Misnomer Department: “File in Newforma”

It’s common to employ a phrase that misstates the way our software works. We at Newforma are as guilty as anyone.

When you use Newforma software to file email  with other documents on your servers, you probably say, “I filed it in Newforma.”

The problem with “filing in Newforma” is that that phrasing suggests Newforma software is a database repository. Not so.

Newforma software does not change the way you store your documents. You file (or misfile) documents on your network, as always.

As for email, it may appear that you’re filing “in Newforma,” but in truth, you’re simply handing the email to Newforma to be filed on your network. It would be more accurate to say you are “filing it through Newforma,” “using Newforma” or “via Newforma.”

Regardless, the Newforma server indexes the contents of your network, just as Google indexes the World Wide Web, so that everything is easy to find.

So now you know the distinction. If you like, file it away for future reference.