The Documents Partner API by SEPTEO is the interface through which a third-party application can access a law firm's document management system without the firm having to open any inbound ports.
How access works
Requests don't go directly to the firm's document management system — instead, they follow this path:
- The partner application calls the cloud interface over HTTPS and authenticates using an access token.
- The cloud verifies the license and permissions, then forwards the request via a message broker to the Connector running inside the firm's network.
- The Connector carries out the request in the local LEXolution.DMS and sends the result back the same way.
The key point: the Connector establishes outbound connections only (HTTPS and MQTT over WebSocket, both on port 443). Nothing needs to be opened in the firm's firewall for inbound traffic.
Who acts in the document management system
The session in the local document management system runs on behalf of the requesting user. Their identity travels with the request, and the permissions that user has in the firm's document management system govern every individual access. If the document management system denies a request, the interface returns an error — typically 404 NOT_FOUND, because a document a user isn't allowed to see is indistinguishable from one that doesn't exist.
This means the firm retains full control over its permissions: whatever a user can't do in the document management system, they can't do through the interface either.
What the interface can do today
| Area | Function |
|---|---|
| Finding case files and folders | Search by name, file reference, or keyword, or browse page by page without filters |
| Contents | List all documents in a case file or folder |
| Filing trays | List the filing trays of a case file or folder, and retrieve the documents in a specific filing tray |
| Documents | Upload, download, or move a document to a different case file or folder |
| Status | Check the connection status of the firm's Connector |
For details on individual endpoints, see the Endpoint Reference.
Document management terminology
This documentation uses the same terms as the LEXolution.DMS manual. Anyone familiar with the document management system will feel right at home; the English names alongside are the ones used in the interface itself.
| Term | Meaning | In the interface |
|---|---|---|
| Case file | The collection that documents are assigned to. All documents in a case file share its case file data. |
container, containerId
|
| Folder | Like a case file, but without case file references — for example, a knowledge base. | also container
|
| Filing tray | The subdivision within a case file or folder into which documents are sorted. |
filing-tray, trayId
|
| Filing tray structure | The complete filing tray tree for a case file or folder. | the list of filing-tray entries |
| Document | The individual file along with its document metadata. |
document, documentId
|
| File reference | The business identifier of a case file. | fileReference |
Case files and folders are treated the same way by the interface. Both appear as container, are found and read using the same calls, and both can have a filing tray structure. Wherever this documentation says "case file" for brevity, the same applies to folders.
Document contents don't pass through the interface
The actual file bytes never travel through the interface itself. Instead:
- Uploading — the application requests a time-limited upload URL, places the file there, and then simply notifies the interface that the uploaded object should be imported.
- Downloading — the interface responds with a time-limited download URL from which the application retrieves the file.
This keeps calls small and fast, and supports documents of any size. The full process is shown with a complete example in the Quick Start.
Requirements for integration
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| Firm license | The firm needs one of the two license variants — see Licenses and Permissions. What applies in each case is governed by the contract with STP. |
| User accounts with the appropriate role | The partner application acts on behalf of a user account at the firm. Whether these are individual user accounts or a dedicated technical account for the application is a design decision — both models are described in Getting Started |
| Connector installed | The Connector must be installed on a firm server, registered, and connected to the document management system |
Documentation for the document management system itself
These pages describe the interface. The document management system behind it has its own documentation in the STP Help Center:
| Resource | Purpose |
|---|---|
| STP Documents – General | The product itself: case files, folders, filing trays, documents, permissions |
| Server API Overview | The local server interface of the document management system — the same functionality that the Documents Partner API exposes via the cloud |
The Server API Overview is especially useful for integrators: anyone already familiar with the local interface will recognize the concepts and terminology that the Documents Partner API builds on.
Further reading
For firms:
- Getting Started — what's needed to use a partner product
- Licenses and Permissions
- Roles and Groups
For developers:
- Connecting Your Own Application — registration, authentication, first call
- Quick Start — calls using curl and C#
- Error Codes