Importing Files

You can add any file on your computer to Laserfiche by importing it. This allows you to store all your content in one place. You can also import files saved in Google Drive, OneDrive, or OneDrive for Business directly into Laserfiche.

When you import image files, they will be made into pages in a Laserfiche document, which allows you to use Laserfiche annotations with them. When you import non-image files, such as Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, or Photoshop projects, they will remain in their original formats. When you import a PDF, it will be converted to pages that you can annotate, but your original PDF will be retained in the document as well.

Note: If you want to convert an imported file that is not an image or a PDF to pages, you can do so using Snapshot. If you want to scan paper documents, or perform image processing on already-scanned documents before importing them, you can do so with Laserfiche Scanning.

When importing non-image files, including PDFs, Laserfiche will also automatically generate text from them to make them full-text searchable. (To generate text from image files, you should use Import Agent, or scan them with Laserfiche Scanning and Universal Capture.) You can customize the document's name, as well as other metadata such as field values, tags, and locations. See Metadata for more information.

You can import using the Import command, or by dragging and dropping.

Importing with the Import Command

  1. Open Laserfiche and navigate to the folder into which you want to import a file.
  2. Click the Import button (). The Import Files dialog box will open.
  3. Perform one of the following:
    • To import a file from your computer:
      1. Under Drag files here or select one or more files to upload, drag in your files or select Browse and select the files you want to upload.
      2. Once you have added all the files you want to import and they have finished uploading, click OK.
    • To import a file from Google Drive, OneDrive, or OneDrive for Business:

      Note: Web applications will only be displayed in the Import dialog if they have been enabled in Repository Administration. See Enabling Import Services, below, for more information.

      1. Under Import files from these web applications, select the cloud import service you want to import from.
      2. If you are not already logged in, you will be prompted to provide your credentials. You may also be prompted to allow Laserfiche to access information about your account. Once you have logged in and given permission for Laserfiche to access your account, the list of documents and folders in your web application will be displayed.
      3. Browse to the file or files you want to import and select them, then click Import. The files will be uploaded, and when the upload has completed, you will be directed back to Laserfiche.
  4. The Import dialog box will open.

    Note: If you do not want to see the Import dialog box when importing files, you can hide it. To do so, click your user name in the upper right corner and select Options. In the New Document section, clear the option Always show import dialog. If you choose not to display the Import dialog box, the document will automatically be imported into the currently-selected folder with the same name as the original file, and with no field, template, or tag information set.

  5. In the General tab, specify the following information: 
    • Name and Folder: By default, the file name and the folder you currently have open will be used.
    • Template: Select a template from the list, or select Use parent folder's template to use the same template as the parent folder. If you don't want to set a template, select No template assigned. See Fields and Templates for more information.
    • Tags: Select a tag, or type a new tag name to add a new informational tag. Leave this option blank if you do not want to assign any tags. See Tags for more information.
    • Optional: If you are importing multiple documents at once, you can select Apply these properties to all entries imported in this batch. This allows you to import multiple documents without having to configure each one individually.
  6. In the Fields tab, you can modify the field information for your new document. See Fields and Templates for more information.
  7. In the Location option, you can optionally specify a location to associate the file. If the file is a JPG with location data in its EXIF information, the location will automatically be extracted, but can still be manually modified. If it is not a JPG, or the JPG has no EXIF information, you can manually specify a location by address. Note that if you are importing JPGs with location data in their EXIF information, each location will be extracted separately even if the Apply these properties to all entries imported in this batch option is selected. See Locations for more information.
  8. Click OK to complete the import.

Importing with Drag and Drop

  1. Locate the file or files you want to import in Windows.
  2. Open Laserfiche and navigate to the folder into which you want to import the file.
  3. Drag the file or files from Windows into your folder. A Drop files here box will appear.
  4. Drop the file or files into the box. The Import dialog box will open.

    Note: If you do not want to see the Import dialog box when importing files, you can hide it. To do so, click your user name in the upper right corner and select Options. In the New Document section, clear the option Always show import dialog. If you choose not to display the Import dialog box, the document will automatically be imported into the currently-selected folder with the same name as the original file, and with no field, template, or tag information set.

  5. In the General tab, specify the following information: 
    • Name and Folder: By default, the file name and the folder you currently have open will be used.
    • Template: Select a template from the list, or select Use parent folder's template to use the same template as the parent folder. If you don't want to set a template, select No template assigned. See Fields and Templates for more information.
    • Tags: Select a tag, or type a new tag name to add a new informational tag. Leave this option blank if you do not want to assign any tags. See Tags for more information.
    • Optional: If you are importing multiple documents at once, you can select Apply these properties to all entries imported in this batch. This allows you to import multiple documents without having to configure each one individually.
  6. In the Fields tab, you can modify the field information for your new document. See Fields and Templates for more information.
  7. In the Location option, you can optionally specify a location to associate the file. If the file is a JPG with location data in its EXIF information, the location will automatically be extracted, but can still be manually modified. If it is not a JPG, or the JPG has no EXIF information, you can manually specify a location by address. Note that if you are importing JPGs with location data in their EXIF information, each location will be extracted separately even if the Apply these properties to all entries imported in this batch option is selected. See Locations for more information.
  8. Click OK to complete the import.

Tip: By default, PDF annotations will be converted to Laserfiche annotations when a PDF is imported. If you do not want to perform this conversion, you can disable it. Click your user name in the upper right corner and select Options. In the General section, clear the option Preserve PDF annotations on Laserfiche pages. You can re-enable it in the future if you would like to begin converting PDF annotations again.

Enabling Import Services

Before you can import files from Google Drive, OneDrive, or OneDrive for Business, you will need to enable them in Repository Administration.

  1. If you are not already in the repository administration section of Laserfiche, open the app picker () in the upper left corner and select Repository Administration.
  2. Select Integrations, and then select the Services tab.
  3. Enable the web applications that you want to permit import from.