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Question

Bulk Rename Files

Laserfiche
Updated July 16, 2019
asked on July 15, 2019 • Show version history

Currently, many files/folders within the Laserfiche database are named using the following format: 

"2009/09/14 Conservation Easement Form"

I'd like to find out how best to automate the swapping out the "/" for a "-" 

The issue is that when these documents are exported, Windows doesn't like the "/" symbol being used for file/folder names. 

I understand QuickFields may be a way to do the in a folder by folder process?  Maybe WorkFlow? 

Any suggestions/comments? 

Thank you in advance :-)

MD Of Pincher Creek

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Answer

SELECTED ANSWER
replied on July 16, 2019

No problem. Workflow doesn't require activation in Avante setups. It will consider itself licensed once you hook it up to an Avante repository.

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Replies

replied on July 16, 2019

The reason why everybody is pointing you in Workflow's direction and away from Quick Fields is that in order for Quick Fields to rename the document, it needs to create new ones. So you will be doubling the size of this document set and then you'll have to delete the old ones. If auditing is important to you, your document history would have this stopping poing where "2009/09/14 Conservation Easement Form"  becomes "2009-09-14 Conservation Easement Form" and gets a new document ID. Workflow can do this rename in place and keep the same document ID.

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replied on July 15, 2019

Workflow would be the best way to handle this. 

 

The way i usually handle these kind of bulk renaming is to do an advanced search to pull back all the entries I know I am going to want to modify, then use the search syntax it outputs to do a repository search with workflow. Using a For Each Entry, Pattern match the name, then use the results to re-format the name. 

 

 

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View 1 previous reply
replied on July 15, 2019

You actually wouldn't need to Pattern Match anymore.

With the newer versions of Workflow you can use the "Substitute" function in a Token Calculator to replace specific characters.

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replied on July 15, 2019

I totally forgot about this!

 

It would also work really well.

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replied on July 15, 2019

Another option I sometimes use when I'm feeling lazy and don't want to include separate activities is to use the Token Editor to Split on the old character then use the indexing option for All Values Separated by to join the values with the new character. cheeky

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replied on July 16, 2019

How many documents do you think need to be renamed? When doing this kind of bulk operation with Workflow, you need to keep an eye on the Workflow database. It'll get bigger in the process. The transaction logs will also get large. Neither of those is a bad thing, but it can be a nasty surprise to run your SQL Server out of space.

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replied on July 16, 2019

Thank you for your input - much appreciated. 

I have a few thousand documents that require renaming. 

I'll have to keep an eye on any log files generated during the renaming process (thanks for the heads-up). 

The MD is not currently licensed for WorkFlow.  We do have a license of QuickFields which may be another option, but will require further investigation. 

Sincerely,

MD Of Pincher Creek

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replied on July 16, 2019

Hello,

As far as I know, Workflow does not have a separate license. It is included in the general Laserfiche licensing that covers the main server/repository software.

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replied on July 16, 2019

You are listed in our records as having an Avante system. Avante includes Workflow.

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replied on July 16, 2019

Thanks again for the feedback :-) 

Good to know WorkFlow is included in the Avante package.  (Initially I checked my current "Activation Keys" for WorkFlow, but didn't see one). 

I would for sure not want to generate new files when renaming which means QuickFields isn't likely going to be an option. 

Now that I know WorkFlow is included with Avante I'll start brushing up on the file/folder renaming process. 

Sincerely,

MD Of Pincher Creek

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SELECTED ANSWER
replied on July 16, 2019

No problem. Workflow doesn't require activation in Avante setups. It will consider itself licensed once you hook it up to an Avante repository.

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