Memos
Official memos and circulars: written on a letterhead template, approved by the right officer, then circulated to all staff or to chosen units and people. This installation calls the module Memos & Circulars.
- Where
- Menu › Workspace › Memos & Circulars.
- Who
- Everyone reads the memos addressed to them. Heads of department, HR, registry officers and executives can write memos; heads and executives approve them; executives can circulate approved memos and delete them.
- Permissions
view_memosto read;add_memos(write drafts, shows Write a memo),edit_memos,submit_memos(send for approval),approve_memos(shows Awaiting approval),publish_memos(circulate approved memos),delete_memos. The author of a memo can always edit, submit, circulate and delete their own. See Memos permissions.- How-to
- Write and send a memo · Take a memo through approval
- Views. For me: memos circulated to you, your units or all staff. Written by me: your drafts, memos in approval and the ones you sent. Awaiting approval: memos waiting for your decision (approvers only).
- Search. By subject or reference.
- Write a memo. Opens the composer. Only with permission to write memos.
- A memo. Sender and position, date, subject, the first lines and the reference. High priority and Urgent memos are marked. Select it to read it.
Screens
- Memos & Circulars
- The reading list with its three views. Older memos load with Older / Newer.
- New memo
- The composer: the template box at the top, Write / Preview / Letterhead, Save draft, the memo page itself (To, Through, From, Ref. No., Date, subject and body), and a side panel for Who can see it, Delivery and What happens next.
- A memo
- The memo as it prints, the approval panel while it is being approved, and About this memo (From, Sent to, Status, Reference, Circulated, Shown until, Template). Buttons, as allowed: Submit for approval, Publish, Edit, New version, Print, Archive or Delete.
- Edit memo
- The composer again, for a draft or a rejected memo.
Statuses
The words below are this installation's; the standard wording is in brackets where it differs.
- Draft
- Saved but not sent. Only the author sees it.
- In progress (In review)
- Submitted and moving through its approval chain. It has its reference number. The author and approvers can see it; nobody else yet.
- Approved
- Every approver agreed, and the template says the author circulates it: select Publish. Most templates skip this and circulate straight away.
- Circulated (Published)
- Sent to its audience: they are notified and it appears under For me.
- Rejected
- An approver turned it down. The author can edit it and submit it again.
- Archived
- Taken out of circulation. It is kept and can be opened, and New version starts a fresh draft from it.
A memo with a Stop showing it after date drops out of For me after that date and shows Expired on its page.
Key fields
- Template
- Sets the letterhead, the header fields, the reference format and the approval chain. Plain memo (no letterhead, no approval) has none of these; you choose its approval route on the memo's page before submitting.
- To, Through, From
- The printed head of the memo. From is filled in with your name and position.
- Ref. No.
- Given automatically when the memo is submitted; never typed.
- Subject, body
- What the memo says.
- Who can see it
- Everyone, or Selected units and people (Units, People). If nobody is chosen, only you and the approvers see it.
- Priority
- Low, Normal, High or Urgent. High and urgent memos appear under Needs your attention on the home page until opened.
- Stop showing it after
- Optional end date.
Menu and status words (Memos & Circulars, In progress, Circulated) are set by administrators under Settings › Terminology, so they may differ on your system.
Depends on
- The Memos module being switched on (Settings › Modules). Memo templates depends on it.
- Memo templates and their approval chains, set up by administrators (Memo templates, Approval workflows). Memo approvals appear on My Desk.