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Terminology

This glossary defines the key terms used throughout Propper Locker and its documentation. If you are new to Locker, start with the Overview to see how these concepts fit together.

Core Concepts​

Document, Any file stored in Locker. Each document has a name, category, owner, tags, a full version history, and a lifecycle status. Documents are the primary unit of storage and organization in Locker.

Version, A snapshot of a document file at a point in time. Every upload creates a new version. Locker retains all prior versions automatically, the latest is shown by default. See Version Control.

Metadata, Structured information about a document: its name, category, owner, upload date, status, and tags. Metadata powers search filters and makes large libraries navigable without opening files. See Metadata.

Category, The primary document classification. One of eight fixed values: Contract, Invoice, Receipt, Report, Certificate, Policy, Agreement, Other. Every document should have a category. See Organizing Documents.

Tag, A freeform label applied to a document, typically in key: value format (e.g., vendor: acme, region: EMEA, status: pending-renewal). A document can have multiple tags. Tags are not predefined, any team member with locker.write can create new ones. See Organizing Documents.

Obligation, A tracked deadline or requirement tied to a document. Examples include renewal dates, notice periods, compliance review dates, and payment milestones. Obligations appear in the Obligations dashboard and trigger reminder notifications as deadlines approach. See Obligations.

Retention Policy, A rule that governs how long documents are kept and what happens when the retention period expires: archive them or delete them permanently. Policies can be scoped to an organization, product, document template, or individual document. See Retention Policies.

Legal Hold, A freeze applied to a document that suspends all retention-policy actions, no archival, no deletion, until the hold is explicitly removed. Used during litigation, investigations, or regulatory audits. See Legal Hold.

Owner, The team member responsible for a document. Owners are recorded in metadata and assigned as the default assignee for obligations on that document.

Repository, The complete collection of documents stored in your organization's Locker. All team members with Locker access share the same repository, scoped to their permissions.

Document Statuses​

A document moves through a defined lifecycle in Locker. Understanding these statuses helps you know what actions are possible and where a document is in its lifecycle.

Active, The document is live, searchable, and accessible to users with the appropriate permission. This is the default state for all newly uploaded documents. Most documents spend most of their lifecycle in this state.

Archive Pending, The document's retention period has expired and it is queued for archival. Locker processes the transition at the next scheduled run. The document is still accessible during this window.

Archived, The document has been moved to cold storage. It no longer appears in the default document list or search results, but it is not deleted. Archived documents can be retrieved via the API. The file and all version history are preserved.

Deletion Pending, The document is queued for permanent deletion, either because a retention policy with a Delete action has triggered, or because a manual deletion request was made. This state is brief, deletion is processed at the next scheduled run.

Deleted, The document has been permanently removed. The file, all versions, and the search index entry are gone and cannot be recovered. The deletion event is permanently recorded in the Audit Log.

Legal Hold, A hold has been placed on the document. Retention policies are suspended, the document cannot be archived or deleted until the hold is removed. All other access remains unchanged. See Legal Hold.

Obligation Statuses​

Pending, The obligation exists and the due date has not yet passed. On the Obligations dashboard, pending obligations are grouped by how close the deadline is — those approaching soon appear in a "Due Soon" section for quick visibility.

Overdue, The due date has passed and the obligation has not been marked complete. Overdue obligations are highlighted at the top of the Obligations dashboard.

Completed, The obligation has been fulfilled and marked complete by its owner. Completed obligations are retained in history and no further reminders are sent.

Cancelled, The obligation was explicitly cancelled before completion. Cancelled obligations are retained in history for audit purposes.

Permissions​

Locker uses three permissions that control what each user can do. Permissions are assigned via organizational roles, they are not configurable per document.

locker.read, Can view and download documents in Locker. Cannot upload, modify, or delete. Assigned to read-only roles such as viewer and compliance_approver.

locker.write, Can upload new documents, add tags and metadata, and create obligations. Includes everything in locker.read. Assigned to roles such as legal_author and publisher.

locker.admin, Full Locker access: can delete documents, manage retention policies, place and remove legal holds, and administer all Locker settings. Includes everything in locker.write. Assigned to the org_admin role.

See Permissions for the full permission matrix and Roles for how organizational roles map to Locker access.

Plan-Gated Features​

Some Locker sections and capabilities are only available on plans that include them. If a section is missing from your navigation, your plan may not include it, or your organization admin may not have enabled it yet.

Search, Full-text content search and filter-based browsing across your document repository.

Obligations, The Obligations dashboard and deadline tracking. Lets your team create and manage tracked deadlines linked to documents.

AI Search (coming soon), Will let you ask plain-language questions and get cited answers drawn from your document content. Requires Search to be enabled. See AI Search.

AI Chat (coming soon), A conversational interface for querying your document repository. Requires AI Search.

If a section is not visible and you believe your plan should include it, contact your account team.

Retention Terms​

Retention Period, The number of days a document is kept before the retention action triggers. Measured from the document's upload date (or a configurable anchor date in some policy scopes). When the period expires, Locker queues the document for the configured action.

Retention Action, What happens when a document's retention period expires. Either Archive (moves the document to cold storage, preserving it) or Delete (permanently removes the document and all versions).

Policy Scope, The breadth of documents a retention policy covers. From broadest to most specific: Organization (all documents), Product (all Locker documents), Template (documents from a specific Sign template), Document (a single document). When multiple policies apply, the most specific scope wins. See Creating Policies.

Archival, The process of moving a document to cold storage when its retention period expires and the Archive action is set. Archived documents are preserved but removed from active lists and search. See Archival.

Data Subject Request (DSR), A formal request from an individual to exercise their GDPR or CCPA rights, erasure, access, portability, rectification, restriction, or objection. DSRs can override retention policies and trigger early deletion, unless a Legal Hold or statutory obligation applies. See Compliance.

Statutory Obligation, A legal requirement to retain records for a defined period (e.g., financial records under tax law). Statutory obligations can override even a verified GDPR erasure request. Locker records the legal basis when a DSR is blocked by a statutory obligation.