Attaching, Detaching, and Exporting Volumes

Attaching a volume

Volumes that have been exported or detached from a Laserfiche repository can be reattached to the same or another repository. This allows you to efficiently transfer large quantities of documents.

Note: Volume names must always be unique. Keep this in mind when attaching a volume to a repository.

Note: Exported volumes do not retain security information. However, tags (including security tags) will remain associated with documents in that exported volume. If the tag does not exist in the repository to which the volume is being attached, it will be created as long as the user who is attaching the volume has the Manage Tags privilege.

To run full-text searches on a repository containing a recently attached volume, it is necessary to reindex the volume. A volume can be reindexed during the attachment process, by selecting either the “Index documents previously flagged as indexed” or the “Index all documents that contain text” from the Indexing option in the Attach Volume dialog box. If the “No Indexing” item is selected and you want full-text searches to include the attached volume, it will be necessary to reindex the volume or the entire repository after it has been attached.

To attach a volume:

  1. Start the Laserfiche Administration Console.
  2. In the console tree, expand the desired Laserfiche Server item.
  3. Select the desired Laserfiche repository.
  4. If security has been enabled on the selected repository, log in as any user who has been granted the Manage Volumes privilege for the specified repository.
  5. Select the Volumes node.
  6. From the Action menu, point to All Tasks, and select Attach Volume. The Attach Volume dialog box will appear.
  7. Under Path to volume, specify the location where the exported or detached volume can be found. This path should point to the folder containing the Volume.ID file for the desired volume. When specifying the location, make sure that you specify a UNC path or a full path from the computer hosting the Laserfiche Server to the desired location (e.g., C:\Volumes\Volume).
  8. After specifying where the exported volume can be found, you will need to determine if you want that path to become the fixed path, the removable path, or if you will specify a new fixed and/or removable path where volume files will be stored.
  1. The Repository location option allows you to select the folder in the repository which will serve as the root folder for the attached volume.  The default is the repository's root folder.
  2. The Folder and Document Merging option determines how conflicting document and folder names will be handled. A document or folder name conflict occurs when the attach process attempts to import a document or folder into a folder that already contains an entry with the same name. Select from the options below for folder conflict and document conflict
    • On folder conflict
      • Rename: This option will rename the folder by appending a number.
      • Merge: This option will merge the new folder and the existing folder into a single folder containing the contents of both.
    • On document conflict
      • Rename: This option will rename the document by appending a number.
      • Overwrite: This option will overwrite the existing document, replacing it with the document from the attached volume.
      • Skip: This option will skip importing the document, leaving only the document already in the repository.
      • Stop attachment process: This option will cause the volume attach to fail if conflicting documents are found.
  3. The Templates merging option allows you to merge templates. Templates on a volume can be merged with the templates in a repository when their definition matches. However, you may also require that the names must match before templates can be merged. If you want templates from the volume and repository to be merged only when template names are identical, select the Template names must match option. Otherwise, this option should be cleared.
  4. The Metadata option determines whether all of the metadata in the volume will be imported into the repository, or just the metadata associated with new documents. Select Include all metadata to include all of the metadata in the volume, not just the metadata associated with documents. Clear this option to import only the metadata associated with documents.
  5. The Indexing option determines the way that indexing will be handled for the volume when it is attached. A full-text search cannot be performed on documents in a newly attached volume until they have been indexed.
    • No indexing:  Documents in the newly attached volume will not be automatically indexed.
    • Index documents previously flagged as indexed:Only documents in the newly attached volume that were previously indexed will be automatically indexed.
    • Index all documents that contain text:All documents in the newly attached volume that contain text will be automatically indexed.
  6. Click OK. The Attach Volume dialog box will appear. If you selected the Copy all data out of path option, enter the fixed and/or removable path where the volume's data files will be stored. Otherwise, the repository will use the original volume path as either the fixed or removable path (depending upon your selection).
  7. Under Volume name, enter a name for the volume.
  8. Click OK to attach the volume.
  9. If the volume was encrypted when it was exported, you will be prompted to provide the encryption password. Type the password and click OK.
  10. Verify that documents and electronic documents associated with the newly attached volume can be viewed.

Note: If the volume was exported or detached as an encrypted volume, it will remain encrypted when it is attached.  After the volume has been attached, however, you can decrypt it, or leave it in its encrypted state.

To attach a volume:

  1. Start the Laserfiche Web Administration Console.
  2. Select the desired Laserfiche Server item.
  3. Select the desired Laserfiche repository.
  4. If security has been enabled on the selected repository, log in as any user who has been granted the Manage Volumes privilege for the specified repository.
  5. Select Volumes.
  6. Click the Attach button.
  7. Under Path to volume, specify the location where the exported or detached volume can be found. This path should point to the folder containing the Volume.ID file for the desired volume. When specifying the location, make sure that you specify a UNC path or a full path from the computer hosting the Laserfiche Server to the desired location (e.g., C:\Volumes\Volume).
  8. After specifying where the exported volume can be found, you will need to determine if you want that path to become the fixed path, the removable path, or if you will specify a new fixed and/or removable path where volume files will be stored.
  1. The Repository location option allows you to select the folder in the repository which will serve as the root folder for the attached volume.  The default is the repository's root folder.
  2. The Folder and Document Merging option determines how conflicting document and folder names will be handled. A document or folder name conflict occurs when the attach process attempts to import a document or folder into a folder that already contains an entry with the same name. Select from the options below for folder conflict and document conflict
    • On folder conflict
      • Rename: This option will rename the folder by appending a number.
      • Merge: This option will merge the new folder and the existing folder into a single folder containing the contents of both.
    • On document conflict
      • Rename: This option will rename the document by appending a number.
      • Overwrite: This option will overwrite the existing document, replacing it with the document from the attached volume.
      • Skip: This option will skip importing the document, leaving only the document already in the repository.
      • Stop attachment process: This option will cause the volume attach to fail if conflicting documents are found.
  3. The Template merging option allows you to merge templates. Templates on a volume can be merged with the templates in a repository when their definition matches. However, you may also require that the names must match before templates can be merged. If you want templates from the volume and repository to be merged only when template names are identical, select the Template names must match option. Otherwise, this option should be cleared.
  4. The Metadata option determines whether all of the metadata in the volume will be imported into the repository, or just the metadata associated with new documents. Select Include all metadata to include all of the metadata in the volume, not just the metadata associated with documents. Clear this option to import only the metadata associated with documents.
  5. The Indexing option determines the way that indexing will be handled for the volume when it is attached. A full-text search cannot be performed on documents in a newly attached volume until they have been indexed.
    • No indexing:  Documents in the newly attached volume will not be automatically indexed.
    • Index documents previously flagged as indexed: Only documents in the newly attached volume that were previously indexed will be automatically indexed.
    • Index all documents that contain text: All documents in the newly attached volume that contain text will be automatically indexed.
  6. Click OK. The Attach Volume dialog box will appear. If you selected the Copy all data out of path option, enter the fixed and/or removable path where the volume's data files will be stored. Otherwise, the repository will use the original volume path as either the fixed or removable path (depending upon your selection).
  7. Under Volume name, enter a name for the volume.
  8. Click OK to attach the volume.
  9. If the volume was encrypted when it was exported, you will be prompted to provide the encryption password. Type the password and click OK.
  10. Verify that documents and electronic documents associated with the newly attached volume can be viewed.

Note: If the volume was exported or detached as an encrypted volume, it will remain encrypted when it is attached.  After the volume has been attached, however, you can decrypt it, or leave it in its encrypted state.

Detaching a volume

The process of removing a volume from a repository is called “detaching.” Detaching a volume from a repository is effectively the same as exporting a volume and then deleting the volume from the repository; the exported copy will remain, but the original volume will no longer exist in your repository. In general, it is a good idea to export the volume, verify that it has exported correctly, and delete the volume rather than using detach, as it allows you to verify that the process completed successfully before you delete the files.

Security information (i.e., entry access rights, field access, and volume access rights) is not included when a volume is detached from a Laserfiche repository. This means that the content of that volume may not be secure when it is re-attached to a Laserfiche repository, because by default it inherits the entry access rights assigned to the root folder of the Laserfiche repository. If you are attaching a volume that contains sensitive documents, it is highly recommended that you immediately configure entry access rights, field access rights, and/or volume access rights. Keep in mind that tags (including security tags) will remain associated with documents in that exported volume. If the tag does not exist in the repository to which the volume is being attached, it will be created. Additionally, folders in the detached volume will not retain their default volume settings.

Note: Detaching a volume will also retain the folders that contain documents in the volume.

Note: Only physical volumes can be detached.

To detach a volume:

  1. Start the Laserfiche Administration Console.
  2. In the console tree, expand the desired Laserfiche Server item.
  3. Select the desired Laserfiche repository.
  4. If security has been enabled on the selected repository, log in as any user who has been granted the Manage Volumes privilege for the specified repository.
  5. Select the Volumes item.
  6. Select the volume to detach.
  7. From the Action menu, select Detach. The Detach Volume dialog box will appear.
  8. Under Destination, select Volume's fixed path or Volume's removable path.
  9. Under Encryption, perform one of the following:
    • If you do not want to encrypt the detached volume, do not select the Encrypt volume with a password option. The volume will be exported unencrypted, even if the volume was originally encrypted.
    • If the volume is not currently encrypted and you want to encrypt it for detach, or if it is encrypted and you want to detach it with a different password than is currently in use, select the Encrypt volume with a password option and type a password in the Enter a new password option.
    • If the volume is currently encrypted, and you want the detached copy to use the same encryption password as the volume on the Server, select the Encrypt volume with a password option and then select Continue to encrypt the exported volume with the same password. The password currently set on the volume will be necessary to attach the detached volume to a repository.
  10. Click OK to detach the volume.

    Note: If any errors or warnings occur during volume detach, an error message will be displayed and you will be able to open the volume detach log for more information.

To detach a volume:

  1. Start the Laserfiche Web Administration Console.
  2. Select the desired Laserfiche Server item.
  3. Select the desired Laserfiche repository.
  4. If security has been enabled on the selected repository, log in as any user who has been granted the Manage Volumes privilege for the specified repository.
  5. Select Volumes.
  6. Do one of the following:
      • Click on the volume name to open the Volume properties page. Click Detach below the volume name.
      • Select the desired volume. Click the Detach button. If you do not see the Detach button, click >> to see more toolbar buttons.
  7. Under Destination, select Volume's fixed path or Volume's removable path.
  8. Under Encryption, perform one of the following:
    • If you do not want to encrypt the detached volume, do not select the Encrypt volume with a password option. The volume will be exported unencrypted, even if the volume was originally encrypted.
    • If the volume is not currently encrypted and you want to encrypt it for detach, or if it is encrypted and you want to detach it with a different password than is currently in use, select the Encrypt volume with a password option and type a password in the Enter a new password option.
    • If the volume is currently encrypted, and you want the detached copy to use the same encryption password as the volume on the Server, select the Encrypt volume with a password option and then select Continue to encrypt the exported volume with the same password. The password currently set on the volume will be necessary to attach the detached volume to a repository.
  9. If you want to compress the detached volume, select the Compress exported volume option.
  10. Click OK to detach the volume.

    Note: If any errors or warnings occur during volume detach, an error message will be displayed and you will be able to open the volume detach log for more information.

Exporting a volume

When a volume is exported from the repository, a copy of the volume will be created and packaged into a single location. An exported volume can be moved and attached to any Laserfiche repository.

Important: Exporting involves copying the entire volume and is a resource intensive process; you should make sure that you have adequate disk space before exporting.

Warning: Exporting is not designed to be a means of simultaneously sharing volumes between multiple repositories. Two repositories cannot work with the same volume at the same time.

Security information (i.e., entry access rights, field access, and volume access rights) is not included when a volume is exported from a Laserfiche repository, which means that content may not be secure when the volume is reattached to a Laserfiche repository. By default, it will inherit the entry access rights assigned to the root folder of the Laserfiche repository. If you are attaching a volume that contains sensitive documents, it is highly recommended that you immediately configure entry access rights, field access rights, and/or volume access rights. Keep in mind that tags (including security tags) will remain associated with documents in that exported volume. If the tag does not exist in the repository the volume is being attached to, it will be created as long as the user who is attaching the volume has the Manage Tags privilege. Additionally, folders in the exported volume will not retain their default volume settings.

Note: Exporting a volume will also retain the folders that contain documents in the volume.

Note: Only physical volumes can be exported.

To export a volume:

  1. Start the Laserfiche Administration Console.
  2. In the console tree, expand the desired Laserfiche Server item.
  3. Select the desired Laserfiche repository.
  4. If security has been enabled on the selected repository, log in as any user who has been granted the Manage Volumes privilege for the specified repository.
  5. Select the Volumes item.
  6. Select the volume to export.
  7. From the Action menu, select Export. The Export Volume dialog box will appear.
  8. Under Destination folder, determine where to export the volume. You can provide a path local to the Laserfiche Server computer or a UNC path. The destination folder cannot be on a mapped drive.
  9. Under Format, determine which version of Laserfiche you want your exported volume to be compatible with.
  10. Under Encryption, perform one of the following:
    • If you do not want to encrypt the exported volume, do not select the Encrypt volume with a password option. The volume will be exported unencrypted, even if the volume was originally encrypted.
    • If the volume is not currently encrypted and you want to encrypt it for export, or if it is encrypted and you want to export it with a different password than is currently in use, select the Encrypt volume with a password option and type a password in the Enter a new password option.
    • If the volume is currently encrypted, and you want the exported copy to use the same encryption password as the volume on the Server, select the Encrypt volume with a password option and then select Continue to encrypt the exported volume with the same password. The password currently set on the volume will be necessary to attach the exported volume to a repository.
  11. Click OK to export the volume.

    Note: If any errors or warnings occur during volume export, an error message will be displayed and you will be able to open the volume export log for more information.

To export a volume:

  1. Start the Laserfiche Web Administration Console.
  2. Select the desired Laserfiche Server item.
  3. Select the desired Laserfiche repository.
  4. If security has been enabled on the selected repository, log in as any user who has been granted the Manage Volumes privilege for the specified repository.
  5. Select Volumes.
  6. Select the desired volume.
  7. Click the Export button. The Export Volume dialog box will appear.
  8. Under Destination folder, determine where to export the volume. You must provide a path local to the Laserfiche Server computer.
  9. Under Format, determine which version of Laserfiche you want your exported volume to be compatible with.
  10. Under Encryption, perform one of the following:
    • If you do not want to encrypt the exported volume, do not select the Encrypt volume with a password option. The volume will be exported unencrypted, even if the volume was originally encrypted.
    • If the volume is not currently encrypted and you want to encrypt it for export, or if it is encrypted and you want to export it with a different password than is currently in use, select the Encrypt volume with a password option and type a password in the Enter a new password option.
    • If the volume is currently encrypted, and you want the exported copy to use the same encryption password as the volume on the Server, select the Encrypt volume with a password option and then select Continue to encrypt the exported volume with the same password. The password currently set on the volume will be necessary to attach the exported volume to a repository.
  11. Click OK to export the volume.

Note: If any errors or warnings occur during volume export, an error message will be displayed and you will be able to open the volume export log for more information.

For more information on a specific repository administration topic, return to the repository administration home page.