Retreat Portal's Document Manager allows you to upload static and dynamic documents which can be shared with guests and groups. The primary intention is to upload contracts, terms of use, rules, etc. to our Document Manager and then those documents can be attached to emails sent out of Retreat Portal for the recipients to view or sign.
It is strongly recommended that static documents be used as much as possible. Static documents are usually documents that don't change, e.g. a PDF, and are updated infrequently. They don't contain any information that is specific to guests or groups. Ideally contracts are written this way. Almost always 'house rules' or welcome information can be written as a PDF and uploaded.
Dynamic documents are documents which have information that is meant to be customized on a per-guest, per-reservation, per-group, or per-program basis. Dynamic documents MUST be written in HTML and our support team can help create these documents. We are able to convert Word documents to HTML easily and we're happy to help get them uploaded to Retreat Portal.
Because documents are sent to guests and groups it is important to ensure they are managed correctly. Like images a document can be replaced or versioned. But unlike images you probably want to version document rather than replace them.
Let's go through a few scenarios... for the purposes of this tutorial we are only using PDF documents, but dynamic/HTML documents could also be used in the same way.
Versioning a document
In this scenario you have a 'Terms and Conditions' document written for 2023. The idea is that this document will be sent to group leaders to be signed and therefore it is important that this document should never be replaced - only versioned.
Click the gear icon in the top right of the page and select Business, then click 'Document Manager' on the left side of the page. Click the Upload button.
In the upload dialog click the Browse button or drag a file to that part of the page. A preview of the uploaded document will be shown (if possible). You can also give the document a sensible label and, optionally, put some tags on the file.
Click the Save button at the bottom of the dialog and the document will appear in the list of documents.
Now that the document is uploaded it is possible to attach it to emails for guests and groups to sign. When the document is sent out this way a link to the uploaded document is shared with them. Because the document is just a link it is crucial to NOT replace document if it needs to be updated, instead you want to version the document. We'll discuss below the scenarios where replacement makes sense.
To update the 'Terms and Conditions 2023' with 'Rev 2' (for example mid-year you may discover a need to ammend the original document)., click the three dots for the document you want to update and select Edit.
In the Edit dialog click the Browse button to find the updated document (or drag the updated document to the browse button). The preview will update, but the Label and Tags do not change. This is deliberate because you want your users to still be able to find 'Terms and Conditions 2023' but not have to worry about the contents.
When you're happy with the document click Save as new version.
The document listing will show that the document is now versioned. But any new usages of that document will refer to 'Rev 2' rather than 'Rev 1'.
To view the versions of a document click the three dots for the document you are interested in and select 'View versions'.
Creating new documents every time
Versioning may not always make the most sense and is not meant to be used in every scenario. In the example above the document being used was 'Terms and Conditions 2023' and it is entirely reasonable that you'll upload an entirely new file for a different year, e.g. 'Terms and Conditions 2024'.
It could have also been possible in the above scenario to upload both 'Terms and Conditions 2023 Rev 1' and 'Terms and Conditions 2023 Rev 2'. However, the users who are told to send documents to guests/groups may get confused about which one they are meant to send - hence the use of versions to ensure consistency for the user.
There is no mandate to use versions, but the option exists if you desire using it.
Replacing a document
Replacing a document means that if you send a document to a guest and they view it, then go back to look at it again after you've replaced it, then they'll see the replacement. This is good for information documents like directions to your location, parking maps, floor plans, etc.
Do not replace legally binding documents, contracts, etc. - i.e. anything you require guests or groups to sign.
To replace a document follow the same steps as above. Find the document you want to replace, click the three dots, and select Edit.
In the editor click the Browse button and upload the new document. When satisfied click 'Save as replacement'.
Archive the document
If you no longer wish to see a document listed in the Document Manager by default you can archive the document. The document isn't ever deleted because there may be prior references to it, but archiving will mean it doesn't appear by default when selecting documents.
Find the document you want to archive, click the three dots on the far right side of the table, and click Edit.
At the bottom of the form is a red 'Archive' button. Click it and the document will be automatically archived.
To undo the archive (i.e. Unarchive) change the table listing to show archived, then click the three dots of the document you want to unarchive, click Edit. In the editor form the red archive button is replaced by an 'Unarchive' button. Click it and the document will no longer be archived.
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