1.9.2. Composing and sealing an envelope

There are just two ways to send a document on the CargoX Platform. You can select it from your computer (upload), or you can forward a document you have received from someone else and which is currently in your Inbox.

Either action creates a new envelope draft. You can pause your work on a draft envelope at any time and resume it later. You can find drafts in your Draft folder.

Step 1: Create a new envelope

Click the green Compose button to create a new envelope:

A new envelope window will appear:

Step 2: Select the recipient

As soon as you click in the Recipient field, a drop-down menu will allow you to choose a company from your Contacts. You can also start typing the name to find it in your list automatically.

Remember, you can only exchange documents with the companies you are connected with on the CargoX Platform. If you want to send an envelope to a new company, you need to connect with them first.

Step 3: Attach documents

Each envelope must contain at least one document, as you can not send empty envelopes.

You can either upload a document from your computer, or select the one you already uploaded into your CargoX Platform account. You can also mix both methods.

- Uploading local documents

Use the gray Upload new button to upload documents from your computer. To add documents from your computer select one or multiple documents in the file browser and confirm upload. You can also drag and drop documents from your file explorer or finder app to the draft envelope in your browser. You can upload several documents at once.

- Adding them from your inbox

Use the gray Choose from inbox button to attach documents from the Inbox folder. Inbox contains all documents that are in your possession.

In the Choose document pop-up select the documents you want to attach and click the green Add to draft button.

- You can also remove documents from the draft

To remove the documents, just click the gray Remove button next to them, and confirm removal in the dialog. This will not really delete the document from your CargoX Platform account, but it will remove it from this new draft envelope you work on.

Step 4: Add additional information in properties

For each uploaded document you have to provide mandatory document type information.

Click the Properties button for a specific document and select its Document type.

Use the drop-down menu to scroll through all available document types, or start typing to filter down the possibilities.

Some document types such as bills of lading or certificates have more mandatory fields that you need to fill. These fields are clearly marked with the red This field is required! label.

Note

In the screenshot example below, the user selects the House bill of lading and needs to provide two mandatory values - the B/L document number (user copies the B/L number from the uploaded document), and the Release agent (user chooses release agent from a list of connected companies).

Below you can also add optional information like the notify party. The provided email addresses will be notified of every ownership or state change for this document.

Note

Documents added from the Inbox already have properties these set, as their uploaded did it.

Step 5: Add tags

By clicking on the Tags tab you can provide additional meta-information about each document. Depending on the document type there might already be several predefined tags available. You can always add your custom tags by just clicking in the field and start writing.

Tags are displayed on the Inbox screen. They provide useful information about the documents in the envelope without the need to open each envelope and document.

Tags can be used for filtering, searching, and sorting. Users can further customize their inbox look and receive notifications based on rules and filters that are based on tags.

Step 6: Verify the document information in the right sidebar

In the colored sidebar on the right you can see the live preview of the document and its main properties such as file name, file type, document type, size. Even more importantly, you can see the price (in credits) and limits of the chosen document type - for example, some B/L types allow only a limited number of exchange of ownership transfers (hops).

Step 7: Save the document changes

Once you are satisfied with the properties of the document, click the green Save button to return to the envelope view.

You can repeat the process of providing properties for other uploaded documents, or upload or add another document.

Step 8: Verify the price to send the envelope

In the bottom right corner of the envelope, you can see the price (in credits) to transfer the envelope. Per CargoX pricing policy you only pay for the transfer if you are issuing (uploading) document to the blockchain. If you are only forwarding a received document, you do not need credits, as this action is always free of charge (the document's blockchain fee has been paid for by the original sender).

Step 9: Add an optional message

Just like with an email, you can add an optional text message to the envelope. The message will only be visible to the recipient. Write it into the provided field. Users tend to use the message field to communicate instructions to the recipient.

Step 10: Seal the envelope

Once you are satisfied with the envelope, click the orange Seal button to prepare it for transfer.

Note

On the CargoX Platform, sealing the envelope creates a digital fingerprint (hash) of all documents, encrypts documents, and finally moves them to the decentralized storage (IPFS). This corresponds to putting the paper documents into the courier's envelope when dealing with physical documents.

When you seal the envelope, it remains in your possession, but this unlocks a new action - the possibility to transfer it.

When an envelope is sealed, you can no longer add or remove documents or make any other changes. If you need, you can unseal the envelope and change the recipient, documents, and their properties, or even the message. After that, you can seal the envelope again. You can also delete the draft envelope if you no longer need it.

Note

The Seal button is only active (orange), if all the attached documents have their mandatory fields filled, and if you have selected the recipient.