KMS - Editing Policy-General Notes

KMS Agency Manuals

Agency Administrators, Agency Authors & Manual Authors are the people who can edit policy (as you remember from the permissions above). The individuals with the higher permissions see both the Issued and Draft versions of the manual while the lower permissions only see the Issued Manual. This is the focal point for all agencies with lots of capability but there are also a lot of idiosyncrasies to the program. Learning and understanding the functions will greatly improve your experience with writing /editing policy. Let’s dive into the editing process.

General notes about editing policy.

• When an agency joins Lexipol they receive a “Draft” Manual. This manual is where all updates and revisions occur. Once the manual is ready to release and the policies are set to approved, releasing the policy creates an “Issued” Version of the manual. Each time policy is released it will create a NEW “Issued” manual and the previous version is archived. Access the archived manuals by utilizing the grey button next to the PDF button on the Issued Manual line.

• When policy is released to the “Issued” manual, all users receive an email which is a “Notification of Policy to Acknowledge”. When users login they will see that there is Policy to Acknowledge on their dashboard.

• When the policy is put into edit status, for any reason, it will reflect a "locked" icon and the word “Locked” appears in the Table of Contents until editing is complete and you select “I am finished editing/updating”.

• In the Table of Contents, the policy will reflect the status of “Draft”, “Approved” or “In-Approval” based on what status was indicated within the policy while editing or “Locked” if the admin exits the policy incorrectly without choosing “I am finished editing/updating”.

• Policy cannot be moved or removed or renumbered if in a locked status. Additionally, no other policy, within the chapter, can be moved or removed.

• The Chief’s Preface and associated sections (i.e. Mission Statement, Code of Ethics, etc.) update each time Policy is released. Therefore, if any unaccepted edits exist within those sections, policy releases will be rejected with a message that displays, “Chief’s Preface (or other section) contains track changes”. Once the changes are accepted then policy can be released.

• Policy edits and/or new text entry appears Blue and Underlined or Red and Struck Through (if removed/deleted) and remains that way until “Accept All” is chosen and then all edited content is removed and/or reflects now in Black and White.

• Red Exclamation Point – in the TOC denotes a policy that has never been issued and should reflect a “Draft” status. This remains until the policy is placed in approved status and released to the issued manual or they are hidden from the TOC (see Excluding Policy).