The Automated Distributions feature is designed to help agency staff populate assignment suggestions on the Intake page automatically based on the type of project whenever assignment information is not already being passed along by an integrated permitting system. Users can access this feature by navigating to Settings > Configurations > Distributions.

Automated distributions are recommended when EPR is running as a standalone product or when an integrated partner will send plan review assignments automatically through API calls.

Understanding Automated Distributions

The Distributions page has two sections, a smaller “Distribution Settings” at the top and a larger “Configure Automated Distributions” section below. Each of these is designed to help regulate how assignments are created and then managed by EPR, except for clients whose integrated permitting system handles assignments.

Distribution Settings

The Distribution Settings control what EPR does with assignments whenever files are received, which includes defining how EPR will treat resubmitted files that previously had an “Approved” or “Canceled” assignment status. Distribution settings are broken out by purpose, so if a client is using both “For Permitting” and “For Design Review” purposes, they can either configure the same or different settings for each.

Below are the default settings for automated distributions:

Reset Approved Resubmittals

This toggle controls whether previously “Approved” assignments have their status reset back to “Not Started” (or the equivalent value) whenever EPR receives a resubmittal for that file.

• If the toggle is on (toggled to the right), then “Approved” assignments have their status reset to “Not Started.”

  • Reviewers are then expected to review the resubmittal to provide a new status.

• If the toggle is off (toggled to the left), then assignments will keep the “Approved” status when a resubmitted file is received.

  • This assignment is then ignored moving forward, but staff can choose to review new resubmittals if desired.

Automated Distributions

Toggle this setting on (appears green and is toggled to the right) so that distributions trigger for incoming files of the matching Project Type(s) during intake.

PDF Filename Delimiters

If an agency requires applicants to use prefixes in their filenames in order to route document assignments, applicants will need to include the displayed delimiter value between the prefix and the rest of the file name.

• EPR uses underscore ( _ ) as the delimiter value, so filenames that require prefixes should be formatted like “BLDG_RestOfTheFilename.pdf” where “BLDG” is the prefix and “RestOfFilename” is the rest of the filename.

• If more than one underscore is used in the filename, EPR will treat the first one as the delimiter.

• Filename prefixes have to match the formatting configured within EPR in order to be properly recognized for distribution.

Reset Canceled Resubmittals

This toggle controls whether previously “Canceled” assignments have their status reset back to “Not Started” (or the equivalent value) whenever EPR receives a resubmittal for that file.

• If the toggle is on (toggled to the right), then “Canceled” assignments have their status reset to “Not Started.”

  • Reviewers are then expected to review the resubmittal to provide a new status.

• If the toggle is off (toggled to the left), then assignments will keep the “Canceled” status when a resubmitted file is received.

  • This assignment is then ignored moving forward, but staff can choose to review new resubmittals if desired.

Automated Distribution Requirements

If a partner permitting system isn’t already sending assignment information to EPR, agency staff will need to create assignments on the Intake tab for any incoming documents. Staff can either create these by inputting assignment information manually or they can rely on pre-configured automated distributions which will display suggested assignments on the Intake page for staff to simply confirm.

Purpose

Selecting either “For Permitting” or “For Design Review” as the purpose will determine which lists are used for every other dropdown list when creating a distribution.

Project Type

Each distribution can specify one project type. If the distribution is active, it will be triggered every time a project of that type receives files for review.

Review Types

The Review Type can be used in one of two ways:

1. If applicants are required to include specific file name prefixes that identify the type of document being submitted, then the Review Type can be used as an extra filter so that only files with the selected prefix(es) will trigger a distribution suggestion.

   1. Matching Review Type requires the first four letters of the filename (before the delimiter) to match an existing Review Type’s abbreviation as written in EPR.

2. It can also be used as a differentiator when staff have to create multiple assignments for a specific individual within the same Group (or multiple assignments for a Group when no specific reviewer is listed).

   1. For example, a document assigned to the Building department (group) for a structural review and to the Building department (group) for a civil review can each use a different Review Type value when no specific reviewer is going to be assigned.

Groups

Assignments are created per group so that only users belonging to that group can update that assignment’s status. Other users can still markup the assignment if necessary, but they cannot change the status for that specific assignment.

Assignee

Distributions can be created without specifying a user as an assignee and will display “Group” in the Assignee field. If that’s the case, any member of the group can perform the review.

If creating a distribution for a specific user, that user must already be part of the group.

Configure Automated Distributions

To create or update a distribution, go to Settings > Configuration > Distributions in the navigation panel.

1. Click the (add) button on the bottom right of the page to open the “Add/Edit Distribution” form.

   

2. Make sure that the Active toggle on top is turned on (toggled to the right).

3. Select a Purpose.

4. Select the Project Type.

5. For Review Type:

   1. Check Any to ignore filenames altogether and trigger the assignment(s) for any incoming files to be reviewed.

      1. Most agencies will want to choose this as it is the most flexible option.

         

   2. Or check Select All to trigger assignment(s) whenever incoming filenames include one of the displayed prefixes.

      1. This option is stricter because it checks for prefixes in filenames.

   3. Or check only the specific Review Type prefixes (abbreviations) which you want to trigger assignment(s) for based on those prefixes being part of the incoming filename.

      1. This is the strictest option.

6. Select which Group should receive review assignments for the incoming files.

   1. Select specific group(s) or, if all groups should receive assignments, check the option for Select All.

7. For each group, either:

   1. Leave the Assignee field as “Group” (not assigned to a specific reviewer), or

   2. Select an intended reviewer from the dropdown (other group members can still perform the review, if necessary)

8. Verify that your choices are correct because the Purpose, Project Type, and Review Type choices cannot be updated after the record is saved.

9. Click CONFIRM to create the automated distribution.

When distributions are created, they will appear as individual records in the “Configure Automated Distributions” table. Each assignment for each group is listed separately so that it can be edited separately from any others that were created at the same time. You can toggle the automated distribution records from Active to Inactive status while configuring Automated Distributions to prevent them from being triggered until they are ready for use.

Editing an Existing Distribution Record

To edit an existing distribution from the Distributions page:

1. Click the (edit pencil icon) in the distribution record to open the “Add/Edit Distribution” pop-up.

2. You will only be able to edit Group and/or Assignee information.

3. Check or uncheck additional groups as needed.

   1. Removing a group from the distribution record will prompt a message box asking you to confirm this choice by clicking DELETE.

4. If you need to change an assignee, click in the field and choose a new user from the dropdown. (The new assignee must still be part of the same group.)

5. If the distribution is no longer needed, click the Active toggle to turn it off (toggle on the left).

6. Click CONFIRM to complete.