MatchPoint Snow Workspace File Import Functionality

Date: 12. Oct 2016

The file import functionality in MatchPoint Snow enables end users to easily import files and folder structures from any source system to a document library in the current MatchPoint Snow workspace. This functionality can be a big help during migration scenarios but also during day to day work when users needs to deal with large amounts of files coming from other systems or devices (e.g. USB sticks, network drives, etc.).

Compared to SharePoint’s regular file upload (e.g. using drag and drop in the document library), this has several advantages:

• Complex folder structures and large or many files can be uploaded seamlessly.
• Users can prepare their files in a temporary folder on a network share using the Windows Explorer. This is more intuitive and flexible than working directly in SharePoint document libraries with large number of files.
• Configured rules are automatically applied during the upload process, e.g. to check if the file type is supported/allowed to be added to SharePoint or perform automatic renamings, etc. This can help enforcing corporate standards and simplify the process for the end user. As normally he would need to do all those steps manually.

During the whole process the user is guided by a dialog explaining further steps. The user can close the dialog when he wants to continue his work and come back, when he has time to continue his import session.

The basic flow for the end user

• The user creates a new import session by choosing the corresponding contextual action within the workspace. In the background a temporary folder is created, where only the user and system accounts have access. This is where the user can prepare his files/folders for the upload. The user can access the temporary folder using Windows Explorer.
• Once the user is ready, he can start the import which is then executed by a timer job in the background. During the import, the timer job will analyze the files, perform the configured rules and upload the files, if no additional user action is required.
• The result of the upload will be displayed to the user in an Excel report containing the target path, as well as further information.
• If not all files were uploaded successfully, the user can refer to the Excel report, perform the required manual adjustments and restart the import session.

Installation and Configuration

To enable the file import functionality the site collection scoped feature with the ID 60537358-158c-4c2b-a210-905cd55ba17b and name Colygon.MatchPoint.Snow.FileImportIntegration needs to be activated on the MatchPoint Instance site collection. This feature provisions the import timer job (MatchPoint Snow File Import Timer Job) which is by default scheduled to run every 5 minutes.

The file import functionality is configured in a Singleton Configuration (FileImportConfiguration.xml). The configuration options are relevant for all workspaces, i.e. all workspace types. Please view the MemberDescriptors in the configuration editor for details.

Some background information

• The file import sessions are stored in one list per workspace.
• There can only be one active session per user and workspace, but the same user can have sessions on multiple workspaces simultaneously.
• The timer job is implemented using the SPWorkItemJobDefinition class.
• Depending on the number of files in the import sessions and/or the number of concurrent import sessions on the system, the job can take several minutes to hours to complete.
• While the timer job process is running and actually importing the files, the user’s permissions are removed, in order to lock the session and prevent the user from adding/removing any files.
• Please refer to following MSDN article for further information regarding the path- and filename-length restrictions in SharePoint: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff919564(v=office.14).aspx#Anchor_1
• Please be aware that the Windows Explorer (or the Windows API in general) has limitations regarding the path length, i.e. it is limited to 260 characters.