About Archiving #

The Archiving module in the Extension Kit for M-Files provides a seamless way to compress and decompress files within M-Files and other external sources like network drives and SFTP servers. It is designed to automate and simplify the process of archiving and extracting documents based on user-defined rules and conditions.

Key Features:

• Archiving: Users can compress documents stored in the M-Files vault into archive formats. Archiving can be triggered manually or automatically when objects meet specific criteria. The resulting archives can be password-protected for added security. Supported formats:
  • 7z – archiving and AES256 encryption,
  • ZIP – archiving, password protect, AES128/192/256 encryption,
  • TAR – archiving only (does not support password protecting / encrypting).
• Decompression: Archives from M-Files, file shares, or FTP servers can be extracted and imported into M-Files as either individual documents or a single multi-file document. Extracted files are tagged with a comment containing the full source path of the archive. Option to create:
  • Individual documents for each file in the archive.
  • A single multi-file object in the vault.
  Configurable properties for extracted files:
  • Metadata, including object class and type.
  • Replace existing files on destination objects.
  Supported formats:
  • 7z – unarchiving (does not support password protected archives),
  • ZIP – unarchiving, password protected, AES128/192/256 decryption,
  • TAR – unarchiving (does not support password protected archives),
  • RAR – unarchiving, password protected.
• Flexible Source and Destination: Archives can be saved back to M-Files, or external destinations, and new objects can be created dynamically if they don’t exist. Decompressed files can similarly be stored in vaults, replacing existing files or as new objects. Supported sources / destinations:
  • Vault,
  • Disk (including Network Share),
  • SFTP.

Accessing Archiving #

After you have successfully installed the application, you should configure Insights.

1. Open M-Files Admin.
2. In the left-side tree view, expand the desired connection to M-Files Server.
3. In the left-side tree view, expand the Document Vaults node.
4. Still, in the left-side tree view, expand the vault where you installed the connector and select Configurations.
5. Expand Other Applications.
6. Expand Extension Kit.
7. Click on Archiving.

Initial Configuration Steps #

To begin configuring a rule, you need to define four fundamental fields to establish the rule’s essentials. For detailed descriptions, please click on each field below:

• Name
• Description
• Enabled
• Configuration mode.