Who Is This For?
Authors / Owners — initiating updates from an Effective or Working copy
Process Managers — coordinating updates within a process area
QA / Document Controllers — overseeing version control and routing
How to Do It?
Step 1: Create a New Draft
There are two ways to create a new draft, depending on whether you’re starting from the released version or continuing from an existing working copy.
Using the Effective Copy
Using the Effective Copy
From the sidebar, open Documents.
In the list view dropdown, select Effective & Retired.
Search for and open the document’s Effective copy.
Open the three-dots menu at the bottom of the Properties card.
Click Create a New Draft.
❗ Note: Creating a new draft does not change the currently Effective version until the update is reviewed, approved, and made effective.
📎 References:
Using the Working Copy
Using the Working Copy
From the sidebar, open Documents.
In the list view dropdown, select Working Copies.
Search for and open the document’s Working copy.
Click Create a New Draft at the bottom of the Properties card.
💡 After the new draft is created, use Check Out to edit the file and the SimplerQMS Add-in to Check In your changes.
Step 2: Continue the standard workflow
After the new draft is created, proceed with your normal steps: draft, review (if needed), approve, and make effective.
Updating documents that require Change Requests
Updating documents that require Change Requests
Some documents are controlled by a Change Request (CR) and cannot be updated directly.
❗CR-controlled updates:
You must create a new Change Request to update the document.
Editing the document becomes available only after the Change Request Plan is approved.
The entire CR workflow must be followed through to release.
📎 Reference: Executing a Change Request
Why CR control?
Why CR control?
CR control ensures impact assessment, planning, and proper approvals are completed before changes are made to controlled documents.
📎 References:
Tips
💡 Use the Effective copy path when in doubt—it guarantees you’re branching from the published version.
💡 Add a clear Version Description when you later approve, explaining what changed and why.
💡 If multiple docs change together, consider a single Change Request to coordinate the updates.