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Including Directory contents in the repository

The directory monitoring feature enables EVA Netmodeler to monitor directories on file servers and periodically upload the files from the directory into the EVA Netmodeler repository. The uploaded files get linked to Document property types in repository items in the same way as if they had been uploaded through one of the browsers in the WEB user interface. This facility makes it easy to include content created by non-EVA Netmodeler users into the repository without changing the way those users work or the tools that they use.

This process involves the following steps:

Step 1: Create the LookupItem

Create an instance of type LookupItem called "Monitor Directory" and associate it with the "Action Type" LookupType item. Set the value of the "LookupValue" property to "DIRMONITOR". It should look as follows:

This Lookup Item will be used later to define the event action to be performed at a specified interval.

 

Step 2 : Create the Path Setting

You have to create a setting that holds the physical path of the directory you want to monitor. To do this you create an ArchiSystemSettings item with a name you your choosing, and assign the directory name to the SettingValue property. Note that the physical path is the path as it will look to the server program, and should be accessible to the server program both in respect of actual accessibility and NT user accessibility, since the server program will have to make changes to the files in that path.

It doesn't matter what you call the setting as long as it is not a setting already being used by EVA Netmodeler. In this example we have created a setting called "DirMonitor1" which looks like this:

In this example we have left our setting in the General Settings group, but it is good practice to include your new setting into a site specific Settings Group. In this way you will be able to differentiate your settings from other settings in the repository. Create an appropriate Archi Settings Group if one does not already exist, and link your new setting to that group. 

Step 3 : Creating the Document NodeType

The Directory Monitor Event Servicing Routine will create an instance of this type whenever it detects a new file in the directory specified by the setting created in step 2.

At the very least, this type must have one property of the "Archie2Document" type. The value of this property will be set to the new document. In this example we created a type called "MonitorDocument " which looks as follows:

 As you can see from this illustration, the MonitorDocument node type has a property called "Document" which is of the "Archie2Document " type and which will ultimately contain the actual document detected by EVA Netmodeler.

Step 4: Create the event subscription

Now set up a Timed Event Subscription to fire at the interval at which you would like to scan the directory for changes. The process of setting up a timed event is described in the Events section. You can omit this step if you already have a time event subscription for the desired interval.

Step 5: Create the event action

Now you can create your new Event Action instance and link it to your Event Subscription as described in the Events section. All in all it should look as follows:

 

 This event action will invoke the "Monitor Directory" event servicing routine (Specified by the "Perform this action" property).

The "Action Keywords" property will tell the Event Servicing Routine to look for files in the directory path held by the "DirMonitor" setting, and to create an instance of "MonitorDocument " for each file it finds there, and to copy the file into the "Document" property of the newly created instance.

The "Event Frequency" property specifies that this event should fire every 2 minutes from the time specified in the "EventLastRun" property.

Step 6 : Running the Directory Monitoring Facility

Once you have successfully completed all of the above steps, the Monitoring Facility will automatically start running. Whenever EVA Netmodeler has completed processing a document, it will change the name to: <<NAME>> (ARCHIDONE).<<EXT>>.

In other words, it will insert the string "(ARCHIDONE)" between the filename and the file extension.

The following steps will walk you through adding the EMAIL notification event that should occur whenever a new "MonitorDocument" instance has been created.