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Planning to import legacy content

Before you can import your legacy content, you must configure your system to successfully use the import tool.

Procedure

  1. Create the repository folders that are to hold the imported files. Make certain when creating the folders, you assign the appropriate folder content types.
    If your topics reference files such as PDFs, Word docs, or Excel files, make certain you have a Templates folder. A template is SDL LiveContent Architect terminology for objects that are not topics, maps, graphics, a library, or a publication.
  2. Make certain that the names of the files to import comply with the SDL LiveContent Architect naming convention, title=id=version=language=(resolution).ext
    Metadata is derived from the filename. Some parts may be left empty and will be assigned by SDL LiveContent Architect however, the delimiters (=) must always be present in the filename.
    • if there is no id in the filename, a GUID is used as the identifier
    • if there is no version in the filename, a new version for an object is created
  3. You must have access from the system which you are using to import, to the server. You can use a file share or an FTP connection.
  4. Optional: If you have more than 1 server configured for batch import, every server must have access to the import folder. In this case you must configure a UNC network path.
  5. You can optionally create different folders in the directory where the files to be imported are located. The default location is \InfoShare\Data\BatchImport\ImportIllustrations\ or \InfoShare\Data\BatchImport\ImportModules.
    Separate folders keep the error logs and files that could not be imported separate. For example, instead of one folder named ToBeImported, you may have separate folders, named after the person who is importing. In the SDL LiveContent Architect web interface, each subfolder has its own section on the page therefore you can easily determine who was importing the files that failed and were left on the server. The next person to do an import can then determine who to contact to request permission to move them.