How to keep original file creation date

Hi,

The default behaviour of the system is not to look into contents of the files. The various interfaces don't keep the original date present on the client.

If you are using the zip upload mechanism, then that can be modified to use the details of the files as they come out of the zip. This is an enhancement request, ofcourse.

The documents you are uploading may have the creation date stored within them. This is common to most document formats. You can set up a rule to "Extract Common Metadata", modify the overwritePolicy properties on the extractors responsible for those document types and reapply the rule after the import. You could also do the import with the rule in place and so extract the creation date from the document itself.

Regards

How exactly is this done? Sorry, I'm new to alfresco and don't understand how to "modify the overwritePolicy properties on the extractors responsible for those document types and reapply the rule after the import." (Although I do know how to set up a rule to "Extract Common Metadata"!)

Help/directions are always appreciated! Thanks 🙂

-Tamar

Hi,

You need to know how to override bean definitions: Wiki Repository Configuration.Then take a look at the metadata extractors defined in tomcat/webapps/alfresco/content-services-context.xml.Familiarise yourself with the configuration options available on these classes: JavaDocs for base class of extractors.Then override the extractors as required and set the overwritePolicy as desired.A basic overview of the extractors is available on the Wiki.

Once you've tested the extractors out to ensure that they are working as required, you can reapply the rules from the UI in the "Manage Content Rules" dialog.

Ok, I've read the wikis and think I understand what's going on. First, I realized I needed to install OpenOffice, so I did that. Then, and let me know if this is not correct, but I thought what the Metadata Extraction wiki was asking me to do is copy the sample file <extension-samples>/alfresco/extension/custom-metadata-extractors-context.xml.sample to <extension-samples>/alfresco/extension/custom-metadata-extractors-context.xml to activate metadata extraction on my server. Did that, restarted the server. In the wiki it doesn't say that I need to change the custom-repository-context.xml file– is that correct?

So I've done all these changes, but when I import the files (through CIFS) the creation date is still today's date/time. What am I doing wrong?

Another possible problem is that in the space I'm trying to import the files into, it says there are (0) rules being applied to the space (even though I created the rule at the Company Home space, of which my current upload space is a subspace, and applied that rule to all subspaces), but when I go to More Actions->Manage Content Rules in that same current upload space my rule is there, though I can't click on it. What does this mean?

-Tamar

That's just one sample of how to modify an existing extractor. You need to modify the extractor definitions by setting the appropriate properties. Are you uploading to WCM or the normal document management Spaces Store?

Uploading via CIFS to the normal DM spaces store.

Modify the extractor definitions by setting the appropriate properties in the custom-metadata-extractors-context.xml file? All I really want is what is shown in the Wiki: creationDate, creator, description, and title, which the Wiki says will be populated by the extractor by default. That's all I'm looking to do, nothing custom at this point.

That sample file only changes one extractor, just as an example: extracter.OpenDocument. Post your version of the file. What types of files are you uploading?

Ok, I think I see what you're saying. Here is my custom-metadata-extractors-context.xml file:

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
<!DOCTYPE beans PUBLIC '-//SPRING//DTD BEAN//EN' 'http://www.springframework.org/dtd/spring-beans.dtd'>

<!–
       This sample show how to modify the mappings properties of the new V2.1 Metadata Extractors.
       In this example, in addition to the default mappings, the field 'user1' is mapped to
       'cm:description'.  The available source properties is described on the Javadocs of the
       extracter class.
–>
<beans>

    <bean id="extracter.OpenDocument" class="org.alfresco.repo.content.metadata.OpenDocumentMetadataExtracter" parent="baseMetadataExtracter" >
        <property name="inheritDefaultMapping">
            <value>true</value>
        </property>
        <property name="mappingProperties">
            <props>
                <prop key="namespace.prefix.cm">http://www.alfresco.org/model/content/1.0</prop>
                <prop key="user1">cm:description</prop>
            </props>
        </property>
    </bean>

</beans>
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I see that, you are correct, the extractor is only getting the description field. Ahh… I see now- this an example for a custom metadata extractor, which is not really what I need. (Sorry- I've been out of the compsci world for a few years now and though I can read the code, it's not as easy to figure out exactly what's going on as when I was programming every day!)

I am uploading mainly MS Office documents. I see that in the Metadata Extractor wiki that there seems to be an extractor for Office metadata: "org.alfresco.repo.content.metadata.OfficeMetadataExtracter". If that is what I need, how do I get the system to load that?

Thank you for all your help!

Hi,

It is an example of overriding one of the built-in extractors. They are all defined in content-services-context.xml and can be overridden at will.

Regards

Ok… I see how to override the content-services-context.xml file by using the external configuration file custom-metadata-extractors-context.xml. However, it seems that in content-services-context.xml, a bean is already defined for extracting Office metadata

 <bean id="extracter.Office" class="org.alfresco.repo.content.metadata.OfficeMetadataExtracter" parent="baseMetadataExtracter" />‍

I don't want to override this, so much as have it do what it is supposed to do. It seems (and please let me know if I am incorrect), that by having the OfficeMetadataExtracter bean in the content-services-context.xml file, the bean should populate creationDate, creator, description, and title by default (according the the Metadata Extractor wiki). So why when I import files into alfresco is the creation date set at the date/time of upload, instead of the actual file creation date?

Or, is it that the beans listed under the <!– Content Metadata Extracters –> line are just there as placeholders, and then you still have to define the mapping properties in the custom-metadata-extractors-context.xml file? However, that file says it shows how to modify the mapping properties of the Metadata Extractors. I just want them to work with their default mappings! 😕 Any ideas?

I just saw this thread: http://forums.alfresco.com/viewtopic.php?t=3552
Is this happening because I'm uploading through CIFS? I will try uploading through the web portal and see what happens…
Has there been any progress with this issue?

Nope, even when I upload the file through the web portal, and even though I have a rule telling the system to extract common metadata, it still does not work. 😛

I don't want to override this, so much as have it do what it is supposed to do

It does what it is meant to according to many other people. If you need it to behave differently, modify the config.

Has there been any progress with this issue?

No, because the progress needs to be in your config files.

I just want them to work with their default mappings!

They do work - they've been working for ages. What you need is for the behaviour to match your requirements. If enough of our customers request different default behaviour then we will gladly change it. Ofcourse, we can't please everyone which is why it is configurable. It wasn't always configurable - not too long ago you would have had to write your own implementation of the extractors.

Regards

Ok, it's quite possible I'm doing it wrong- I am more than willing to admit that.

What you need is for the behaviour to match your requirements.

Correct. That is where the problem lies.

This is what I want to happen:
When files (let's just limit it to MS Office files for now) are uploaded into the system, they populate with the original creation date/time of the file, not the upload date/time.

This is my view on extractors:
They are defined in the <WEB-INF>/classes/alfresco/content-service-context.xml file. The default set includes PdfBoxMetadataExtracter, OfficeMetadataExtracter, MailMetadataExtracter, HtmlMetadataExtracter, MP3MetadataExtracter, OpenDocumentMetadataExtracter, and OpenOfficeMetadataExtracter. If you want to override the default set of extractors, you need to do it in the <extension-config>/alfresco/extension/custom-repository-context.xml file.

The Metadata Extraction wiki says:

By default, the extractor will not overwrite any properties already present in the document's metadata, but this can be changed by overriding the extractor's bean definition.

The Javadocs for the extractor give the list (on the left) of values extracted from the document. All these extracted values are put into a map, ready for conversion to model-specific properties. By default, the following will be populated by the extractor:

creationDate:           –      cm:created
creator:                –      cm:author
description:            –      cm:description
title:                  –      cm:title

Have I been confused by the wiki saying both "By default, the following will be populated by the extractor…" AND "By default, the extractor will not overwrite any properties already present in the document's metadata…"? Does this mean that, although the OfficeMetadataExtracter bean is defined in content-service-context.xml, it doesn't actually do anything until you "override" the bean definition in custom-repository-context.xml?

Also, where does the rule come into play? If I change custom-repository-context.xml, is the metadata extraction automatic? Or do I still have to define a rule for the space, telling it to extract common metadata from an incoming file? As an aside, I have defined the rule in the top space and applied it to subspaces. However, when I go to those subspaces it says that (0) rules are applied to that subspace, but when I go to Manage Content Rules the rule is there (and Local=no). The only time I actually see that (1) rules is applied to the space is at that top space.

Please let me know if you can see where I am going wrong. Thank you so much for your help with this!

Hi,

the extractor will not overwrite any properties already present in the document's metadata

The creation date is automatically populated by the system. If you want the extractor to overwrite the value, set the overwritePolicy property.

As for the triggering of the extraction, you will have to do this using the rules. I'm assuming that we're not working in Web Projects, but rather in the normal document management spaces. The best way to play with this is to upload a new document and check that the file's description is set. When you upload via the Web Client, one of the wizard steps will actually do an extraction and present the values for changing. If you get the correct description there, then you know that the extractors are working. That should be out of the box.

To get automatic application of the extractors, the rules will need to be firing. Once again, the basic non-overwriting extractors will be available to the rule.

Once it's working, override the beans and set the overwrite policy to have the creation date set.

Regards

Hi,
I have overridden the metadata extractors in order to extract the creation date.
Below is the open office bean:

custom-metadata-extractors-content.xml

…
   <bean class="org.alfresco.repo.content.metadata.OpenOfficeMetadataExtracter" parent="baseMetadataExtracter" init-method="init" >

      <property name="overwitePolicy">
            <value>CAUTIOUS</value>
      </property>
        <property name="mappingProperties">
            <props>
                <prop key="namespace.prefix.cm">http://www.alfresco.org/model/content/1.0</prop>
                <prop key="creationDate">cm:created</prop>
            </props>
        </property>
      <property name="connection">

         <ref bean="openOfficeConnection" />

      </property>

   </bean>
…

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and a Rule on the Company Home to extract common metadata on all inbound items.
However, the date on the file is today. Is my config file correct or am I missing a step ?

Thanks in advance.
Finner

You should inheritDefaultMapping (unless it is the only property you want extracted) and use EAGER modification metadata.

Hi Derek,
much abliged for the quick response. I still can't keep the original date of a document.

…
   <bean class="org.alfresco.repo.content.metadata.OpenOfficeMetadataExtracter" parent="baseMetadataExtracter" init-method="init" >

        <property name="inheritDefaultMapping">
            <value>true</value>
        </property>
      <property name="overwritePolicy">
            <value>EAGER</value>
      </property>
        <property name="mappingProperties">
            <props>
                <prop key="namespace.prefix.cm">http://www.alfresco.org/model/content/1.0</prop>
                <prop key="creationDate">cm:created</prop>
            </props>
        </property>
      <property name="connection">

         <ref bean="openOfficeConnection" />

      </property>

   </bean>

…
‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍

I'm copying a .odt to the repository and the created and modified dates are for today.
Does the above look correct ?

Hint: It's time to read the javadocs for the extractors. You'll see which extractors handle the different mimetypes and which properties they pull out. So you're using an odt document. You're overriding the incorrect extractor for that.

Regards

Hi,

From the Javadocs

public class OpenDocumentMetadataExtracter
extends AbstractMappingMetadataExtracter

Metadata extractor for the MIMETYPE_OPENDOCUMENT_XXX mimetypes.

   creationDate:           –      cm:created
   creator:                –      cm:author
   date:
   description:            –      cm:description
   generator:
   initialCreator:
   keyword:
   language:
   printDate:
   printedBy:
   subject:
   title:                  –      cm:title
   All user properties

… the OpenDocumentExtractor needs to be overridden for ODT documents.

. . .
   <bean class="org.alfresco.repo.content.metadata.OpenDocumentMetadataExtracter" parent="baseMetadataExtracter" >

        <property name="inheritDefaultMapping">
            <value>true</value>
        </property>
      <property name="overwritePolicy">
            <value>EAGER</value>
      </property>
        <property name="mappingProperties">
            <props>
                <prop key="namespace.prefix.cm">http://www.alfresco.org/model/content/1.0</prop>
                <prop key="creationDate">cm:created</prop>
            </props>
        </property>
   </bean>
. . .
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I actually have ALL the extractors overridden.

This is my PDF extractor :

. . .
   <bean class="org.alfresco.repo.content.metadata.PdfBoxMetadataExtracter" parent="baseMetadataExtracter" >

        <property name="inheritDefaultMapping">
            <value>true</value>
        </property>
      <property name="overwritePolicy">
            <value>EAGER</value>
      </property>
        <property name="mappingProperties">
            <props>
                <prop key="namespace.prefix.cm">http://www.alfresco.org/model/content/1.0</prop>
                <prop key="created">cm:created</prop>
            </props>
        </property>
   </bean>
. . .
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When I upload a PDF (using Add Content from menu) the Created Date and Modified Date are today. I also ran the Extract Common metadata rule again on the document. The rule is applied to the Company Home space and the Author of the document is being extracted.
I'm obviously missing a step ….?????..

Finner

Are the cm:title and cm:description fields being correctly set?

Title, description and Athor are being extracted.
Do the extracters work when in CIFS as well ?
Finner

Yes. If the cm:title and cm:description are being extracted when running via CIFS, then there is a bug with the overriding. If not, then it's a rules issue - maybe a bug, even.

Same thing is happening here. This is my custom-metadata-extracters-context.xml file:

<beans>
    <bean id="extracter.Office" class="org.alfresco.repo.content.metadata.OfficeMetadataExtracter" parent="baseMetadataExtracter" >
        <property name="inheritDefaultMapping">
            <value>true</value>
        </property>
   <property name="overwritePolicy">
       <value>EAGER</value>
   </property>
        <property name="mappingProperties">
            <props>
                <prop key="namespace.prefix.cm">http://www.alfresco.org/model/content/1.0</prop>
                <prop key="createDateTime">cm:created</prop>
      <prop key="subject">cm:description</prop>
            </props>
        </property>
    </bean>
</beans>‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍

The subject gets mapped to cm:description (I used a test string which worked fine), but the creation date/time does not get mapped to cm:created (still comes out as date/time of upload). This happens both when I upload via CIFS and through normal document management spaces. I also tried putting in a local rule to extract common metadata (even though there's a rule at the Company Home space that applies to all subspaces), and still no luck.

It seems that Finner and I are having the exact same problem (with different extractors). This may not be a coincidence… What are your thoughts, derek?

Indeed. I've refered this to QA for further testing.

Regards

Thanks! Looking forward to an answer

So in a strange turn of events… I was working on a different thing in Alfresco, and I got a file to upload with a different creation date/time than the upload date/time, however it is not the one that Windows shows under the file properties.

Windows properties under General tab:
Created- Yesterday, November 13, 2007, 12:12:23 PM [date I put the file on my system]
Modified- Wednesday, January 03, 2007, 10:16:52 AM [the last date the file was modified]
Accessed- Today, November 14, 2007, 1:37:15 PM

Windows properties under Summary/Advanced tab:
Date Created- 7/29/2003 7:10am [the actual creation date of the template file]
Date Last Saved- 1/3/2007 10:16am
Last Printed- 1/2/2007 11:34am

When I upload to Alfresco, its properties show as:
Created date- 29 July 2003 08:10 [technically "correct", but I wanted the last save date in practice]
Modified date- 14 November 2007 13:53 [upload date/time]

So…. I took a closer look at the files I was trying to get work previously. When I use Alfresco to check the properties of the file, I do get the correct Created Date; however, it's the Modified Date that shows with the icon under the space, which may have been where I was going wrong to begin with. It looked like the file was being uploaded with the wrong creation date, but it actually was working.

I will try changing the metadata extractor to pull the "modified" date/time from the file and let you know how it turns out. Stay tuned!