Create an Import Profile

You begin to import a package of documents or assets by creating an import profile. An import profile specifies the rules to apply when you import the package into a vault. Only after you create an import profile can you import a package with that profile.

  • You must be a member of the Import Profile Managers role to perform this task.

  • The destination vault must be registered in Meridian Enterprise Server

  • Options that specify a property name can accept either the internal name or the display name of the property.

To create or edit an import profile:

  1. In Meridian Enterprise Server Administration Console, in the Data Exchange group, click Import Profiles.

    The Import Profiles page appears and lists the existing import profiles.

  2. Choose between two options:

    • To create a new import profile:

      • Click New.

        The Overview page of the new import profile appears.

    • To edit an existing import profile:

      • Click the icon of the import profile that you want to edit.

        The Overview page of the import profile appears.

  3. Click options or type values using the descriptions in the following table.

    Import profile properties
    Group Property Description
    General

    Name

    Type a descriptive name for the import profile. We recommend that the name refer to the source of the package contents and to the destination of the documents.
    General

    Description

    Type a detailed description of the import profile (500 characters maximum).
    General

    Use Meridian Portal

    If enabled, a Meridian Portal tenancy can be configured as the source address when the import profile is configured after it has been created.

    Important!

    There should only be one import profile that has the Use Meridian Portal setting enabled per vault.
    Source Address

    Meridian Portal tenancy

    		 Shows the name of the Meridian Portal tenancy to which the Meridian Enterprise Server is connected
    Source Address

    Address

    If Use Meridian Portal is disabled, the location of an archive file that contains the items that will be imported by this profile. This address can be specified as a UNC path or as a URL address (HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, FTPS).

    If the address is a URL path, the system will look at this location for an archive (ZIP) file with the same name (and no extension) as the metadata of the package.

    If the address is a UNC path, an option labeled Use content from a folder is available when the package is made that can be enabled to indicate that the documents are contained in a sub-folder with the same name (and no extension) as the metadata file in the package. If the folder is not found, the system will look for an archive (ZIP) file with the same name.

    If a folder or archive file name that is different than the metadata filename is specified when the package is created, the system will look for that name first.
    Source Address

    User name

    Name of an account with read access to the location specified in Address. This option is only available when importing an archive file from a file system. This account is only used for that purpose. The account of the user that performs the import is used to import the documents.
    Source Address

    Password

    Password for the account specified in User name. This option is only available when importing an archive file from a file system.

    Click Test to test the user name and password for the location specified in Address.
    Source Definition

    Template

    Not applicable to Meridian Portal.

    An existing MS Excel workbook file that contains one or more worksheets of columns only. The columns specify the property names of the metadata to import from the packages to which this import profile will be assigned. For information on creating this workbook, see Create a Property Mapping Template.

    To provide a metadata template:

    1. Click Upload.

      The Upload Template dialog box appears.

    2. Click the Browse icon A black folder icon..

      The Choose File to Upload dialog box appears.

    3. Select the workbook file that you want to upload and then click Open.

    4. Click Upload.

      The page refreshes to show the Key Columns, Miscellaneous, Property Mapping, and Permissions pages.
    Source Definition

    Document table

    Not applicable to Meridian Portal.

    Name of the worksheet in the workbook file specified for Template that contains the item metadata columns.
    Source Definition

    Reference table

    Not applicable to Meridian Portal.

    Name of the worksheet in the workbook file specified for Template that contains the reference file metadata columns for the items in the packages.

    Destination repository

    Destination repository

    The destination vault for the items that are imported from packages to which you assign this import profile. Only the projects in this vault are valid destinations.

    Destination repository

    Destination folder

    Vault folder where to import the items. The default is the root folder. If Import into project is enabled and the Project number property option below is set, each project will be imported as a sub-folder of this parent folder.

    This location will be overridden if:

    • A path is specified in the column in the import package metadata that is mapped to the Import folder option on the Key Columns page of the import profile.

    • The item already exists in this folder and a folder is specified for the Duplicates folder option of the import profile.

    Destination repository

    Duplicates folder

    Vault folder where to import duplicate items if they already exist in the folder specified for Destination folder. This option is not used when importing packages from Meridian Portal.

    Destination repository

    Document number property

    Fully qualified Meridian Enterprise property definition name that holds the primary identifier for every item in the vault. This property is used to determine if an imported item already exists in the vault.

    • These are the rules (in priority order) that are used to determine if an item already exists and should be superseded by an imported item:

      • Item with the same GlobalID value.

      • Item with the same value for this property that resides inside the project folder. This is the only rule that is applied to items imported from Meridian Portal. Therefore, this option must be set if the vault will exchange items with Meridian Portal through Meridian Explorer (scripted integration). This option is not used for item exchange directly with Meridian Portal project repositories.

      • Item with the same value for this property that resides outside the project folder.

      • Item with the same value for this property that resides in the folder calculated by the vault's Field-Path definition (if configured) using the property mapping template described in Create a Property Mapping Template.

    • If no matching item is found in the destination project, the item is imported as a new item in the project. If a name conflict occurs with an existing item, an incremental number is appended to the imported item name (for example, MyDrawing (1).dwg.

    • If this property is empty during synchronization, the filename (without extension) is used to identify the items.

    To specify the property name:

    1. Click Edit.

      The Select Property dialog box appears.

    2. Select a vault property from the list.

      Typically, you should select the Name property in the Common property set.

    3. Click OK.

      The property name appears in the option field.

    Destination repository

    Project number property

    		 Fully qualified Meridian Enterprise property definition name that holds the destination project number. Read-only if set in the vault registration This property is matched to the values contained in the Project Number column of import package metadata files as described in Import with packages.

    Destination repository

    Default document type

    Document type to assign to the imported items if no document type is specified in the Property Mapping options.

    If the Document type workflow option of the document type is set to Use workflow definitions, the After importing documents option of the vault should be set to Set state to Under Change. After import, the items will be in the Released workflow state depending on the configuration of the document type and of the vault.

    If the items cannot be released, they will be left in the Under Change state for the user that performed the import and the reason that they could not be released will be entered in the publishing log.

    Destination repository

    Default reference type

    Reference type to assign to the imported items if no document type is specified in the Property Mapping options.

  4. Choose between two options:

    • If you are creating a new import profile, click Save.

      The page refreshes to show additional options.

    • If you are editing an existing profile, click Key Columns.

      The Key Columns page appears. This step does not apply to Meridian Portal, skip to step 6. These options specify the columns in the package metadata to map to the most important Meridian Enterprise properties. The metadata should contain columns for all of the following options that apply to the source items.

      The available values for these options are only the column names that were found in the worksheet specified for Document table in the workbook that you uploaded for Template. Any columns in excess of those that are mapped to these options are considered as custom properties and they can be mapped on the Property Mapping page.

      All properties that are mapped in the import profile must exist in the metadata of the import package or the import will fail.

  5. Click options or type values using the descriptions in the following table.

    Key mapping properties
    Group Property Description
    Document Key Columns

    Document number

    The column that contains an identifier that is unique for each item (including the parts of assemblies). This number should be the same for all revisions of the same item and the same for project copies of master documents.
    Document Key Columns

    Document name

    		 The column that contains the item name as it should appear to users.
    Document Key Columns

    Document type

    		 The column that contains the document type to assign to the imported items.
    Document Key Columns

    Revision

    The column that contains the item revision number. This must be unique for all revisions of the same item.

    Text field that accepts any revision numbering scheme.

    Enter the order of revisions in the # column. Rows with the same value for Document Number and for Revision Number are imported as hybrid documents by default.

    If you want to import rows with the same value for Document Number and for Revision Number that are distinct revisions but not hybrid drawings, enter an index prefix with the Revision Number value in the form n::<RevisionNumber> where n starts at 1, is applied to the first duplicate revision and is incremented for successive revisions.

    For example:

    First revision=A

    Second revision=1::A

    Third revision=2::A
    Document Key Columns

    Revision sort

    The column upon which to sort the revisions for a single item (if present) so that they are imported in the correct order. Typically, this is the same column as Revision field.
    Document Key Columns

    Hybrid sort

    The column to sort to identify the main document (imported first) and the parts (imported next) of hybrid documents.
    Document Key Columns

    Path

    The column that contains the path to the content of the items. This location must be relative to the location specified for Address.

    If two rows in the spreadsheet contain the same filepath for a document, scanning will fail and an error will be returned.
    Document Key Columns

    Rendition path

    		 The column that contains the relative path to a rendition of the document. This location must be relative to the location specified for Address.
    Document Key Columns

    Import folder

    The column that contains the names of folders where to import the items. The values in this column override the Destination folder option on the Overview page.
    Document Key Columns

    Workflow state

    The column that contains the workflow state names for the items in the destination vault.

    • The synchronization job for the destination vault must have the Publish draft revision option enabled

    • If this column is empty for an imported item or contains an invalid value, the item will be imported to the Released state. To set a different destination workflow state, specify it in the Workflow State column of the source metadata file described in Create an Import Package.
    Reference Key Columns

    Source document number

    		 The column that contains the item number that is the source of the references.
    Reference Key Columns

    Destination document number

    		 The column that contains the item number that is the destination of the references.
    Reference Key Columns

    Source revision number

    		 The column that contains the revision number of the item that is the source of the references.
    Reference Key Columns

    Destination revision number

    The column that contains the revision number of the item that is the destination of the references.
    Reference Key Columns

    Reference name

    		 The column that contains the names of the references to create between the items.
    Reference Key Columns

    Reference type

    The column that contains the names of the reference types to create between the items.

    The supported reference types are:

    • AutoCAD Drawing Sheet Reference

    • AutoCAD External Reference

    • AutoCAD Overlaid Reference

    • AutoCAD Raster Image Reference

    • AutoCAD Underlay Reference

    • Client Reference

    • MicroStation Model Reference

    • MStation RasterRef

    • MSExcelReference

    • MSPowerPointReference

    • MSWordReference

    • TagObjectReference (supported only between tags and from a document to a tag)

  6. In the menu, click Miscellaneous.

    The Miscellaneous page appears. These options specify how you want Meridian Enterprise Server to perform the import.

  7. Click options or type values using the descriptions in the following table.

    Miscellaneous options
    Group Option Description
    Scan Options

    Import title blocks

    If enabled, searches imported files for title blocks that are specified in the vault configuration and if any are found, sets the corresponding item properties.

    • The Perform automatic title block updates option and the When the document is imported option of the document type must both be enabled.

    • Only when a title block property is specified in a title block link configuration of the vault and it is also mapped to a column in the import metadata will the title block property values be imported to the items. The import metadata will not be imported.

    • Title block properties are only imported after a item is successfully imported into a vault, not during package scanning.

    • Title block synchronization during package import has the same requirements and limitations as during normal application link operations in Meridian Enterprise. For example, Meridian Enterprise Server must run under the same account as was used to install the native application (Autodesk Inventor, SolidWorks, and so on) that provides the libraries that are used to perform the synchronization.

    • Any errors that occur during title block synchronization will appear in the Comment log of the item and will not cause the import to fail.

    For more information about configuring title block links,

    Scan Options

    Include references

    If enabled, scans imported files for external references and creates corresponding Meridian Enterprise references. These references are in addition to the references created by the worksheet specified for the Reference table option. If an external reference is missing from the package, an error will be logged and the parent item will be skipped.

    To use this feature, Site Cache Mode must be enabled.
    Scan Options

    Create thumbnails

    If enabled, generates thumbnail images of items during import.
    Scan Options Stop on validation error If the check box is selected, when you scan the import package and there are validation errors in that import package, it cannot be imported and an error message is shown in the Status field.
    Import Options

    Existing documents

    Specifies how to process items that already exist in the destination folder in the vault.

    If this option is set to New revision and a source vault item is in a custom workflow but not in the Released state when the item is imported back to the vault from Meridian Portal, the import will fail. If this happens, change the state of the vault item to Released and restart the import job.
    Import Options Match in

    Specifies how the system should check if a document number is unique. There are two options:

    • Target Project: Checks if the number is unique within the target project

    • Entire Vault: Checks if the number is unique within the entire vault

    This setting is only available for import profiles that are not used for Meridian Portal.
    Import Options

    Missing content

    Specifies how to process items for which a content file could not be found in the sub-folder or archive file at the location specified in Address.
    Import Options Release new documents by default

    Specifies if the workflow status is not set for a document in the metadata worksheet, then Meridian will:

    • (disabled) Leave document in its current workflow state

      For example, if the document was Under Change, it stays in the Under Change state.

    • (enabled) Release the document from the workflow entirely

      The document is no longer in a workflow, and becomes a new version.
    Notification

    Notify if failed

    		 If enabled, the members of the selected group are notified when an import package fails.
    Notification

    Recipients

    The name of the group to receive notifications when an import package fails.

    To select a different group:

    1. Click Change.

      The Configure Recipients dialog appears. The currently selected group appears in Recipients.

    2. Click Add recipients.

      The Add Groups dialog appears.

    3. Select a group from the list and click OK.

      The newly selected group appears in Recipients.

    4. Click Change.

      The name of the group to receive notifications is updated.

  8. In the menu, click Property Mapping.

    The Property Mapping page appears. These options are supplemental mappings of vault properties to custom properties that can be included in the item metadata worksheet.

  9. Create a mapping for each column in the metadata that you want to import as a item property in the vault.

    For each mapping, click options or type values using the descriptions in the following table.

    • All values in the metadata are read as text.

    • Only select destination properties of the correct data type for each column.

    • Null values for String, Memo, and RTFMemo data types in the metadata are converted to empty strings in the mapped vault properties, when possible.

    Property mapping options
    Group Option Description
    Target

    Initialize property on import

    If enabled, the property will be set for the item in the vault with the value specified by the other options that you select. If disabled, the property will not be set during import.
    Target

    Validate property on import

    If enabled, the value specified in the metadata will be evaluated by the Input required and Apply input restrictions validation options that are configured in the destination vault just as if the item were created new in the vault.
    Source

    Fixed value

    If selected, sets the property to the value specified in Fixed value.
    Source

    Database field

    If selected, sets the property to the value specified in the metadata column selected from the list.
    Source

    Expression

    If enabled, evaluates an expression to calculate the value of the mapped property.

    To specify the expression:

    1. Click Edit.

      The Expression dialog box appears and lists the available properties in the source system.

    2. In the Expression pane, type an expression to be evaluated during import.

      The expression may use any .NET compliant methods (except Parse) and operators in the C# language syntax. The result of the expression will be the property value in the destination system. Double-click a property in the list to insert it into the expression. The result of the expression must be compatible with the data type of the destination property. If necessary, you can convert data types, for example, using the ToString method.

      Following are examples of text and date expressions:

      {Title 1} + " " + {Title 2} + " " + {Title 3}
{PropertyName}.SubString(0, 1)
{NonStringProperty}.ToString() + " days"
{ProjectEndDate}.AddDays(-30)

    3. To validate the expression, click Check.

      Errors in the expression appear in the Errors pane. Correct all errors until the Errors pane is empty.

    4. When you are finished editing the expression, click Save.

  10. In the menu, click Permissions.

    The Permissions page appears. These options specify which security groups can perform various actions with import packages that have been assigned this import profile.

    Permissions options
    Group Option Permission
    Administrative Permissions

    View

    See packages.
    Administrative Permissions

    Create and edit

    Create and edit packages.
    Administrative Permissions

    Scan

    		 Start scanning of packages.
    Administrative Permissions

    Approve

    Approve scanned packages.
    Administrative Permissions

    Import

    		 Start the import of packages.
    Administrative Permissions

    Close, reopen, delete

    Close, reopen, and delete packages.

    Administrative Permissions

    Configure import profile

    View and configure the import profiles you have the privilege for.

  11. Click Save.

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