infoRouter EDMS Best Practices Guide

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“How can I use infoRouter in the most efficient way?” is a question we hear often. This guide summarizes proven best practices that improve usability, performance, and long-term manageability. While each environment may require minor adjustments, the recommendations below reflect patterns that work well at scale.

Document Size

Document management systems are designed for collaboration, version control, and controlled access—not for storing large binary files.

Recommendation: Store documents typically under 30 MB. Avoid storing DVDs, ISO images, legacy or file-based database files, and other large binaries.

Why this matters: Large files are inefficient to transfer over HTTP, slow down access for users, and typically do not benefit from version control or collaboration features. These types of files consume resources without adding value and are better suited for file systems or specialized storage.

Metadata and Search

The primary strength of a document management system is fast and accurate retrieval.

Recommendation: Use metadata consistently and leverage infoRouter’s Custom Properties.

Why this matters: Proper metadata dramatically reduces search time and helps users find the correct document with confidence.

For more information visit custom properties

Document Expiration

Recommendation: Use document expiration to identify and remove outdated content.

Why this matters: Obsolete documents increase operational risk over time.

  • Prevents decisions based on outdated information
  • Improves backup performance
  • Makes current documents easier to identify

Document Naming

Descriptive file names often create confusion rather than clarity when they attempt to encode versioning or status.

Avoid: Dates, version numbers, or terms such as “final”, “latest”, or repeated revisions in file names.

Examples of poor naming practices:

  • Widgets-Summary-Jan2016.docx
  • Widgets-Summary-Jan2016-final.docx
  • Widgets-Summary-Jan2016-final-final.docx
  • Widgets-Summary-latest.docx

These names create uncertainty about which document should be trusted and slow down decision-making.

Best Practice: Use stable, meaningful names that describe the content, and rely on version control to manage revisions.

Examples of good naming practices:

  • Widgets-Sales-Summary.docx
  • Quarterly-Widget-Performance.docx
  • Widget-Pricing-Overview.docx

Why this matters: Version labels in file names quickly become unreliable. infoRouter ensures that opening a document always displays the intended version—typically the latest or an approved version—eliminating the need for manual version indicators.

More information is available here: infoRouter Version Control

Folder Naming

Best Practice: Use short, logical names arranged hierarchically.

Why this matters: Long folder names combined with deep structures increase complexity and export issues.

Example

Sales
 ├── 2025
 │   ├── Q1
 │   │   ├── Widgets
 │   │   └── Gadgets
 │   ├── Q2
 │   ├── Q3
 │   └── Q4
 └── 2026
     ├── Q1
     ├── Q2
     ├── Q3
     └── Q4

Folder Depth

Recommendation: Limit folder depth to 5–6 levels.

Why this matters: Deep folder structures increase the risk of long path issues and make navigation harder.

Number of Documents in Folders

Guideline: 200–500 documents is the upper practical limit per folder.

Why this matters: Large folders reduce usability, increase user errors, and slow navigation.

Configuration Management

Recommendation: Use Smart Folder rules to preserve structure.

Why this matters: Rules prevent accidental structural changes while still allowing broad document access.

Folder management and folder rules

Document Libraries

Guideline: Typically 5–50 libraries, structured by security, ownership, or function.

Why this matters: Libraries should not be treated as unlimited catch-all repositories. While infoRouter does not enforce hard limits, placing hundreds of thousands of documents into a single library can adversely affect search performance.

infoRouter uses document libraries as a primary filtering mechanism during search and retrieval. When documents are logically distributed across multiple libraries, the search scope is reduced, improving responsiveness and efficiency.

As a general guideline, keeping both library and folder sizes reasonable improves usability, reduces user errors, and supports better search performance and long-term governance. Within each library, folders should also be kept manageable, with 200–500 documents as the upper practical limit per folder.

Using Anonymous Libraries

Caution: Use only for content intended to be widely accessible.

Why this matters: Information considered “public” internally may not be appropriate for external users.

Security

Best Practices: Use groups instead of individuals and avoid broad “Full Control” assignments.

Why this matters: Group-based security is easier to manage, audit, and scale.

Roles

Why this matters: Delegating responsibilities improves accountability and reduces operational risk.

  • Library Managers
  • Search & Category Administrators
  • Portal Administrators
  • User Managers
  • Audit Managers
  • Policy Managers

Quick Summary

  • Keep documents under 30 MB
  • Use metadata and Custom Properties
  • Limit folders to 200–500 documents
  • Keep folder depth to 5–6 levels
  • Use multiple libraries instead of one catch-all

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