FDMS	Version	4.5

Release	Notes

Release	Date: December	14,	2013
FDMS	Release	Notes

Release	4.5 December	16,	2013

Contents

Release	Summary......................................................................................................................................... 1

Work	Queue................................................................................................................................................. 2

Menu	Item................................................................................................................................................ 2

Work	Queue	Document	List..................................................................................................................... 2

Filter	the	Work	Queue	List....................................................................................................................... 3

Document	Center	Summary..................................................................................................................... 4

Re-assignment	of	Documents.................................................................................................................. 5

Open	Large	Dockets	Successfully ................................................................................................................. 5

Delete	Functionality ..................................................................................................................................... 6

Upload	Audio/Video/Macro-Enabled	File	Types.......................................................................................... 7

Select	Records	Schedule	during	Docket	Creation ........................................................................................ 7

Document	Permissions	Tab.......................................................................................................................... 8

Change	the	Threshold	to	Run	a	Deduplication ............................................................................................ 8

Document	Re-Assignment............................................................................................................................ 9

Rename	Pivot	Folders	in	Deduplication	Tree ............................................................................................. 10

Additional	Enhancements.......................................................................................................................... 10

Defects	Addressed ..................................................................................................................................... 12

Known	Issues	in	this	Release...................................................................................................................... 14
FDMS	Release	Notes

Version	4.5 1 December	16,	2013

Release	Summary	

The	FDMS.gov	Beta	version	4.5 release	provides users	with	additional	functionality	including	the	

introduction	of	Work	Queue,	Large	Docket	Tree, and	Delete	Functionality. The	primary	changes	to	

FDMS.gov	Beta	for	this	release	include	the	following:

• Work	Queue

• Open	Large	Dockets	Successfully

• Delete	Functionality

• Upload	Audio,	Video,	Excel	Macro	Enabled	File	Types

• Select Records	Schedule	During	Docket	Creation	

• Document	Permissions	Tab

• Document	Re-assignment

• Rename	Pivot	Folders	in	Deduplication	Tree

• Change	the	Similarity	Threshold	to	Run	a	Deduplication
FDMS	Release	Notes

Release	4.5 2 December	16,	2013

Work	Queue

FDMS	3.6	provided users	with	the	Document	Work	Queue	for	re-assigning	individual	and	

groups	of	Documents. FDMS	3.6	did not	provide	the	users	with an	efficient	way to balance	the	

workload	among	the	Document Center	staff.		The	Work	Queue in	FDMS	4	incorporates the	

capabilities	from	FDMS	3.6	and	extends them	with	load-balancing	capability. It	also	allows	

users	to	update	the	Document’s	current	status	assignee	without	making Non-Standard	

Assignments	and/or	Permissions.

Menu Item

A	Work	Queue	folder	was	added	to	the	Menu	for	all Agency	Administrators	and	Docket	

Managers. The	count	represents the	number	of Documents	within	Dockets	where	the	user	is	

the	Assigned	Docket	Manager	(assigned	by	name	or	by	group)	that	are	currently	assigned	to the	

Assigned	Docket	Manager (user	or	group)	or	to	one	of	the	members	of	the	Document	Center. It	

only includes	Documents	that	have	been	modified	in	the last	year	and	are	not	in	the	Posted,	

Withdrawn, or	DoNotPost status.		Selection	of	the	Work	Queue	menu	item	activates	the	Work	

Queue	module,	which	consists	of	a	Document	list	and	the	Document	Center Summary.

Figure	1 - Work	Queue	Menu	Item

Work	Queue	Document	List

The	Work	Queue	Document	list	includes those	Documents	for	which	the	Assigned	Docket	

Manager	is	responsible.	 The	list	includes the Documents	to	match	the	count	in	the	Work	

Queue	menu	item. The	Document	tab	is active,	but	the	Docket	tab	is	not.

The	Work	Queue	Document	list	includes	a	column	for	the	Document's	current	status	assignee

between	the	Title	and	Type	columns as	well	as	a	column	for Attachment	Count	between the	

Status	and	Received	Date columns.
FDMS	Release	Notes

Release	4.5 3 December	16,	2013

Figure	2 - Work	Queue	Document	List

Filter	the	Work	Queue	List

The	filter	for	the	Document	list	is	enhanced	to	allow	filtering	of	the	list	by	the	current	status	

assignee. The	filter	is	a	pick list of	all	the	assignees	from	the	Documents	in	the	list.	

Figure	3 - Work	Queue	Filter
FDMS	Release	Notes

Release	4.5 4 December	16,	2013

Document	Center	Summary

The	Document	Center	Summary	shows	in	the	right	panel	when	the	Work	Queue	is	activated.	 It	

provides	a	summary	count	of	the	Documents	assigned	to	each person	or	group	in	the	

Document	Center.

The list	of	users	and	group	includes	a)	all	users	and	groups	in	the	Document	Center	group,	b)	

the	current	user	and	c)	the	groups	that	the current	user	is	part	of.	 The	list	does	not	include	the	

special	group	"Document	Center" or	the	system	roles,	such	as	Docket	Manager,	which	are

implemented	through	the	use	of	groups.

The	users	and	groups	that	are	part	of	the	Document	Center	will	have	a	delete	icon	so	they	can	

be	removed.	 Other	entries,	such	as	the current	user,	will	not	have the	icon.	 Removing	a	user	or	

group	takes	effect	immediately,	but	does	not	alter	the	assignments	to	that	user	or group.

The	count	listed	under	the	"My	Dockets"	column	will	be	the	count	of	Documents	assigned	to	

that	user/group	for	which	the	logged-in	user	is the	designated	Assigned	Docket	Manager. The	

count	listed	under	the	"All	Dockets"	column	will	be	the	total	assigned	to	the	user/group	from all	

Assigned	Docket	Managers.

The	Select	User/Group	button	facilitates	the	addition	of	a	new	user	or	group	to	Document	

Center. Selecting	the	button	will	present	the Select	User	or	Group	dialog.	 The	dialog	will	not	

show	current	users	and	groups	in	the	Document	Center,	the	Document	Center	group,	nor the	

system	roles,	such	as	Docket	Manager.

Figure	4 - Work	Queue	Document	Center	Summary
FDMS	Release	Notes

Release	4.5 5 December	16,	2013

Re-assignment	of	Documents

The	process	for	re-assigning	the	Documents	is	to	a)	select	one	or	more	Documents	from	the	list	

on	the	left-hand	side,	b)	select	the radio	button	for	the	user/group	you	would	like	to	re-assign	

the	Documents	to,	and	c)	select	the	Assign	button	at	the	bottom	right corner. You	can	select	

yourself	or	a	group	that	you	are	part	of	to	reassign	the	Document	to	yourself.	 Alternately,	you	

may	select	the Documents	and	use	the	Assign	to	Me button	to	assign	them	to	you.	 If	you	fail	to	

select	a Document(s)	the	Assign and	Assign	To	Me buttons	will	prompt	you	to	do	so.	 If	you	fail	

to	select	a	user	or	group,	the	Assign button	will prompt	you	to	do	so.

The	re-assignment	of	one	or	more	Documents	will	trigger	a	refresh	of	the	module.	 The	

Document	List	and	Document	Center Summary	will	reflect	all	changes	from	the	current	user	

and	all	other	users	in the	system.	 For example,	if	two	Assigned	Docket	Managers	are	doing	reassignments	at	the	same	time,	the	Document	Summary	will	reflect	the	actions	of	both.

Figure	5 - Work	Queue	Reassignment	of	Documents

Open	Large	Dockets	Successfully

Some	users	reported	performance	related	issues when	attempting to	open	large	Dockets.		Any	

Docket	with	20,000	or	more	Documents now opens in	a	tree	format	similar	to	the	traditional	

Docket	Tree; however,	each	folder	will	be	minimized.		Upon	expanding	a	folder,	the	contents	

will	be	displayed	in	increments	of	250	Documents.		Users	will	have	previous	and	next	arrows	to	

move	between	Document	sets	and	can	also	view	the	Documents	in	the	Folder	Contents	view	in	

the	right	panel.		Users	will	be	able	to	access	the	Batch	Options	via	the	Large	Docket	Tree	as	they	

do	in	the	traditional	Docket	Tree.
FDMS	Release	Notes

Release	4.5 6 December	16,	2013

Figure	6 - Large	Docket	Tree	(with	Next	Arrow)

Figure	7 – Large	Docket	Tree	(Folder	Contents	View)

Delete	Functionality

Users	have	the	ability	to	delete	Documents	from	the	Actions drop	down on	the	Document	

Details	page.		Users	can	delete	any	non-posted	Document	from	within	the	Docket.		The	user	will	

receive	a	confirmation	message	prior	to	deletion.		All	deletions	are	final	and	cannot	be	undone.
FDMS	Release	Notes

Release	4.5 7 December	16,	2013

Figure	8 – Delete	Action	Drop	Down Item

Figure	9 – Delete	Confirmation

Upload	Audio/Video/Macro-Enabled	File	Types

Users now	have	the	ability	to	upload	the	following	Document	file	types:

• The	audio	files	accepted	include:	AVI,	MP3,	AIFF,	WAV		

• The	video	files	accepted	include:	MPEG-2,	Mov,	MP4		

• Excel macro-enabled files accepted: XLSM

Select Records	Schedule	during	Docket	Creation

Users	with	the	appropriate	permissions	within	a	Records	agency	can	designate	the	appropriate	

Records	Schedule	during	Docket	creation.		After	creation,	changing	that	schedule	must	be	done	

in	the	FDMS	3	environment.
FDMS	Release	Notes

Release	4.5 8 December	16,	2013

Figure	10 – Select	Records	Schedule	during	Docket	Creation

Document	Permissions	Tab

The	Permissions	tab	was	added	on	the	Document	level.		The	Permissions	tab	will	function	the	same	as	it	

does	in	FDMS	3.6.		

Figure	11 – Document	Permissions	Tab

Change	the	Similarity	Threshold	to	Run	a	Deduplication

Users	now	have the	ability	to	specify	at	what	similarity	threshold	to	run	the	Deduplication	prior	to	

submitting.		In	addition,	users	can	now	view	the	similarity	threshold	that	the	Deduplication	was	last	run	

beneath	the	Deduplication	Tree.		Users	have	the	ability	to	Rerun	a	Deduplication	from	Scratch	at	a	new	

similarity	threshold.		The	similarity	threshold	is	displayed	as	a	percentage	with	the	default	being	70%.
FDMS	Release	Notes

Release	4.5 9 December	16,	2013

Figure	12 – Set	Threshold	for	Deduplication

Figure	13 – View	Threshold	for	last	Deduplication	Run

Document	Re-Assignment

Users	now	have	the	ability	to	Re-Assign	a	Document	from	the	Actions	drop	down.		For	a	Non-Standard	

Document,	re-assigning	through	the	Actions	drop	down	will	change	all	Document	Assignments.		For	a	

standard	Document,	re-assigning	through	the	Actions	drop	down	will	only	change	the	Current	Assignee.
FDMS	Release	Notes

Release	4.5 10 December	16,	2013

Figure	14 – Document	Re-Assignment

Rename	Pivot	Folders	in	Deduplication	Tree

Users	can	rename	the	Pivot	Folders	in	the	Deduplication	Tree	in	order	to	identify	the	group of	similar	

comments.		For	example,	users	can	rename	a	Pivot	Folder	“Mass	Mail	1”	to	show	that	all	comments	

within	the	folder	belong	to	the	Mass	Mail	1	campaign.

Figure	15 – Rename	Pivot	Folder	in	Deduplication	Tree

Additional	Enhancements

Accessibility

• Adjusted	the	low	contrast	links	on	the	Login	Page.
FDMS	Release	Notes

Release	4.5 11 December	16,	2013

Add/Replace	Files	and	Renditions

• Changed	the	technology	used	to	transfer	the	files	for	Document	Add/Replace	file,	Document	

Add	Rendition,	Attachment	Replace	File, and	Attachment	Add	Rendition	actions.	 Removed	the	

file	size	limitation.

Advanced	Search

• Docket	Phase	2/Subtype	now	updates	agency	is	selected

• Document	Status	drop	down options	now	update	when	agency	is	selected

• Constrained	width	of	Search	ID	selection.

Agency	Configuration

• House	and	Senate	options	added	to	the	Agency	Type	drop	down on	the	comment	form	page.

Application	Wide

• Added	ability	to	Increase	and	Decrease	font	size	using	the	Ctrl	+	and	Ctrl	– keyboard	controls.

Attachments

• Changed the	technology	of	the	Import	on	the	Attachment	tab

• Removed the	file	size	limitation

Deduplication

• Added a	link	to	the	Document	ID	on	the	Deduplication	Tree

• Added counts	for	the	Status	folders	on	the	Deduplication	Tree

• Changed the	algorithm	for	the	search	on	the	Deduplication	Tree.

Document	Details

• The	Title	box	now	shows	three	lines	of	text	so	users	can	view	more	of	the	title	without	clicking	

on	Title	box and	scrolling	through	the	title.

Footer

• Added	a link	to	the	Resource	Center

• Added	a link	to	the	Training section	of	the	Resource	Center

• Added	the	USA.gov	and	E-Gov.gov	links	

• Removed	the	FAQ	link.

FR	Feed

• Removed	the ability	to	withdraw	FR	Feed	Documents

• Removed the	ability	to	restrict	FR	Feed	Documents.
FDMS	Release	Notes

Release	4.5 12 December	16,	2013

Google	Analytics

• Analytics	added	for	FR	Feed	Usage

• Analytics	added	for	Go	Back	to	FDMS	3 Button

• Analytics	added	for	Refresh Button.

Homepage

• Added	a link	to	return	users	to	the	FDMS	3	environment

• Improved queries

• Home	Tab

o Updated text

o Added	a	link	to	the	FDMS	Help	Desk	web	form

• New	Features	Tab

o Updated text

o Added FDMS	4	Release	Notes	in	a	drop	down

o Updated Known	Issues

• Training	Tab

o Added updated	QRGs,	made the	list	a	drop	down and	named	items consistently

o Added FDMS	User	Guides, made the	list	a	drop	down and	named	items consistently

o Added	the new	FDMS	4	Overview	video	and	named	items	consistently.

Login

• Defaulted users	to	FDMS	4	when	accessing	www.fdms.gov

• Added an	Outage	Message	Box

• Replaced the	Beta	logo	with	the	FDMS	3	logo	throughout	application

• Changed	the	tab	header	to	read	FDMS	4.

Menu	Item	Filters

• Changed the	Document	Type	from	a	drop	down to	a	check box

• Changed the	Document	Status	from	a	check box	to	a	drop	down.

Unified	Agenda	Tab

• Added a	note	to	the	Unified	Agenda	tab	that	explains	any	changes made	to	the	information	on	

that	page	by	a	user will	only	show for	the	most	recent	publication.

Defects	Addressed

Add	Docket

• Updated	the	label	from	Create	New	Docket to	Add	Docket so	that	it	is	consistent	with	the	Add	

Docket link.
FDMS	Release	Notes

Release	4.5 13 December	16,	2013

Advanced	Search

• Subtype	Level	2	value	selected	by	the	user	did	not	clear	after selecting	a	different	Docket	Type	

or	All	Types.		The	Subtype	Level	2	value	is	now	empty	after selecting	other	options.

Batch	Processing

• Entering	a	long	title	during	Batch	Processing	was	resulting	in	an	error.		The	issue	is	now	

corrected	and	users	can	enter	up	to 400	characters	in	the	Title without	receiving	an	error.

Bulk	Import/Add	Document

• General	Comment	Box,	which	is	a	required	field, was	blank	after	a	Bulk	Import.		A	Bulk	Import	

now populates “See	Attached”	by	default	in	the	General	Comment	Box	upon	creation.

• Error	message	did	not	list	the	line	item	affected	when	a	user	attempted	to	add a	duplicate Title

for	multiple	Documents.	The	error	message	now displays the	line	number	of	the	item	with	the	

duplicate	title.

Deduplication	

• Status	was	not	showing	in	the	Deduplication	Tree	previously.	 Status	now	shows	on	the	

Deduplication	Tree.

• Clicking	the	Status	folder was	not	interacting	properly with	the	Batch	Options	screen.		This	issue	

was	resolved.

• Clicking	the	back	arrow	from	the	Deduplication	Tree	was	not	bringing	users	back	to	the	

appropriate	screen.		Enhanced	deduplication	back	arrow so	clicking	it	returns	the	user	to	the	last	

searched Docket	or	Document.

Docket	Tree

• Status	folders	were	not	created	appropriately	within	the	Supporting	and	Related	Materials	

folder.		The	issue	was	corrected	and	Documents	are	now	showing	in	the	correct	Status	folders.

Document	Details

• The	Current	Assignee	and	Status	set	by	fields	were	showing	the	user’s	internal	name	rather	than

the	display	name.		This	was	corrected	and	the	user’s	display	name	is	now	showing.

Flagging

• Flagged	Documents	were	not	showing	as	flagged	in	the	Search	Results.		The	issue	has	been	

corrected	and	flagged	Documents	are	now	showing	appropriately	on	the	Search	Results.
FDMS	Release	Notes

Release	4.5 14 December	16,	2013

• The	Flagged	Document	count	included	all	Flagged	Documents	for	the	agency,	not	just	

Documents	in	which	the	user	had	permissions.		The	count	was	corrected	and	only	reflects those	

in	which	the	user	has	permissions.

User	Messaging

• The	Timeout	Message was	technical	in	nature	and	difficult	for	users	to	understand.		The	timeout	

message is	now	more	user	friendly	and	less	technical.

Known	Issues	in	this	Release

Add	Document	Screen

• Document	number	is	cutting	off	on	Add	Document	screen	when	more	than	100	Documents are	

added	at	once.

Figure	16 - Document	Number	Cutting	Off

Document	Deletion

• If	a	user	deletes	the	last	Document	from	the	Docket	Tree,	the	phase	sequence	continues	to	

show	as	open.		The	icon	next	to	the	phase-sequence	needs	to	be	reset.

Figure	17 - Document	Deletion	Folder	Arrow
FDMS	Release	Notes

Release	4.5 15 December	16,	2013

My	Favorites

• If	a	user	adds	a	Docket/Document	to	My	Favorites,	the	Docket/Document	will	be	removed	from	

the	My	Favorites	list	designated	by	another	user.

Supported	File	Types	during	Document	Creation

• Users	with	some	versions	of	Mozilla	Firefox cannot	see	all	supported	files	during	Document	

creation.		The	correct	list	is	showing	in	Internet	Explorer	and	most	versions	of	Mozilla	Firefox.

Figure	18 - Not	All	Supported	File	Types	Showing