Question
What steps are involved in converting from an existing DMS to Laserfiche?
Answer
For conversion from a document management solution (DMS) to Laserfiche, several things need to be taken into consideration.
The first is imaged documents. Laserfiche works with TIFF images, so if the existing images are in TIFF format, it should be straightforward to import them into Laserfiche. If the files are not in TIFF format, then several strategies are available. Image files could be converted to TIFF images, or the existing DMS can export or "check out" the document images in TIFF format (or another format that could be converted).
The next factor to consider is electronic documents. Laserfiche deals with these in their native formats (e.g .DOC or .PDF), so ensuring the file format has not been changed is important. If it has been altered, exporting to the correct electronic format will be necessary.
Finally, the metadata must be extracted. The metadata will be used to file (folder structure) and index the documents (template fields) and may be used to name the documents as well. The method of extraction depends on how the metadata is stored. For data stored in some kind of standardized database (Access, SQL Server, Oracle, etc.), extraction will be straightforward. If it is in some kind of proprietary database format, an export utility from the system developer will be necessary. If it is in an open, but custom format such as XML, some kind of a translation tool would need to be developed. Once the metadata is extracted, you have to identify a link between the data and the exported documents, such as file name or document name.
Quick Fields is a tool that will help with the conversion once documents and metadata have been extracted from the previous DMS. Real Time Lookup will utilize the metadata to name, file, and index the documents.
To summarize, the things to keep in mind with a conversion to Laserfiche are: