Document management and knowledge management: two jobs that complement each other
A document management system (DMS) does indispensable work: it keeps versions, records who changed what, enforces access rights, archives what must be archived, and lets you prove on audit day that the procedure in force was indeed that one. Many organisations even launched their knowledge capture programme by asking experts to upload their documents to the DMS.
The outcome is familiar: thousands of neatly filed documents, and the same worry every time someone leaves. The DMS holds explicit knowledge — what was written — and can say nothing about the rest: who can actually apply that work instruction, at what level, how many people still know how, and which critical knowledge is written down nowhere. Tacit knowledge, the kind that gets a plant back up on the first try, has no folder.
Knowledge management as KnowledgeCapital practises it starts from the other end: it maps knowledge, measures each person's mastery, and computes the criticality of each piece of knowledge. The DMS connector bridges the two: each document in your DMS can be linked to the knowledge it describes, without leaving the DMS.
Two protocols almost every DMS speaks
Each DMS has its own API, but most expose at least one of two open standards. The connector speaks both, and recognises which one from the address you paste.
- CMIS 1.1 (Content Management Interoperability Services), the OASIS standard for document repository interoperability, through its browser binding (JSON). Alfresco, Nuxeo and other CMIS repositories expose it.
- WebDAV (RFC 4918), which publishes a remote folder over HTTP. Nextcloud offers it natively, as do many file servers and several DMS products.
| Your system | Protocol | Address to paste |
|---|---|---|
| Alfresco | CMIS | https://dms.example.com/alfresco/api/-default-/public/cmis/versions/1.1/browser |
| Nuxeo | CMIS | https://dms.example.com/nuxeo/json/cmis |
| Other CMIS repository | CMIS | the CMIS browser-binding root given by your administrator |
| Nextcloud | WebDAV | https://cloud.example.com/remote.php/dav/files/your-account |
| File server or DMS with WebDAV | WebDAV | https://dms.example.com/webdav |
What the connector reads
- The folders you name, one per line: in CMIS, the path from the repository root (for instance /Sites/quality/documentLibrary); in WebDAV, the path under the base address (/Procedures) or a full address.
- Their subfolders, down to six levels.
- The text of the files: Word (.docx), PDF, PowerPoint (.pptx), Excel (.xlsx), plain text, Markdown, HTML and CSV, up to 12 MB per file.
The first run reads up to 300 files; the following runs resume where the previous one stopped, then only read again what has changed. Change is detected from the version: the version identifier in CMIS, the ETag or modification date in WebDAV. A repository of ten thousand documents is therefore read over several runs, and never re-read in full for nothing.
What it never does
No writing. The driver sends no CMIS create or update command, and no WebDAV PUT or DELETE. You can — and should — give it a read-only account limited to the folders that matter. The password or token is encrypted in the server's vault and never shown again.
Confinement is untouched. With the edition installed on your servers, a DMS on your private network is reached as it is, without opening any route to the internet. An online DMS is allowed by name, host by host, when you save the connector, and removed with it; every call is written to the outbound log.
Connecting it, step by step
Allow about ten minutes. You need a DMS account that can read the folders to connect, and nothing else: there is no plug-in to install on the DMS side.
- Pick the system: Administration › Sources › Connect a system › DMS (CMIS / WebDAV).
- Paste the address. The green line says "DMS through CMIS (browser binding)" or "DMS through WebDAV". If it says "to be confirmed", the address carries no known marker: the check will decide.
- Give access: username and password, or an app token. For Nextcloud, create an app password (Settings › Security › Devices & sessions) rather than handing over your own password.
- Name the folders, one per line.
- Check, save, sync. The check answers something like "Connected to the repository: 2 readable folder(s)" before anything is saved.
When the check says no
| Message | What it means |
|---|---|
| This address does not answer like a CMIS root | It is the address of a folder or of the web interface, not of the browser binding: ask your administrator for it (it contains /cmis/ and often ends in /browser). |
| This address does not answer like a WebDAV folder | WebDAV is not enabled on this server, or the address leads to the web interface. |
| Access denied (401 / 403) | Username or password rejected, or a folder this account cannot read. |
From the DMS to the knowledge map
Every document read is compared with your knowledge catalogue. When the full name of a piece of knowledge appears in the document — in its title the suggestion is strong — the system suggests a link; the knowledge manager confirms or rejects, and nothing is linked automatically. The name must be written as it is in the catalogue: that rule explains almost every empty column, long before any fault.
Once links are confirmed, three things change:
- each knowledge sheet lists its reference documents, with a link to the DMS;
- search and the assistant find DMS documents alongside validated sheets;
- red-zone knowledge with no document at all shows up plainly: it is the knowledge capture work list, ordered by risk rather than by arrival.
Capturing knowledge is therefore no longer "uploading to the DMS". It means linking a document to a piece of knowledge, knowing how many people truly master it, and organising the handover when that number falls to one. The guide on key-person risk covers that last point.
The DMS keeps its role
The DMS remains the reference for what must be kept and proven: official versions, contractual documents, regulatory archives. Validated lessons learned from your committees, on the other hand, live in KnowledgeCapital, linked to the tasks and knowledge they concern. The two do not compete: one keeps the proof, the other measures the exposure.
If your DMS sits on a network with no way out, the sovereign edition installs next to it, with local AI. Other systems connect on the same screen: SharePoint, Notion, your intranet. Connectors are included from the Professional plan upwards.
Alfresco and Nuxeo are trademarks of Hyland Software, Inc.; Nextcloud is a trademark of Nextcloud GmbH. KnowledgeCapital is neither affiliated with nor endorsed by these companies.