of downloading, it takes you to ECM or SharePoint and you use whatever process required for editing, which may or may not require check out/in depending on your controls.
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