Importing Briefcases

A briefcase is a collection of Laserfiche documents, folders, and/or shortcuts that were exported from a Laserfiche repository (learn about entries). When you import a briefcase, you are creating a copy of the entries that were exported when the briefcase was created, including the contents of the included documents, the folder structure, and any Laserfiche-specific information such as annotations, metadata, and so on. This allows you to easily move information from one repository to another. (For information on creating a briefcase to export entries, see Briefcasing Your Documents.)

Because briefcases include additional information beyond the image pages, text pages and electronic files of the included documents, there are a few additional steps and considerations in briefcase import. You can review the additional options for briefcases below, or skip directly to briefcase import instructions.

Note: Laserfiche 9 is able to import briefcases exported with Laserfiche 4.x or later. Briefcases exported from a 7 Client (using an 8 or 9 Server) retain data specific to version 8 or 9. Importing it into a 7 Server will ignore that data, but importing into an 8 or 9 Server will retain it.

Templates and Fields

When importing briefcases into a repository, you will need to be aware of how templates are handled. A briefcase will remember the structure for each template associated with a document stored in the briefcase, and will compare the structure of templates in the briefcase to the structure of templates in the repository you’re importing to. The results of this comparison determine how a particular template will be handled.

A template in a repository will be considered a match for a template in a briefcase when the differences between the two comply with the following restrictions:

Attribute	Criteria
Template Name	The template names do not need to match.
Field Name	The field names must match.
Field Type	The field types must match.
Field Width	The template in the repository can have the same or a larger field width.
Default Value	The default value does not need to match.
Multiple	If the template in the briefcase has multiple value fields and the template in the repository does not, this will not be a match. If the template in the briefcase does not have multiple value fields and the template in the repository does, this will be a match.
Required	If the template in the briefcase does not contain required fields, but the one in the repository does, this will not be a match. If the template in the briefcase contains required fields, and the one in the repository does not, this will be a match.
List Values	The list values need to match.
Field Order	The field order does not need to match as long as the field name and field type are the same.
Field Constraints	The field constraints need to match in a certain order. If the template in the briefcase does not contain field constraints, but the one in the repository does, this will not be a match. If the template in the briefcase contains field constraints, and the one in the repository does not, this will be a match.

Note: If entries in the briefcase contain fields applied independently of templates, those fields will be handled automatically. If the fields match according to the criteria above, the document will be assigned the matching field automatically. If not, a new field will be created.

If the differences between a template in the briefcase and a template in the repository fall within the restrictions stated above, they are a successful match. The entries with that template will be assigned the matching template in the destination repository when they are imported, unless you specify that they should not.

If a match is not found, or if you do not want to assign the matching template to the entries, you can do one of the following:

Add template named: Creates a template in the Laserfiche repository that will be a perfect match for the template in the briefcase. All documents in the briefcase that were associated with that original template will be assigned to this new template, and will retain all field information. You must enter a name for the new template. It may be the same as the original, but it must be unique in the destination repository.
Use matching template: This option is available only if the template in the briefcase matches a template in the destination repository according to the above criteria. If you choose this option, all documents in the briefcase with this template will be assigned the matching template and will retain all field information when they are imported into Laserfiche. This option is not available if a template with a matching field structure is not found.
Ignore field data for entries with this template: Field and template information for documents and folders associated with this template in the briefcase will not be imported into the repository. The documents will be imported, but without fields or templates.

You can also choose Ignore all field data in this briefcase to discard all field and template data in the briefcase upon import, and Don't ask me this question in the future to automatically select the setting without being prompted in the future.

Note: The default template found during the matching process is not necessarily the best match. If you know of an existing template that provides a better match, click Reassign Template and select the matching template.

Folder Name Conflicts

Because folder structure is retained when briefcases are exported, conflicts can arise when a briefcase with a certain folder name is imported into a repository that already contains a folder with the same name.

A conflict will only arise if the conflicting folder is in the same folder into which you are importing the briefcase, and the conflict is at the same level. For instance, if you are importing a briefcase into the root folder of your repository, and both the first folder level of the briefcase and the root folder have a folder called "Agendas," there will be a conflict. However, if the "Agendas" folder is in the root folder of the destination repository but is in a subfolder in the briefcase, there will be no conflict.

You can resolve name conflicts in two different ways. One option is to merge the briefcase's folder structure with the existing folder structure in the repository. In this case, the contents of the conflicted briefcase folder will be imported into the conflicted repository folder to create one common folder of the same name. The other option is to import the briefcases folder structure with new names for its conflicted folders. With this option, the conflicted folders in the destination repository will retain their original names, and the conflicted folders in the briefcase will be given new folder names of the form Original Folder Name (2).

You can choose whether or not to merge folders with conflicting names when performing a briefcase import (see below). You can also set default behavior for briefcase conflicts in Options: New Documents: General.

Importing a Briefcase

Like any other import, a briefcase import can be performed either using the Import Files dialog box or by dragging and dropping.

To import a briefcase using the Import Files dialog box

In the Laserfiche Windows client

In the folder browser, select the Laserfiche folder where you want to store documents imported from your briefcase.
From the File menu, click Import. The Import Files dialog box will open.
Browse to the folder containing the briefcase you want to import.

Tip: You can filter so that you only see briefcase files by selecting Briefcase files (.lfb) in the Files of type drop-down.

Select the briefcase you want to import.
Click Import. The Import Briefcase dialog box will open.
Check the Folder option to verify your briefcase will be imported into the correct Laserfiche folder. If you want to import into another folder, type the path or click Browse to browse to it.
Check the Volume option to verify that your briefcase will be imported into the correct volume, or select another volume from the drop-down list.
If you want to merge conflicting folders, select Merge with existing folder structure when importing with conflicted folder names. If not, clear this option. See Folder Name Conflicts, above, for more information.
Click OK.
If the briefcase was encrypted, you will be prompted to provide its password. Type the password in the Password option.
If the briefcase was digitally signed and the destination repository is licensed for digital signatures, the Validate Briefcase Signatures dialog will open. The briefcase signature will be evaluated; if it is valid, a green check mark will appear next to it, and if it is invalid, a red X will appear next to it, and the invalid reason will be listed.
If no template matches or mismatches were found, the import will proceed. If one or more template matches or mismatches are found, the Template Selection dialog box will open.
The Template Selection dialog box will display all templates in the briefcase and how they will be handled by default (Add, Match, or Ignore). See Templates and Fields, above, for matching criteria and information about adding, matching, and ignoring templates.
If you would like to change way a template is handled, select the template and click Reassign Template. The Reassign Template dialog box will open. Perform one of the following and then click OK to continue:

Select Add template named and type the desired name for the new template. This template will be created in the repository.
Select Use matching template and select a template. Only templates that are considered a match using the template matching criteria will be available to select.
Select Ignore field data for entries with this template to discard field and template data for entries in the repository that were assigned this template. Entries with other templates will not be affected.

Repeat step 14 for as many templates as you want to modify.
If you want to discard all field data contained in the briefcase, select Ignore all field data in this briefcase.
If you do not want to see the Template Selection dialog in the future, select Don't ask me this question in the future. Laserfiche will automatically choose template options for you if this is selected.
Click OK to complete the import.
If the Template Selection dialog box does not appear, the contents of your briefcase will be imported into your repository.

Note: If you encounter errors or warnings in the briefcase import process, you will receive an error message and will be able to view the briefcase logs for more information.

To import a briefcase by dragging and dropping