Administration Guide : Importing Data into the Xinet Database

Importing Data into the Xinet Database
The Xinet import program is designed to move file names, file information, metadata, and previews from a text file into a Xinet database. The program requires a text file with fields delimited by some character (for example, commas, and tabs.). Most databases can export data into a text file in that format.
From the start, it’s important to distinguish between two cases:
If you decide to move your data files onto your Xinet server, it can automatically read in existing file names, file information, and previews. This information will not need to be included in an exported text file. The process of gathering this information, however, will take Xinet a bit of time. Once done, the import program can attach metadata to the appropriate records in the Xinet database. For this to work, the import program must know the originating path of the files, as well as the new path to the files on the server.
If you were to move data files to the new system and archive them immediately, for example. before running the Xinet import program, the import program would still be able to successfully attach metadata to the archived files.
When data files will not be moved to the Xinet server
When data files are not moved onto the Xinet server, Xinet can not read in file names, file information, nor previews. New records of this information, therefore, must be made in the database because the files are not on the server. The exported information must include everything you want to access in Xinet: for example. filenames, file information, metadata, and previews. Once the information has been successfully imported, the result will be a collection of “virtual” files—metadata will be stored, and potentially, if you set it up this way, file previews too; but, actual images will be absent. These files become Archives in a tape called DUMMY.
The following topics are provided in this section: