Manage all types of data with ArchivistaDMS
Egg, Switzerland, 11 May 2016: The Archivista software has operated without plugins since 1998, i.e. the archived data can be displayed directly in the application. With release 2016/V, the ArchivistaBox has been expanded to allow the archiving of any data that is available in the zip format. The zip format ensures that no plugins are required in the future in order to manage data with the ArchivistaBox. The following blog explains how the new format works.
File contents of all kinds previously ‘only’ in mail archiving
Until now, file contents of all kinds could only be archived using mail archiving. Although mail archiving is now available for almost all the ArchivistaBoxes (except the Dolder), connecting to an IMAP mail server in order to archive data requires certain skills.
Zip files as containers
Zip files can now be archived directly. During this process, any PDF files in the zip file are automatically extracted and displayed directly in the WebClient; all the remaining files are listed on the first page as a file list. Zip files archived in this way can be conveniently extracted from the document management system.
The zip files can either be added to the archive via the file upload or via the ‘office’ folder, just as has previously been done with other data. This has the advantage that no parameters need to be set for the new feature. In version 2016/V, the functionality is indeed already available to all users in the basic configuration.
Using the zip format also ensures that no plugins will be necessary on clients in the future. The zip format has been available on all operating systems for decades. Formats that provide somewhat better compression have admittedly emerged in the meantime, but these formats are by no means as common as the zip format.
Zip format instead of XML data
We would like to note here that the new version was realised in order to enable a customer to archive Swiss customs documents. Originally, it was planned by the government agencies that the XML data that was provided would be contained directly in the PDF files, but the customs authority now makes the XML files available separately to the PDF files.
In the discussions with the customer, it was first evaluated whether to archive and/or make the XML data itself readable. However, because the readability of the data is already contained in the PDF file itself, the archiving of the XML data streams was not pursued and the container concept with the zip files was implemented instead.
The present solution can therefore be used for all data types. In this sense, the ArchivistaBox from version 2016/V can be used to very simply manage even exotic data. But there is no risk that programs with malicious code could be executed directly on download, as the zip file is always obtained initially.
Update for all customers
The new release is available to all customers. To receive the update, please send an e-mail with the keyword ‘Update’ to webmaster@archivista.ch. The update will be available after just a short time and can be conveniently installed using WebConfig – via ‘Deactivate ArchivistaBox’ and ‘Online Update’ there. After a restart, the feature is directly available.
