Overview

The Library allows management-level users to store and share building-related documents (such as forms, notices, policies, or newsletters) with residents and staff. It’s both an organizational tool and a communication tool--you get to decide which documents you share and who you share them with.

Note: Click on the images to enlarge them. 

Table of Contents

• Adding Library Categories and Subcategories
• Change or Review the Settings for a Library Category
• Viewing Library Documents
• Adding a New Library Document
• Email Notifications and Unique Document Links
• Editing, Expiring, or Deleting Library Documents

Adding Library Categories and Subcategories

Library categories and subcategories control the category options for the Library Module, helping your BuildingLink Library stay organized and easily searchable. (Only Management and Security Officer users can access Library Categories settings.) 

For example, instead of leaving one Library Category for "Board Meeting Minutes," you could create subcategories to organize your minutes by month and year. Library Categories can also help you highlight a particular document by allowing residents to easily access it via a button on the resident homepage.

To add a new Library Category or subcategory, go to the Manage or Communicate tab, select Library, and click the gear icon to the right of the page title, or go to the Settings tab, scroll down, and choose Library categories. In the following window, a list of all existing active Library Categories will be displayed. Click the green Add new category button in the top right corner to add a new category or subcategory. 

The settings options for the new Library Category will display in a pop-up window.  To add a new category (heading category/not subcategory), type in the category name in the field under "Category name" and leave the following dropdown menu under "Parent category" on No parent. 

If you wish to add a subcategory, type in the name of the subcategory in the field under "Category name" and choose a Parent category from the following dropdown menu under "Parent category."

If you'd like to create a separate button on the resident homepage that links to documents in this category or subcategory, simply check the box where prompted, and then enter the text you'd like displayed on your button.  Click Add category to complete the creation of your new Library Category or subcategory. 

Change or Review the Settings for a Library Category

Go to the Manage or Communicate tab, select Library, and click the gear icon to the right of the page title, or go to the Settings tab, scroll down, and choose Library categories.  

You'll be taken to a screen that displays all Library Categories. Click Edit next to the Library Category you wish to view/change. The Edit Category window will pop up. To archive a category, change the status to Inactive. After making any changes, click Save changes. 

Note: Document folders can not be deleted; they can only be set to "Inactive".  Individual documents within folders can be deleted.

Viewing Library Documents

Users with a Management or Security Officer BuildingLink Authority Level will be able to view all Library documents, regardless of specific viewing permissions. However, the viewing permissions control whether other BuildingLink users can access the document.

To access a particular document, click the Communicate or Manage tab and select Library. You’ll see a list of all document categories. Click on the arrow to the left of a specific category to view the documents and/or sub-categories below it. Click on the document you wish to view. You may also narrow your search by using the search parameters at the top of your screen.

After clicking the document, a box will appear with any document text and a link to the document attachment (if applicable). To open the document, click on the download icon, and open it just like an email attachment. Keep in mind that your computer must be able to open documents of the type you are trying to open. For example, if the document is saved as a PDF, make sure you have Adobe Reader installed on your computer to view it.

Adding a New Library Document

To add a new Library document, go to the Manage or Communicate tab and select Library.  Next, click the green Add new document button. (Note: only users with Management or Security Officer permissions can add or edit Library documents.)

On the next page, you can add the title of your document and select a category. If you don’t see an appropriate category, you can always add a new one in the Library Categories section of your settings. 

Once you’ve selected your category, you can establish viewing permissions in the "Who can view this Document section." If you don’t select any of the options, only users on a Management or Security Officer BuildingLink authority can view the document. To make your document viewable by a specific location, first check the box next to either All occupants or Specific occupants, and then choose your desired location.

You can set a document date and/or an expiration date.  The document date is a relevancy date,  not a viewing date, and once they are saved in the system, all documents are viewable to your selected audience. For important documents, like a policy change to your building rules, check the box next to Flag as important, so that residents will be more likely to notice that specific document in the Library.

Next, either input your document as an attachment or input text directly into the Description Text field. To attach a file, click the Choose file button and choose a previously created document from your computer. Documents can be up to 50 MB in size. If your document is larger than 50MB please view our tips on compressing/shrinking documents and images.

Keep in mind that in order to open an attached file, your intended audience must have the appropriate program for that file installed on their computers. (For example, if you upload an Excel spreadsheet, your residents must have Excel installed on their own computers in order to access the document.)

For links to external websites,  you can just include the link in the Optional web link field. You can use the Description text box to add a description of your attachment or any other information you wish to communicate. You can use one or a combination of all three methods to share documents here.

After you’ve finished inputting all document information, you have two options: Save and notify, or Save document. The Save document button saves the document to the Library, so your intended audience can access it. The Save and notify button saves the document and provides options to send an email to residents and staff that a new document has been uploaded.  For more information on Library document email notifications and unique document links, continue reading below.

Email Notifications and Unique Document Links

When you choose Save and notify while adding a new Library document, you’ll be able to send a notification to your residents, letting them know a document has been added to the Library and providing them with the document’s unique link. (Note: To learn more about sending manual emails through BuildingLink, click here.)

After you click the Save and notify button, a window will appear, showing a default notification message. You can customize this email before sending by editing the message’s subject and text. Once you are satisfied with your email, click the Send email button at the bottom left corner of the box.

If you want to obtain a document’s unique link but do not need to send an email notification,  copy the link from the Notify by Email page and then hit Cancel instead of Send. Get there by clicking the Communicate or Manage tab and selecting Library.  Click on the arrow to the left of a specific category to view the documents and/or sub-categories below it, and then click on the Notify by email link. 

You can use a document’s unique link to direct residents directly to that document from other pages, for example, you might include the link to an Amenity Reservation Policy form in your Amenity Reservation Instructions. 

Editing, Expiring, or Deleting Library Documents

To edit or expire a document, click on the Communicate or Manage tab and select Library. Next, find the document you want to edit or delete and select the Edit link to the right of the document. Clicking this button will enable you to edit any document details or permissions. 

To expire the document, click the checkbox next to Expire now, then click the green Save document button at the bottom right.  Expiring a document will remove the document from active viewing and archive it in the Expired Documents section of the Library. Expired documents can also be made active again by changing the expiration date on the document.   

Deleting a document will wipe it from the system, and we do not retain a copy. To delete a document, click the red Delete button in the bottom right corner, then click the red Delete document button in the confirmation message box.