Vyapin Blogs

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…