Import and update

The import service, as it is provided by FIS, allows sending great quantities of documents retrieved from external data storages to ImageMaster for the purpose of archiving them. The import service includes the following batch processes:

The data source for processing, which is referred to as “batch directory”, must contain a specific folder structure. Two basic types of input files can be distinguished:

  • files representing the actual content (e.g. an image, spreadsheet or a word processing document)

  • files specifying metadata for the content (XML files denoted as “meta.xml” based on the schema definition from appendix Schema definition for FIS)

Metadata in this context can refer to attributes or to properties in terms of the document model of the Integration Service [SM IS]. Attributes, also denoted as “indexing values”, will be available for searching (e.g. with corresponding search fields in the WorkplaceClient [UM WorkplaceClient]), whereas properties may not directly be visible to an end user in a search form.

Multiple batch directories can be processed in a FIS run. The import service transfers content files with their metadata from one or several batch directories into an ImageMaster repository and generates protocol files with status information about success or failures (see chapter Protocol files).

Prerequisites

Prerequisites mainly concern the setup (Installation, configuration, and prerequisites) and include:

Starting the process

The process can be started from the console by a corresponding command. The following parameters must be supplied at least (also see Command line commands and parameters):

  • value for the parameter “batch_directory”

    This is either a directory name or the name of a file containing a list of directory names.

  • value for the parameter “pid” (a unique process ID)

    This ID is used for controlling the process, e.g. for stopping the process prematurely or for retrieving status information during runtime.

For details on the command line syntax see chapter Import with the command line interface.

Behavior of the import process

The process creates new documents in ImageMaster or updates existing ImageMaster documents. Output is written to protocol files (see Protocol files). Internally, an ImageMaster revision element is processed with attributes and properties taken from an underlying metadata file that is sent as input.

The detailed behavior can be configured in a profile, see:

A profile can be configured in the AdminClient, see FIS profiles management in [UM AdminClient].

Error situations are signaled by corresponding error codes (see appendix Return codes). The process may terminate in any of the states:

  • Finished (return code 0 or 5)

  • Aborted (return code 9)

An internal service request, which is processed within FIS, complies with the corresponding schema definition (see appendix Schema definition for FIS).