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In Concordance Desktop, a matter is the focal point for associating users with a database.  Matters are used to organize and maintain associations between databases and users on the server.  First you create a matter and associate the database with that matter. Next you create a "user group" and assign all the users who need to access the database, to that user group. Last, you associate that user group with the matter with which you have already associated the database. It is the use of these associations that allows those users to access that database. Management of user access becomes easier, as maintaining access is as simple as adding or removing users in the user group. Each user group can also be associated with multiple matters, allowing the same users access to different databases simply by adding the user group to a matter that is associated with a different database.

Concordance Desktop, has an automated association that allows all users to have access to all databases on a Concordance Desktop server, for those firms in which all users need access to all databases. This automated association method is the default in Concordance Desktop. Here's how this automated association works:

•When a database is created on, migrated to, or registered with the Concordance Desktop server, that database is automatically associated with a special matter named "All User Groups."

•When users are added to the Concordance Desktop server, their user account is automatically added to a special "All Users" user group, which is also automatically associated with the "All User Groups" special matter.

It is this association process that allows ALL users with user accounts setup on a Concordance Desktop server to have access to ALL databases.

The default behavior may be modified by selecting a different user group as the default user group for all members.

Clients have a different use. They are used solely for containing all matters that relate to a single client. For example, if you have multiple matters (cases) that apply to the same client, you may want to organize those matters under a single "client" name to make it easier to find all matters associated with that client.

All these associations are managed from a tree view on the Management tab in the Admin Console. The tree displays a listing of all Clients, Matters, Databases, User Groups and Users. From the tree you can visually verify each of the associations. In addition, the tree view lets you easily manage the databases, users, user groups, matters and clients directly from the folders in the tree.

•Clients - From the Clients folder you can add, remove, and modify clients, and associate multiple matters with a client.

•Matters - From the Matters folder you can add, remove, and modify matters, and associate databases and user groups.

•Databases - From the Databases folder you can register and unregister databases, enable databases for FYI Reviewer, and create shortcut (.FYI) files for Concordance Desktop users.

•User groups - From the User groups folder you can add, modify and delete user groups, and assign users to each user group.

•Users - From the Users folder you can add, modify, and delete users, insert and remove domain users, reset passwords for users, and disable user accounts.

Setting Up Clients, Matters, and Databases Checklist

We recommend that you set up clients and/or matters prior to creating user groups and registering databases in the Admin Console. This way you can easily associate databases and user groups with those clients and/or matter. Reference the following checklist to ensure that you have completed the necessary phases of planning and implementing clients and/or matters, databases, and user groups.