Auto-archiving and retention: the document lifecycle in Mstnd

«Auto-archiving» in Mstnd is a feature that lets the system manage the lifecycle of your documents and folders on its own, following a retention policy that your organization sets. You set a default policy for the whole organization with three consecutive stages: archiving, then moving to the trash, then permanent destruction, with advance alerts for owners and supervisors. You can also add specific rules for particular folders, place legal holds that exclude items from every stage, and require a supervisor's approval before any deletion.

Quick overview

Watch the video

In about a minute and a half, the video shows the four tabs in order and applies a practical example: a rule for the marketing campaigns folder that archives its documents automatically after 730 days, that is, two years.

Why this feature?

Every organization builds up documents whose daily use has ended, but that it must keep for a certain period and then dispose of in a controlled way. When this cycle is managed by hand, three problems appear: the active workspace gets crowded with old files, documents that have passed their retention period stay without a decision, and sometimes something is deleted that should have been kept because it was needed in a dispute or a review.

Auto-archiving turns the retention schedule from a document on paper into rules that the system carries out. You set the stages and periods once, and the system counts the days, alerts people before each stage, waits for approval before deletion and excludes anything under a legal hold.

Value for the organization: disciplined compliance with retention policies, a clean workspace and protection for documents that are legally required. Value for the individual: employees do not need to remember to archive their old files, and they receive an alert before any stage that affects their documents.

Where to find it

1. From the side menu, open «Settings».
2. Choose «Auto-archiving».
3. The «Auto-archiving settings for documents and folders» page opens with the description «Turn on automatic retention so the system keeps your documents and folders organized throughout their lifecycle».
4. Move between the tabs: «Default policy», «Folder rules», «Legal holds» and «Pending approval».

Direct link: https://app.mstnd.sa/settings/auto-archive

Concepts and terms

Step by step

Step 1: Open the «Auto-archiving» page

From this page you let the system manage the lifecycle of your documents and folders on its own. At the top are four tabs that represent four parts of the policy: the general rule, the exceptions for each folder, the legal protections and the pending requests. Always start with the default policy, because it is the foundation the other parts are built on.

Step 2: Set the date the days are counted from

In the «Default policy» tab you find its description: «The rule applied at the organization level wherever no folder rule is set». Its first setting is «Count days from», the date from which the system counts the number of days for each stage, such as «Last modified date».

Choosing this date is an important decision. Counting from the last modified date means that a document that is still being edited will not enter the archive, because the counter starts again with every edit. This fits the logic of "archive what nobody is working on anymore".

Step 3: Turn on the lifecycle stages and set their days

Under «Lifecycle stages», the interface explains: «Turn on the stages you want. Each stage runs after the one before it. Turn off any stage you do not need». The three stages are:

1. «Auto-archiving»: moves items to the archive to keep your active workspace organized.
2. «Move to trash»: moves archived items to the trash, where they can still be restored.
3. «Permanent destruction»: permanently destroys items according to your retention schedule.

Each stage has an on switch, and when you turn a stage on, you set after how many days it runs. You can turn on archiving alone, archiving and trash, or all three stages.

Step 4: Add «Advance alerts»

The «Advance alerts» section makes the system alert owners and supervisors the number of days you set before each stage runs, to give them time to act. The periods appear as tags, any of which you can delete, and you add a new period by typing the number of days in the field and then clicking «Add».

Multiple alerts give document owners more than one chance. An early alert lets them review calmly, and a later one reminds anyone who missed the first.

Step 5: Set «Applies to» and turn on «Require approval before deletion»

The last part of the default policy has three settings:

• «Applies to»: sets what the policy covers, such as «Documents only».
• «Require approval before deletion»: the deletion stages wait for a supervisor's approval before the system runs them, so nothing is deleted without that approval.
• «Apply to subfolders»: subfolders that have no rule of their own will follow this rule.

When you are done, click «Save default policy».

Step 6: Go to «Folder rules»

Not all documents have the same retention period. Employee contracts differ from marketing campaign materials, and invoices differ from drafts. In «Folder rules» you create a specific rule for a particular folder, and it takes priority over the default policy. This way the general policy stays simple, and you handle the exceptions with clear rules.

Step 7: Click «Add rule» and choose the folder

Click «Add rule», then choose the folder it applies to. In the example shown, the marketing campaigns folder is chosen, because campaign materials lose their operational value after a while, but it is advisable to keep them for some time for reference.

Step 8: Name the rule and set the stages and periods

Write a clear name for the rule that describes its purpose, then set the date the days are counted from, and turn on the stages you need with the period for each one. In the example, «Auto-archiving» is turned on after 730 days, that is, two years, while «Move to trash» and «Permanent destruction» stay off. Then click «Save».

Step 9: Make sure the rule is saved

After saving, the rule appears in the «Folder rules» list. From now on, the documents in the campaigns folder are archived automatically after two years, regardless of the default policy settings.

Step 10: Use «Legal holds»

The «Legal holds» tab is described as: «Items on hold are preserved and excluded from all retention stages until the hold is released». You click «Place hold» to put any folder or document on hold, and it appears in the list with its type, the hold date and who placed it. When the need ends, you click «Release hold».

The legal hold is the safety valve of the whole policy. If there is a case, a review or an audit that requires certain documents to remain, the hold ensures that archiving and deletion do not touch them, whatever the rules are.

Step 11: Review «Pending approval»

If you turned on «Require approval before deletion», deletion requests collect in the «Pending approval» tab, and the system does not carry them out before you approve them. Review this tab regularly, because pending requests mean the lifecycle is paused for those items until you make a decision.

Options and their effect

Practical scenarios

Scenario: A government entity applies its approved retention schedule

Situation: A government entity has an approved retention schedule and wants it applied to its documents without manual follow-up.

What you do in Mstnd:

1. In «Default policy», choose «Count days from» and turn on archiving with the general period in the schedule.
2. Add «Advance alerts» with staggered periods before each stage.
3. Turn on «Require approval before deletion» and «Apply to subfolders», then save.
4. Create «Folder rules» for the categories that have different periods in the schedule.

Result: The retention schedule becomes rules that the system carries out, with a review before any deletion.

Scenario: A law firm protects the files of an ongoing case

Situation: A law firm has a general archiving policy, but an ongoing case requires the client's folder to stay as it is until the case ends.

What you do in Mstnd:

1. Open «Legal holds».
2. Click «Place hold» and choose the case folder.
3. When the case ends, click «Release hold».

Result: Archiving and deletion do not touch the case documents for as long as the hold lasts, and then the documents return to their normal cycle.

Scenario: A marketing department organizes campaign materials

Situation: The marketing campaigns folder keeps growing with old designs and plans, and the team wants a clean workspace without losing the materials.

What you do in Mstnd:

1. In «Folder rules», click «Add rule» and choose the campaigns folder.
2. Name the rule, and turn on only «Auto-archiving», after 730 days.
3. Save.

Result: Campaign materials that are two years old move to the archive automatically, and they can still be restored from it.

Scenario: A trading company manages its invoices

Situation: A trading company keeps invoices for a set period, and then wants to move them to the trash after a review.

What you do in Mstnd:

1. Create a rule for the invoices folder that turns on archiving and then moving to the trash, with suitable periods.
2. Make sure «Require approval before deletion» is turned on in the policy.
3. Review «Pending approval» periodically and approve the requests after checking them.
4. Place a legal hold on any invoice or folder that is needed for an audit.

Result: A controlled lifecycle for invoices, with protection for whatever the audit needs.

How it relates to other features

• Digital archive: the destination of the archiving stage, and where you restore any archived item to its folder.
• Trash: whatever moves to the trash can still be restored from it until it is permanently deleted.
• Folders: folder rules and holds are built on the folder tree itself, so a well-organized tree makes the policy easier to set up.
• Moving, archiving and renaming: manual archiving of a specific document, which complements auto-archiving when you need an immediate decision.
• Document details: this is where you set the document's expiry date, useful information for understanding where the document stands in its lifecycle.
• Activity: the activity log records the movements in the system, which helps when reviewing what was done to items.
• Important documents: the organization's official documents have their own tracking of expiry and renewal dates, so do not mix them up with the general archiving policy.

Tips and best practices

1. Start by turning on «Auto-archiving» alone, and watch its effect before turning on trash or destruction.
2. Always turn on «Require approval before deletion» in the first phase of the rollout.
3. Add more than one advance alert with staggered periods, so that document owners do not depend on a single alert that they might miss.
4. Keep the default policy conservative, and handle the exceptions with folder rules.
5. Give every rule a name that describes the folder and the period, so anyone who reviews it later understands it.
6. Use legal holds as soon as any case or audit comes up, and do not wait for a deletion stage to approach.
7. Review the «Legal holds» and «Pending approval» tabs regularly, and set a recurring time for it.
8. Coordinate with the legal department before setting any period related to permanent destruction.

Warnings and common mistakes

FAQ

What is auto-archiving in Mstnd?

It is a feature that lets the system manage the lifecycle of documents and folders automatically, following a retention policy that you set, in stages: archiving, then moving to the trash, then permanent destruction.

How do I set how long documents are kept before they are archived?

In the «Default policy» tab, set «Count days from», then turn on the «Auto-archiving» stage, enter the number of days and click «Save default policy».

Can I set a different policy for a particular folder?

Yes. In «Folder rules», click «Add rule», choose the folder and set its stages and periods. This rule takes priority over the default policy.

What is a legal hold in Mstnd?

It is a hold that you place on a folder or document from the «Legal holds» tab, so it is preserved and excluded from all retention stages until the hold is released.

Can I prevent any document from being deleted without a supervisor's approval?

Yes. Turn on «Require approval before deletion»: the deletion stages then wait for a supervisor's approval, and the requests appear in the «Pending approval» tab.

What is the difference between moving to the trash and permanent destruction?

Moving to the trash keeps archived items restorable, while permanent destruction destroys them permanently according to the retention schedule.

Are document owners alerted before their documents are archived?

Yes. The «Advance alerts» section makes the system alert owners and supervisors the number of days you set before each stage, and you can add more than one period.

Can I restore a document that was archived automatically?

Yes. Archived documents appear in the digital archive, and from there you restore them to their folder.

Summary

• Auto-archiving turns the retention schedule into rules that the system carries out.
• The default policy sets the counting date, the three stages, the alerts and the scope of application.
• Folder rules handle the exceptions and take priority over the general policy.
• Legal holds exclude whatever cases and audits need from every stage.
• «Require approval before deletion» and the «Pending approval» tab put the deletion decision in the supervisor's hands.

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