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Automating the migration of content from an old system into FotoWare

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The implementation of a fully functional DAM system often involves migrating files from various locations and organizing them in a folder structure before additional processing can be applied. 

In such a scenario, some challenges are quite common and can be overcome using various workflow features in Color Factory

  • Both high resolution and low resolution copied of images in the system can be stored in the same folder structure, and doing a manual extraction is often not doable because of the sheer volume.
  • Files may not have naming conventions in place, making it even harder to tell which version is which
  • Files may be stored on multiple servers, and your aim is to centralize this and place it in a meaningful structure

 

Assuming you have an existing system that holds information about what all the assets in the system are, it will often be possible to migrate from the old system to the new using Color Factory's Job Request Files (JRF). JRF files are text files with instructions to Color Factory about which files to process and which processing to apply.

  • First off you will need to export the network path (UNC) of the assets from the old system from which the migration is being made.
  • With software such as SQL server, Microsoft Excel, FileMaker or other solutions, it is often very straightforward to create a JRF file per asset in the system and drop this into a Color Factory folder.

 

A JRF file can for example look like this:

[JRF]
M_VERSION=2
M_INPUT_FILE=C:\Fotoware server\10 DAM filer\Historia\SSMD000731S.jpg
M_OUTPUT_FILE=C:\ColorFactory folders\01 Images output folder\SSMD000731S
M_REMOVE_INPUT_FILE=0
M_SET_EXTENSION=1
M_RETURN_PRF=0
O_INPUT_UID=85DFEBBF867A464E 93D17497CF4B1912

 

As the JRF is stored in Color Factory's channel input folder, all assets will be fetched and moved to the desired folder one by one (one file per JRF file) in a very controlled manner. This technique has proven successful even for extremely large collections of assets.

This process can be used for all types of assets - it's not limited to images.

Tip: Learn more about the functionality of JRF files by clicking here.