Vyapin Blogs

We have come out with a significant major release of our flagship SharePoint document migration tool, DocKIT for SharePoint 2010 / 2007.

DocKIT v4.0 now supports Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 and Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2010 in addition to its support to the earlier versions of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 (MOSS 2007) and Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services (WSS 3.0).

DocKIT in addition to its support to native SharePoint 2010 environment has come out with the following new features:

1. Extended support to Business Connectivity Services: Business Connectivity Services (BCS) is all about keeping the users connected to external databases and other sources of enterprise data (LOB systems). BCS is an evolution of Business Data Catalog (BDC) feature in SharePoint 2007, allowing the users to better integrate external data to the SharePoint portal. DocKIT through its support to BCS / BDC ensures that users can map their existing line of business applications into the SharePoint portal, thereby allowing the users to leverage on integrated information.
2. Support to Managed metadata: Managed metadata resembles the ‘Lookup Columns’ of SharePoint 2007. Unlike Look Up columns where it was impossible for the users to share metadata across site collections, Managed metadata is not site specific. Managed metadata has a centralized repository of pre-defined metadata that can be replicated for use throughout the SharePoint environment without having to define them every single time. DocKIT helps users retrieve the metadata values from ‘term sets’ associated with the Managed Metadata column.
3. Supports Document Sets: Document sets allow users to bundle related documents and treat them as a single entity. With DocKIT, the users can migrate multiple documents from file repositories and manage them better by assigning metadata to these ‘compound documents’ through an external metadata source.

DocKIT with its support to SharePoint 2010 features such as ‘Ratings Column’ data type, ‘Asset Library’ etc. would help organizations achieve a better collaborative environment by allowing the users to leverage on the extended features of SharePoint 2010.

The interesting information is the latest version of DocKIT supports both SharePoint 2010 and SharePoint 2007 environment within the same version of the product. This means our DocKIT customers do not have to invest twice (lower TCO) in a SharePoint document migration solution, one for each SharePoint version and can also quickly adapt / transition to the new version using the familiar interface.

For a free trial version of DocKIT for SharePoint 2010/2007 please visit our product home page at http://www.vyapin.com/products/sharepoint/sharepoint-2010/dockit/sharepoint-migration.htm.

Our flagship SharePoint migration solution, DocKIT is out with a beta version for SharePoint 2010. DocKIT for SharePoint 2010 fully supports SharePoint 2010 environment with the following additional new features:

1.Support to Business Continuity Services: Business Continuity Services (BCS) is an extension to the Business Data Catalog provision of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 to integrate external data to the portal. BCS with out-of-the box features, services and tools allows deep integration of external data both online and offline. BCS is all about connectivity and is all set to provide connectivity support to external databases and other data sources. DocKIT with its extended support to BCS would allow users to leverage on the external data source.

2.Support to Managed Metadata type: Managed metadata type is about having a centralized collection of pre-defined metadata and managing them independently from SharePoint columns. Metadata values are assigned by referring to the centralized metadata ‘repository ‘. DocKIT helps users assign metadata to the corresponding documents through a metadata file by retrieving the specific metadata value from the term set corresponding to the Managed metadata column.

3.Supports Document Sets: Document Sets are special containers allowing users to treat a document collection as a single entity. It is yet another ‘Folder Content Type’. DocKIT allows users to migrate documents from specific file locations and get them grouped as a document set. Assigning metadata to the document set could be easily done through an external metadata file.

4.Support to Asset Library and other SharePoint built-in columns such as Ratings: DocKIT extends its support to Asset library, a powerful content management feature in SharePoint 2010 allowing the users to share rich media assets without necessarily reproducing them. New SharePoint Built-In columns like Ratings column are also supported by DocKIT. Like the other SharePoint columns, ratings for documents can be updated using an external metadata file.

DocKIT ‘s new features are certain to extend the out-of-the-box functionalities of SharePoint 2010 and add value to enterprise content management at an enterprise level.

For a free trial version of DocKIT beta for SharePoint 2010, visit the product home page at http://www.vyapin.com/products/sharepoint/sharepoint-2010/dockit/sharepoint-file-migration-tool.htm

Our flagship SharePoint migration product, DocKIT for SharePoint 2007 has come out with a feature rich new version. This new version of DocKIT for SharePoint 2007 v3.9 is a significant release from the solution’s usability standpoint. Usability is something that we keep constantly improvising on.

Our DocKIT customers would now be bestowed with the following provisions with the new release:

1. Web Services Component Indicator: DocKIT has in it now a provision to indicate to the user about the existence of DocKIT Web Services component in the destination SharePoint server. The user has to specify the SharePoint site URL and its corresponding credentials to verify the existence of DocKIT Web Services component. It can be accessed from the Tools Menu of the application (Tools–> Test DocKIT Web Service). The new feature is expected to avoid any Web Services Component mismatch. DocKIT Web Services component indicator has been incorporated based on suggestions from some of our DocKIT’s customers.

2. Support for Forms Authentication: DocKIT now supports a Forms Authentication validating the users against the corresponding SharePoint environment. With this feature, DocKIT extends its support to websites configured with Forms Authentication validation type. DocKIT would automatically initiate Windows Authentication or Forms Authentication depending on the destination SharePoint site configuration settings.

We also added forms authentication to our SharePoint to Windows file system migration tool, SPListX quite recently: http://www.vyapin.com/blogs/index.php/2010/03/10/splistx-for-sharepoint-2007-v31-released/.

3. Elapsed Time Display: Users can view the time taken for a particular task to migrate documents to the destination SharePoint document library. DocKIT now keeps the user informed about the time involved in migrating documents and this would help the user in scheduling migration tasks.

4. Profile Manager Tool: Users now can define the User Profiles and their credentials through the Profile Manager tool. Windows-based credentials and Forms-Based credentials can be defined through this. Using this, the users can just select their corresponding credentials without manually entering them every time.

For a 30-day free trial version or to upgrade to the latest version of DocKIT software, visit the product home page at http://www.vyapin.com/products/sharepoint/moss-2007/dockit/sharepoint-2007-file-migration.htm.

One of the most common scenarios in SharePoint migration is the migration of File shares and folders from various sources – file servers, desktops and other storage devices. While the need for migrating files and folders is quite common, the task of getting this accomplished becomes very complex if there are a large number of files and folders to migrate. You will need an automated solution that will take care of some of these complexities. A large migration typically involves migrating and tagging tens of thousands of files (documents) from legacy file shares and folders into a new SharePoint repository while retaining the existing taxonomy or moving to a completely new taxonomy.
Most file system users will not be familiar with the concept of document metadata. They are more familiar with the term file properties. The concept of document metadata originates from Document Management Systems (DMS), where documents are stored and made searchable on a wider set of keywords and phrases. Document libraries in SharePoint are akin to Document Management Systems in the way they store documents and properties for search and retrieval. However, these properties need to be presented to SharePoint during migration in a certain manner that makes the search and retrieval more powerful and elegant. You may migrate / propagate metadata fields from the document properties stored within the file or using an external metadata file / database. Mapping and tagging existing file properties and adding additional properties to documents in SharePoint, especially for a well structured taxonomy can be a laborious process. Thus, migrating files and folders along with metadata needs an appropriate solution that will break down the migration into several different tasks (automated batch processes), with several different rules to process the files and folders.
Our SharePoint migration tool for File shares and folders, DocKIT, allows users to move folders and files along with metadata (using an external metadata file and file properties) from file system to SharePoint libraries based on the folders/files added by the user using the DocKIT user interface. Some of the supported metadata elements that typically define the source content are:

• Custom properties defined in the external metadata file
• Summary file system properties - Title, Subject, Author, Category, Keywords and Comments
• File properties such as Manager, Company, DateLastPrinted, DateLastSaved, RevisionNumber, Version, WordCount etc. in the case of MS-Office documents
• Original Created Date & Last Modified Date of source documents
• Author (Created By) and Editor (Modified By) of source documents
• Content Approval Status & Approval Comments

Please click the following link to know more about Vyapin’s DocKIT: http://www.vyapin.com/products/sharepoint/moss-2007/dockit/sharepoint-2007-file-migration.htm

The much anticipated release of SharePoint 2010 is on the cards. It’s almost official that the final cut would be released by June 2010. The beta version is already out and is certainly creating a buzz among the business community. The latest version that is coming up has flexible deployment options and has kindled our excitement as well. Several customers have inquired about our products’ compatibility with the latest version of SharePoint. Our answer to them is yes, we have all our products ready for the next big release of SharePoint.

Our reporting tool for SharePoint, ARKSP is ready for its major upgrade for the SharePoint 2010 release and should be up and running by next week. DocKIT, our flagship document migration solution is to follow suit with its upgraded version for SharePoint 2010. We have been getting a lot of queries from keen customers about DocKIT’s compatibility with SharePoint 2010 and we are not going to make them wait any further than the first week of Feb 2010. The SharePoint to file system migration solution, SPListX is gearing up for the release with additional ‘Search Criteria’ features, which, the users are going to find it extremely useful in pulling out precise ‘spot-on’ information. Our SharePoint list management solution, SPListM comes out with a beta version by March 2010. XPlica, our solution to your migration needs (from SharePoint to SharePoint libraries) would be the last to be released. We have scheduled it for April 2010. We are on full speed to keep our solutions abreast with the biggest release of SharePoint and to continue helping our customers leverage their SharePoint resources. The beta version of our products has already started to roll out and is being evaluated by some of our renowned customers. We have already started to listen to some excellent feedback from our customers and we are looking forward to keep the momentum going on. The next couple of months are going to be extremely significant for us as we deliver the latest versions to our customers and prospects.
Looking forward to an absorbing month ahead…

We have released a new and improved version of DocKIT for SharePoint 2007 about a week back. We included some nice features based on the customer feedback we received over the last few months. (BTW, we are very attentive when it comes to customer feedback and feature suggestions, which has truly brought us to where we are today).

If you are a customer waiting for just these features, then DocKIT for SharePoint 2007 v3.8 version is right for you.

1)    Support for Business Data Catalog (BDC) column data type in SharePoint libraries. Business Data Catalog (BDC) column values must be provided with the appropriate filter name to use in order to query the LOB records. You must provide the BDC column value in the format: <filter name>:<value>. For example: “Company Name:NorthWind”, where Company Name is the filter name and NorthWind is the value you are searching for and would like to assign to the column.

2)    You can upload documents to Link to Document SharePoint default content type. This content type allows you to store a link to a document in a document library instead of the document itself. This content type is useful when referencing documents that are stored in http(s) locations.

3)    With the new version you can update the same metadata to all the existing files and folders based on wildcard characters.For example:http://sharepoint/library1/folder1/*      -   Update all folders and sub-folders only, but skip fileshttp://sharepoint/library1/folder1/*.*  -  Update all files and sub-folders

4)    When migrating folders and files from the file system to a SharePoint library, you can update the folder metadata to the file, in case there is no specific metadata given for the file that is imported to SharePoint. In other words, you can apply the same folder metadata to all files / documents within a folder, without the need to specify unique metadata entry for each file.

5)    You can now use complex HTML syntax to update SharePoint columns in HTML format. This feature is especially useful for Wiki pages.

6)    One of the common practices while using DocKIT is to interchangeably use UNC Path and Mapped Drive Letters when adding files to import and providing metadata entries. The earlier versions required that the user must be consistent in UNC Path or Mapped Drive letter usage when creating the import task (cannot specify both interchangeably). This new version automatically resolves UNC Path and Mapped Drives so that users can use them interchangeably without the need to fix this error and re-import documents.For any new feature suggestions or feedback, send us an e-mail to support at vyapin dot com.

In our previous post we had discussed in detail many of the Sharepoint document migration challenges. Here we will summarize how Vyapin’s DocKIT solution addresses these issues.

DocKIT for SharePoint 2007 imports folders and documents to SharePoint libraries with the following metadata that typically define the source content:
 

	Custom properties defined in the external metadata file
	Summary file system properties - Title, Subject, Author, Category, Keywords and Comments
	File properties such as Manager, Company, DateLastPrinted, DateLastSaved, RevisionNumber, Version, WordCount etc. in the case of MS-Office documents
	Original Created Date & Last Modified Date of source documents
	Author (Created By) and Editor (Modified By) of source documents
	Content Approval Status & Approval Comments

Import folders & files and metadata
Import folders and files along with metadata (external metadata file and file properties) from file system to SharePoint libraries based on the folders/files added by the user using the DocKIT user interface.

Import documents from a batch descriptor file
Import folders and files along with metadata (external metadata file and file properties) from file system to SharePoint libraries based on the entries in the batch descriptor file.

Apply metadata to documents from metadata file
Update document properties to documents already residing in a SharePoint libraries using the values specified in the metadata file.
 
Import metadata of documents
DocKIT allows you to associate metadata of documents stored in an external file, thereby eliminating the burden of manually entering values to the documents while checking in. This feature is extremely useful if you have the document properties (metadata) stored in a database or spreadsheet or any other third-party application.
 
DocKIT associates file system properties ( ‘Summary’ properties) - Title, Subject, Author, Category, Keywords, and Comments and applies it to the respective documents in SharePoint. DocKIT imports file properties such as Manager, Company, DateLastPrinted, DateLastSaved, RevisionNumber, Version, WordCount etc. and all other custom file properties in the case of MS-Office documents. DocKIT retains and propagates the original Created Date, Last Modified Date, Created By (Author) and Modified By (Editor) and assigns it to the respective system columns in SharePoint library (Note: DocKIT Web Services component must be installed in the SharePoint Server to propagate the date fields correctly).These features are extremely useful if you want to store the original document property values in the respective SharePoint columns.  
 
Import multiple file versions
DocKIT imports multiple file versions of documents in the source folder in the user specified order (version sequence). You can also rename files in the source folder location to collate them as multiple file versions.Tasks Manager
DocKIT creates import tasks and maintains task history in a task oriented interface. Create a scheduled task or store the task settings and manually run the task on-demand. Keep track of all import tasks performed using DocKIT. Task Manager internally uses the familiar Windows Task Scheduler to run import tasks at different time intervals - daily, monthly, weekly etc.

Two of the most common questions from our customers while migrating documents  to SharePoint libraries are the following:

1. Can DocKIT import Created Date and Last Modified Date fields of files in file system?

2. Can DocKIT import Created By and Modified By fields of folders and/or files to SharePoint?

Let us answer the first question: DocKIT propagates the Created Date and Last Modified Date fields from original Source (file system or summary properties) to the respective date fields for folders and/or files in SharePoint. For this to happen, the DocKIT Web Services must be installed in Windows Server 2003 running Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 or Windows SharePoint Services v3.0 (32-bit or 64-bit platform). Without the web service component, this will not work as the component takes care of carrying forward these two date fields. There is one more requirement to get this to work correctly. The user name specified in SharePoint Login dialog / user account specified in the Run As parameter in the scheduled task is a:

• Member of administrators group in the local server and remote SQL Server (or)  
• Application pool user account (or)
• Owner of the site where the destination library resides.

Apart from the file system date fields, DocKIT also allows users to assign ‘Date Created’, ‘Date Last Printed’, ‘Date Last Saved’ in MS-Office documents to be assigned to the system date fields in SharePoint (namely, Created Date and Modified Date).
 
Next, what about the Created By and Modified By fields of folders and/or files?
 
DocKIT propagates the Created By and Modified By fields from original source document (namely, Author, Manager & Last Saved By) or any other user column specified in the external metadata file to the respective user fields for folders and/or files in SharePoint. Again, the same requirements of installing the Dockit web service and running the scheduled task  stated above apply to this scenario too.