Paths determine the location of a document or a record during a phase. Paths, together with the options you set for them, determine where a document or a record falls when under a policy.
Each path has its own set of options, called "Details." Details can include an event rule, the retention period duration, and the disposition action that occurs at the end of that period.
The number of paths you define depends on the document or record type you assign to the policy. Document or record types are often associated with multiple custom properties and drawers. Instead of creating a separate policy for each custom property or drawer for that document or record type, you can create multiple paths. For example, consider the document type, "Administration documents." The Administration department assigns memos, meeting minutes, and contracts to this document type and the retention period for each of these documents varies. To address this scenario, you can create an advanced policy that contains a single phase and three paths, one for each type of administration document. You can then set the retention period and disposition action for each of these paths.
When there are multiple paths, Retention Policy Designer evaluates the paths in the order they display to determine where to place a document or a record. A document or a record can follow only a single path within a phase.