Best way to query Metadata on documents from another Application?

asked on December 16, 2020

Hello Everyone,

I'm looking for different ways of integrating my IBM i with Laserfiche. One idea I have is to build a couple of SQL table functions that could return the metadata values from documents including the Entry ID so that I could then open these documents by entry ID to display to the user. Our companies access rights are configured on the iSeries box and one of the hardest things I have dealt with is mirroring the same access to Laserfiche. So instead, my thought is to have my HR users access Laserfiche documents from the IBM i by displaying the metadata in a window there. Then when they want to see the document, they will click a button which would then open a window with Laserfiche. I just need to display the metadata in the IBM system and I figured an easy way would be to run a query against the tables on the SQL server. a SQL function that could display all the metadata for a bunch of documents that when they want to open them, a click would do it.

The use case is job applications. Currently, Job applications come into LAserficeh and are filed away with all the personal information. When an HR person wants to see one of these, they have to go into Laserfiche. I would rather have them in the iSeries looking at a list of current application data, and when they want to view the application, they click an option. I already have other programs where someone clicks an option and based on the data on the screen, I open Laserfiche with a search string to open the document. I would rather have the data displayed to be from Laserfiche so there is never a question of if the document exists. Hopefully, that makes sense to everyone. Thanks for the help!

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replied on December 16, 2020

HI Lucas

I had experimented with something along this road but never put it into production.

In my case I built a Form where I could query data from a database that would return me the Entry ID's of the documents in the repository that contained that piece of Metadata into a table (I had created a View in the DB where I pulled the EntryID, PropID, StringValue together for the query.

Prop_name is the Metadata field name
str_val = Metadata Field Value for that Entry
Prop_ID is the ID of the Metadata field
Tocid is the EntryIF of the field

SELECT dbo.propdef.prop_id, dbo.propval.tocid, dbo.propval.str_val, dbo.propdef.prop_name
FROM dbo.propdef INNER JOIN
dbo.propval ON dbo.propdef.prop_id = dbo.propval.prop_id

Once the table was filled, I had a Show checkbox that when checked next to the ROW, would display the document in an iFrame in the form, but you could build you own experience from there

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replied on December 16, 2020

Thank you Steve, this looks really close to what I need. I want to make sure I go the best route and if building my own sql statements to run again the LF db is the best way, then I'll do it.

I just didn't know if there was an API or something in the SDK that I could use that would be more efficient. Pretty much a call to Laserfiche and for it to return all the entries (data) for me to display based on criteria. Then when someone wants to look at the document, boom, iframe with the document just like you were going to do.

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replied on December 16, 2020 • Show version history

There is a webaccess API, there was a presentation about it in the Empower 2020 presentations decks this year. You might want to look for that. Also there is a Forms API in the same presentation

Process Designer 304 Integrating Forms with the Web Client

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Best way to query Metadata on documents from another Application?

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