Specifying File Server Folders for a Database

In order for the File System Service to begin synchronizing a database with a file server, you must attach your Production and Archive folders to the database. This is done by adding the appropriate file system folders to the Production Folders and Archive Folders lists for each attached database.

Adding a Production Folder to a database’s list of Production Folders

1. Expand the name of the database in the File System Service branch of the navigation pane to which you want to add a Production folder. Three subfolders will be displayed beneath the selected database branch: Production Folders, Archive Folders, and Undefined.

2. Click the Production Folders branch. The list of Production Folders assigned to the database will appear in the display pane. If no Production folders have been added, the display pane will be empty.

3. Right click in the display pane and select New Production Folder... in the context menu. The Production Folder Properties window will open.

Note: The Production Folder Properties window may also be opened by expanding the appropriate database sub-tree, clicking the Production Folders branch, and clicking the New Folder ( ) button in the toolbar.

4. ‘Check’ the ‘Enable this configuration’ checkbox so that the File System Service will scan the corresponding folder.

Note: The “Enable this configuration” checkbox indicates whether scans of the folder configuration by the File System Service are enabled or disabled. Only ‘enabled’ configurations are scanned by the File System Service; when the “Enable this configuration” checkbox is ‘unchecked’, the folder is not scanned and changes in its contents are not reflected in the database. The checkbox may be used to temporarily disable synchronization of the database and the file server folder.

5. Optional: ‘Uncheck’ the “Delete digital resources from database for this folder” checkbox if you would like to disable deletion of digital resources for this location. If the checkbox is left ‘checked’, digital resource records corresponding to the digital assets stored in the file server folder will be removed from the database when the digital assets are deleted from the file server.

6. Select the appropriate server type for the folder, either SMB (a Windows server) or AFP (an AppleTalk Filing Protocol server).

7. Type the folder location in the folder location field, or click to browse for the folder.

Note: To ensure that the file system service is able to synchronize the database with the folder, the path in the folder location field must be in the appropriate format for the server type (“\\*Server_NameShare_Name\ ...” for the SMB server type, or “Server_Name:Share_Name: ...*” for the AFP server type).

8. Specify the account that the File System Service should use when logging into the server on which the folder is located. Choose the service logon account, the default file access account specified in the Security parameters for the File System Service, or specify another account using the user name and password fields.

Note: Windows is unable to connect to a volume using different accounts. For this reason, if your computer’s file system has already mounted the volume on which the folder is located and the account you have specified is different from the account with which you are accessing the volume, you must disconnect from the volume to ensure that the File System Service can access the folder.

9. Optional: If you would like to modify the default File System Service folder filters and control and scan schedule options, you may do so by clicking the “Filters” and “Schedule” tabs. Refer to the “Setting Filters and Schedule Options” section of this chapter for detailed instructions.

10. Click OK. This will add the folder to the Production Folders list and close the Folder Properties window.

11. Repeat steps 1-10 for each file server folder you would like to add to the list of Production folders with which the File System Service should synchronize the database.

At this point, the list of file server Production folders with which the database should be synchronized has been specified, and the configuration of the File System Service for the database is complete. The File System Service will begin synchronizing the database with the file server folders you have specified.

Adding an Archive Folder to a database’s list of Archive Folders

1. Expand the name of the database in the File System Service branch of the navigation pane to which you want to add an Archive folder. Three subfolders will be displayed beneath the selected database branch: Production Folders, Archive Folders, and Undefined.

2. Click the Archive Folders branch. The list of Archive Folders assigned to the database will appear in the display pane. If no Archive folders have been added, the display pane will be empty.

3. Right click in the display pane and select New Archive Folder... in the popup menu. The Archive Folder Properties window will open.

Note: The Archive Folder Properties window may also be opened by expanding the appropriate database sub-tree, clicking the Archive Folders branch, and clicking the New Folder ( ) button in the toolbar.

4. ‘Check’ the ‘Enable this configuration’ checkbox so that the File System Service will scan the corresponding folder.

Note: The “Enable this configuration” checkbox indicates whether scans of the folder configuration by the File System Service are enabled or disabled. Only ‘enabled’ configurations are scanned by the File System Service; when the “Enable this configuration” checkbox is ‘unchecked’, the folder is not scanned and changes in its contents are not reflected in the database. The checkbox may be used to temporarily disable synchronization of the database and the file server folder.

Note: Unlike in Production Folder Properties, the ‘Delete digital resources from the database for this folder’ checkbox is not available for Archive Folders. When files and folders are deleted from the Archive Folders, their reference in the database will remain. If a user requests a file that has been deleted from an Archive Folder, the system will query removable media and if the files are not found, will prompt users for the removable media on which the files reside or ask them if they want to generate a Retrieval Request.

5. Select the appropriate server type for the folder, either SMB (a Windows server) or AFP (an AppleTalk Filing Protocol server).

6. Type the folder location in the folder location field, or click to browse for the folder.

Note: To ensure that the file system service is able to synchronize the database with the folder, the path in the folder location field must be in the appropriate format for the server type (“\\*Server_NameShare_Name\ ...” for the SMB server type, or “Server_Name:Share_Name: ...*” for the AFP server type).

7. Specify the account that the File System Service should use when logging into the server on which the folder is located. Choose the service logon account, the default file access account specified in the Security parameters for the File System Service, or specify another account using the user name and password fields.

Note: Windows is unable to connect to a volume using different accounts. For this reason, if your computer’s file system has already mounted the volume on which the folder is located and the account you have specified is different from the account with which you are accessing the volume, you must disconnect from the volume to ensure that the File System Service can access the folder.

8. Optional: If you would like to modify the default File System Service folder filters and control and scan schedule options, you may do so by clicking the “Filters” and “Schedule” tabs. Refer to the “Setting Filters and Schedule Options” section of this chapter for detailed instructions.

9. Click OK. This will add the folder to the list of Archive folders and close the Folder Properties window. The folder will be displayed in the “Archive Folders” listing for the database in the MetaCommunications console.

10. Repeat steps 1-9 for each file Archive folder you would like to add to the list of Archive folders that the File System Service should synchronize with the database.

At this point, the list of file server Production folders with which the database should be synchronized has been specified, and the configuration of the File System Service for the database is complete. The File System Service will begin synchronizing the database with the file server folders you have specified.