Change Folder(s) Associated with a Submission Portal Stage

This article is considered appropriate for administrators or workspace users with an intermediate level of knowledge about submission portals. If you are a beginner, we recommend reading the following article first:

• Submission Portal Key Concepts: Beginner

For more information about suggested learning paths, see Introduction to Submission Portals: START HERE.

Contents

• Overview
• The Purpose of Changing the Folders Associated with a Stage
• Where to Find the Setting
• Changing the Folder for a Required Stage
• Changing or Adding Folders for an External Stage
  • Changing the Folder
  • Adding Additional Folders
• Changing the Folder for a Stage on the Submissions Page

Overview

This article will describe how to change the main Primary form folder associated with both Required and External Stages, summarize the differences between them (as applicable to this process), discuss how to associate more than one folder with External Stages, and detail the different methods available to accomplish this task.

The Purpose of Changing the Folders Associated with a Stage

The Submission Portal Settings allows program administrators to configure a multitude of options and features to customize their program’s submission portal. Among these is the ability to determine which folders (from the Primary form of a submission portal) provide the portal user with access to specific Stages in their submission portal experience. (For more information about how Folders and Stages relate to each other, see Submission Portal Key Concepts: Beginner.)

When setting up a new submission portal, knowing how to manage which folders are associated with which Stages is very useful, as revising these associations is sometimes necessary. However, knowing this process is also helpful if a program adds new Stages or requirements, new Steps or forms, or there is a need to rearrange the portal user experience. 

--- IMPORTANT ---

Because the Primary form folders define which Stage a portal user can access, all Primary form folders should be assigned to a Stage. If a Primary form folder is changed to one that is not associated with a Stage, portal users will be unable to access any Stages (even ones they have already completed). 

This article will show two different methods of changing the folder associated with a Required Stage or the main folder of an External Stage, or associate additional folders with an External Stage. However, it’s important to keep in mind that the folder associated with the first Stage in a submission portal process cannot be changed; that folder is determined when the submission portal is first created and is contingent on which form is defined as the Primary form. If the submission portal’s Primary form needs to be redefined, or if the folder associated with the first Stage needs to be changed, a new submission portal must be created to do so.

For more information on External and Required Stages, see the article Submission Portal Key Concepts: Intermediate.

Where to Find the Setting

In the Submission Portal Settings, the option configure which folder(s) are associated with each Stage can be changed in two different ways:

• The main method is located on the General Settings tab on the Stage Settings page for the Stage to be changed.  The steps to follow this method after locating the setting are found in the Changing the Folder for a Required Stage section and the Changing or Adding Folders for an External Stage section below. 
• For an alternate method, see the section Changing the Folder for a Stage on the Submissions Page below.

To find the setting:

1. Logged into a program as an administrator, navigate to the Settings & Tools section by selecting the cog wheel icon in the top navigation bar.
2. Select the Submission Portal tile from the Plugin Settings section.
3. Select the Edit button to the appropriate submission portal.

4. To edit the folder associated with a Stage, navigate to the Stage needing changes by selecting the appropriate link for the Stage in the Portal Sections pane on the left side of the screen.  (Multiple stages are highlighted in the screenshot below, as a submission portal may have more than one.)

5. Selecting a Stage in the Portal Settings pane will change the contents of the right panel and display the Stage Settings; this page will look slightly different for External Stages than it does for Required Stages.

6. The main Stage Settings pane will typically open on the General Settings tab. The Stage Activity section provides a dropdown menu of available folders for the Stage.

The General Settings tab of Stage Settings for a Required Stage.

The General Settings tab of Stage Settings for an External Stage.

Changing the Folder for a Required Stage

REMEMBER: The folder associated with the first Stage cannot be changed.  The first Stage lets Zengine know where the Primary form starts, and that is defined when the portal is initially set up.  When accessing the Stage Activity section for the first Stage, it looks similar to the screenshot below with no dropdown menu available.

To change the folder associated with a required stage (except the first Stage):

1. After navigating to the desired stage, select the dropdown menu in Stage Activity.

2. Select the new desired folder for the stage.  

NOTE: the list of folders from the primary form available for selection in the dropdown menu will vary depending on the folders that are set up and available in the program. Only folders that have not already been assigned to Stages will appear here; to choose a folder that currently has a Stage assignment, it will need to be disassociated with that Stage and the changes saved before it is available for a different Stage.

--- IMPORTANT ---

Zengine only allows one folder to be assigned to Required Stages.  For more information on folders, please visit Submission Portal Key Concepts: Intermediate.

3. After all changes are made as needed, select the blue Save all settings button in the lower right corner of the screen.

Changing or Adding Folders for an External Stage

Changing the Folder

To change the folder associated with an external stage:

1. After navigating to the desired stage, select the dropdown menu in the first Stage Activity section.

2. Select the new desired folder for the stage.  

NOTE: the list of folders from the primary form available for selection in the dropdown menu will vary depending on the folders that are set up and available in the program. Only folders that have not already been assigned to Stages will appear here; to choose a folder that currently has a Stage assignment, it will need to be disassociated with that Stage and the changes saved before it is available for a different Stage.

3. After all changes are made as needed, select the blue Save all settings button in the lower right corner of the screen.

Adding Additional Folders

External stages can have multiple folders associated with them; for more information please see Submission Portal Key Concepts: Intermediate.

To add a folder associated with an external stage:

1. After navigating to the desired stage, select the dropdown menu in the second Stage Activity section.

2. Add one or more additional folders associated with this Stage by selecting the checkbox next to the folder or folders to add.

NOTE: the list of folders from the primary form available for selection in the dropdown menu will vary depending on the folders that are set up and available in the program. Only folders that have not already been assigned to Stages will appear here; to choose a folder that currently has a Stage assignment, it will need to be disassociated with that Stage and the changes saved before it is available for a different Stage.

3. After all changes are made as needed, select the blue Save all settings button in the lower right corner of the screen.

Changing the Folder for a Stage on the Submissions Page

An alternate way to change folders for a stage is on the Submissions Page.  From the Submissions Page, all Required Stage folders are editable. However, only the first folder associated with an External Stage can be changed using this method.

To change the folder associated with a stage from the Submissions Page:

1. After navigating to the desired submission portal, under Portal Sections, select Submissions.  

2. Selecting Submissions in the Portal Sections panel will change the contents of the right panel and display the Submissions Section Settings.
   
   
3. Scrolling down the Submissions Section Settings page reveals the program’s workflow.  From this workflow, folders for required stages can be changed.

4. Locate the required stage that needs the folder change and select its associated dropdown menu.

5. Select the new desired folder for the required stage.  

NOTE: the list of folders from the primary form available for selection in the dropdown menu will vary depending on the folders that are set up and available in the program. Only folders that have not already been assigned to Stages will appear here; to choose a folder that currently has a Stage assignment, it will need to be disassociated with that Stage and the changes saved before it is available for a different Stage.

6. After all changes are made as needed, select the blue Save all settings button in the lower right corner of the screen.