Orphaned Documents/Data occur when changes are made to a project's Requested Information during the Open Stage. This can cause an uploaded file on a Vendor submission to no longer "match" the Requested Information slot it was originally uploaded to.
Depending on the type of project you're running, it's important to be aware that your changes can affect any Work-in-Progress Vendor submissions.
Orphaned Documents/Data can only occur if you're running a Multi-Decision or Alternate Option project.
Orphan Documents/Data are not included as a part of a vendor's submission.
Multi-Category Decision
When running a project that has Multi-Category Decisions, it is recommended that you do not change the Categories/Category Items for an item of Requested Information once the project has opened. Doing so can create Orphaned Documents/Data.
Alternate Options
When running a project that accepts Alternate Options, it is recommended that you do not change an item of Requested Information from Unique Per Alternate to common once the project has opened (as it can create Orphaned Documents/Data).
NOTE: The above two scenarios are only applicable if there are Work-In-Progress submissions. If no vendors have begun uploading, then changes to the Requested Information won't cause Orphans (since no files have been uploaded yet).
NOTE: Changes that simply add a new item of Requested Information (Document, Data, or Questionnaire) or changes to the file type/requirement won't cause Orphaned Documents/Data.
Vendor's Perspective
When encountering Orphaned Documents, please download or delete and re-upload the content where appropriate. Below is what Vendors would see if a document that they had previously uploaded has become orphaned:
Comments (0 comments)