The folders are the project’s memory
Years of a project’s structure sit in its folder names. A bulk copy that flattens them leaves a pile of files that only the person who made the original tree can find their way around.
Moving an archive
Migrate project documents to a new system without losing the folders
A project is already running, and its drawings, specifications and correspondence sit in a shared drive or another system. They have to move over with their folders intact, and nothing already in the new place may be overwritten. This page is a plan for that move in Fidrel: what to clean first, how to test with one folder, how the review step works, how to split a large archive under the limits, and what does not move with the files.
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What makes a document move go wrong
Part of the project is already in the new system
Once people have started uploading, a second copy of the same sheets either duplicates them or replaces something newer. The move has to know the difference between a file that is new and a file that is already there.
The file name is the only metadata
Number, title and revision live in file names written by dozens of people. Names with odd separators or a trailing “final” turn into odd numbers in the new register, and nobody notices until a sheet is not found.
What the import keeps and how it treats what exists
The Import center takes a folder, a ZIP file or a CSV of folder paths. Folders are kept and merged with existing folders of the same name, so an import into a project that already has a drawings folder adds to it. Documents that already exist are skipped, or get the file as a new version, as you choose, and unchanged files are always skipped. A file whose number is taken becomes a new number rather than a duplicate, and says so in the review. Files that sat loose at the root are gathered in folders of their own, so they show in the document register.
Documents, drawings & models
What each imported version records about its source
An imported version keeps a trace of where it came from. Its details show the ZIP archive it was in, the Path in archive and the Checksum, and the change note carries the name of the source. Finished imports are listed under Earlier imports as Done, Done with exceptions or Failed, with the reason for each file that was skipped or failed. If you must show later where a drawing came from, this is the place to look.
A plan for the move, in order
Step 1
Clean the file names first
The import reads document number and title from each file name, just as a normal upload does. Fix the names that do not follow your pattern at the source, and delete system files and empty files, which the import leaves out anyway.
Step 2
Test with one folder
Open the Import center under Administration and use Choose folder or Choose ZIP file on a single discipline. Drop it in, look at the result in Documents, and judge the numbering and folders on a small sample before the big run.
Step 3
Review before importing
Fidrel lists every file as New, New version or Already there before it saves anything. Choose where to Import into, skip the top folder if it only wraps the contents, and untick any file. Set If a document already exists to Skip it or Add as a new version.
Step 4
Import in parts under the limits
One import takes up to 5,000 files and 5 GB. Split a larger archive by discipline or by year, and run the parts one after another. Keep the page open while it runs; Stop ends it after the current files, and Retry the ones that failed picks up the rest.
Step 5
Open in Documents and set the status
Choose Open in Documents to check the result. Imported files come in as Working. Select a group of them and use Change status; the approved statuses can be set only by an administrator or a document controller.
The limits, and how to work inside them
One import takes up to 5,000 files and 5 GB. A ZIP file can be up to 1 GB, and each file up to 50 MB, with IFC models allowed up to 512 MB. A larger ZIP file is refused with a message to unpack it and choose the folder instead. Importing needs the right to upload documents; without it you can see earlier imports but not start one. An import that stops partway shows as Interrupted.
What does not move, and what Fidrel does not do
Fidrel does not connect to your old system; the import reads a folder, a ZIP file or a CSV that you give it. Comments, markups, review history, statuses and access rules in the old system do not come with the files. An imported file arrives with the status Working and without a revision of its own; a revision read from its name is kept in the version’s details. An import never overwrites a document that is already there; it skips it, or adds the file as a new version.
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Moving an archive
Frequently asked questions
Anything else on your mind? We are happy to help.
Talk to usClean the file names, test with one folder, then use the Import center to bring in a folder or a ZIP file with the structure kept. Review every row before it is saved, and import larger archives in parts.
Yes. Drop a ZIP file or choose a folder, and the folders are kept and merged with existing folders of the same name. A CSV with one path per line creates only the folders, without files.
You choose. A document that already exists is skipped, or the file is added to it as a new version, and files that are unchanged are always skipped. Nothing is overwritten.
One import takes up to 5,000 files and 5 GB. A ZIP file can be up to 1 GB and each file up to 50 MB, with IFC models up to 512 MB. Split anything larger into several imports.
No. Only files and folders move. Imported files come in as Working, and comments, markups and review history stay in the old system. Set the statuses afterward, in groups if you like.