...

The Filesystem Connector saves frevvo submissions to local or remote file systems (Windows, Linux). You can:

Save each submission to its own folder
Save all submissions to the same folder
Choose to keep file names or generate a file name
Generate metadata for import into your Enterprise Content Management system.

Submission form/workflow XML document(s), attachments that are added by the user and the PDF snapshot of your form/workflow can be saved in the configured submissions directory.

Note
Signatures are not saved as they are a different content type than attachments.

Using the Filesystem Connector to save submissions to a shared directory might be an alternative if your forms/workflows contain sensitive/secure information that you would rather not send via email or if you want to import the submissions into your Enterprise Content Management system.

...

Image Added

Submissions from frevvo are posted to the Filesystem Connector using the Doc Action 1069270207.

The Filesystem Connector is available for cloud and in-house frevvo customers.

Info
frevvo only supports/certifies the Filesystem Connector running in the Apache Tomcat container.

Generation of a metadata file for each submission can imported into a document management system. This is possible with the Send to File System wizard and a descriptor file that provides the instructions in freemarker language. Once the metadata file is generated, it is the customer's responsibility to import it into the document management system.

...

width	300px

On This Page:

...

Installing the Filesystem Connector

...

If you use the frevvo Cloud hosted server, you must ensure that the connector is accessible from the frevvo servers. This is done by opening up one of the following ports in your firewall:
- HTTP Ports: 80 or 19080
- HTTPs Ports: 443 or 19443
Code Block
We recommend that you use https and not http. Https is a secure channel.
Customers that use firewall white-listing, should make sure the frevvo cloud outgoing server IP 54.86.85.105 (host outgoing.frevvo.com) is added to the list.
If you want to install the Filesystem Connector in the frevvo In-House tomcat bundle, follow these easy steps: (You don't have to use the frevvo application from this bundle).
1. Review the Supported Platforms list.
2. Download and install the certified version of the Java Development Kit (JDK) and set the JAVA_HOME environment variable as described here.
3. Download the frevvo tomcat bundle
4. Unzip the frevvo zip file into a location of your choice: e.g. c:\frevvo. We'll refer to this directory below as <frevvo-home>.
5. Install the Filesystem connector inside that same tomcat.
  1. Download the filesystem zipflile
  2. Extract the filesystem.war to <frevvo-home>\tomcat\webapps directory.
  3. Delete the <frevvo-home>\tomcat\frevvo directory.
  4. Configure the Filesystem Connector
Start frevvo by clicking on the startup.(bat,sh) file for your operating system in the <frevvo-home> directory. It is also possible to configure frevvo as a Windows service

In-house Customers with an existing frevvo tomcat bundle installation

...

Modify the File Connector settings section of the frevvo-config.properties file.
1. the frevvo.filesystem.connector.url - The location of the Filesystem connector is set for the installation with this property. It defaults to http://localhost:8082/filesystem. Change the <localhost:8082> in the default URL to the <server:port> where you installed the Filesystem connector in your environment.
2. Uncomment the property by deleting the # that precedes it.
  Code Block
  # File Connector settings frevvo.filesystem.connector.url=http://localhost:8082/filesystem

Add these properties to the <frevvo-home>\tomcat\conf\frevvo-config.properties file. You can add them to the existing File Connector settings section or make a new section with a comment as shown in the example below. Refer to the table for a description of the configurable properties:

Here is an example of the Filesystem Connector properties added to the File Connector settings section of the frevvo-config.properties file. When executed, frevvo submissions will be:

Saved on the local drive in a directory specified in the wizard that is located under the root directory configured here. Ex: C:\Submissions.
Individual file names will be retained.
Attachments in the submission will be saved.

Add the suffix "_desc.txt" to the metadata file for each submission.

Warning
In a properties file, a backslash is considered as a continuation character when splitting across lines. Escape it with another backslash i.e. C:\\ or use the forward slash i.e. C:/ when specifying the connector.file.root.dir property.

Code Block

# File Connector settings
frevvo.filesystem.connector.url=http://localhost:8082/filesystem
connector.file.root.dir=C:/
connector.file.name.keep=true 
connector.file.descriptor.suffix=_desc.txt
connector.file.metadata.subdir=metadataFile/

Start the Insight server first, then start frevvo.

Make sure the directory where you plan to save the submissions is created and and has the appropriate access for the OS you are using. For example:

If you are using Windows, you can map a drive to a server directory (not recommended because Windows mapped drives cannot be reliably accessed from java), or you could use the UNC path i.e. //host-name

If you are using a Unix operating system you could mount a remote filesystem as a directory and use it as your destination directory

Warning
To ensure interoperability across file systems, it is recommended that you follow a good naming standard such as POSIX when creating files and folders. For example, folder names can't contain slashes so a folder named '1/2/15' would not be valid.

Browse http://<your server:port>/filesystem/health (replace <your server:port> with your frevvo server:port) to check the status of the connector. If the connector is up and running, you will see { "status" : "UP" }

Connect Forms/Workflows with the Send to File System wizard

...

Saving files to a local or remote location is easily done with the Send to File System wizard if generating metadata is not required.
Image Modified

Let's begin with a very simple example. Here are the requirements:

You have created a small form that has a Name, Address, City, State and Zip Code fields. A mapped W - 4 PDF is included in the form. The Save PDF property is selected and the PDF Name property is configured with the template {Name}.
You want to store the submission files for this form in a directory on your local machine named Submissions.
You want to create a subdirectory for each submission under the Submissions directory. The name of the subdirectory is created from the value entered into the Name field on the form
You want to save the form/workflow PDF, any mapped PDFs associated with the form, an xml file and any attachments uploaded to the form in the subdirectory.

Follow these steps to fulfill the requirements by using the doc action Send to File System wizard

1. Log into your frevvo tenant as a designer user.
2. Open your form/workflow.
3. Going the the Settings mode in the Guided Designer navigation toolbar.

...

1. Image Added
2. Click the Document Actions tab. Select Send to File System on the Send Documents tab.
3. To fulfill the requirements listed above, we only need to fill in the URL, Submission Directory and File sections of the wizard. Here is an explanation of the fields:
  1. The URL: this is the URL to the location where you installed the Filesystem Connector. Be sure to include the /filesystem/submission in the URL after you change the server and port.
    1. In-house: The location of the Filesystem connector is set for the installation using the frevvo.filesystem.connector.url parameter in the <frevvo-home>\tomcat\conf\frevvo-config.properties file. It defaults to http://localhost:8082/filesystem in the tomcat build. The <localhost:8082> in the default URL can be changed to the <server:port> where you installed the Filesystem connector in your environment. This is a required field. The value entered here overrides the value in the frevvo-config.properties file.
    2. Cloud customers will see the placeholder http(s)://host:port/filesystem/submission - enter the https url to the location where you installed your frevvo Filesystem Connector.
  2. Submissions Directory - Enter a relative path from the root directory specified by the connector.file.root.dir parameter in the configuration file created above. Control templates are allowed in this field. You can use a control template to store submissions in subdirectories. The template, {Name}, will populate the Template field. Copy the template from the Template field and add it to the Submissions Directory path after the forward or backward slash. Note the forward or backward slash can be used to create subfolders.
  3. Examples
    1. If the value of the connector.file.root.dir parameter in the configuration file is "c:\" then entering Submissions in the Submission Directory field in the wizard saves the files in the local directory c:\Submissions.
    2. File Section - One or more types of submission content can be specified by checking the Send Snapshot, Files, Gen Forms and Data checkboxes:
      1. Select the snapshot format to be sent by selecting a choice form the Send Snapshot dropdown. The format choices are PDF, PNG or JPEG.
        Check the Attachments checkbox to send any file attachments uploaded to the form.
        Check the Gen Forms(PDF) checkbox to send the mapped W - 4 PDF.
        Check the Data checkbox to send the form XML document for the form.

...

1. Image AddedSave the form.
2. Create some submissions by testing the form (

...

1. Image Added Save and Test), filling in the form and clicking submit.
2. The results of 3 submissions are shown in the image.

...

1. Image Added

Generating Metadata

The Filesystem Connector saves the submission form xml, attachments and PDFs in the configured location. In addition, a metadata file, which describes the data, is created. This is helpful if your document management system has the capability to import files.

...

These examples are offered as a guide to help you create your filesystem descriptor file. Even if you are working with one of the ECM systems represented by the examples below, you will need to customize the descriptor file to work for you.

...

DocuShare Management System: - this template should work for the DocuShare Management System, provided there are no future changes to the format. This descriptor file is compatible with the Send to File System and Post data to your web application wizards.

Click here to see an example of a Filesystem Connector Descriptor file for the DocuWare Management System

Code Block

title

<#compress>
<#escape x as x?xml>
<#function isSeq val>
   <#return (val?starts_with("[") && val?ends_with("]"))>
</#function>
<#function toSeq val>
   <#if isSeq(val)>
   <#attempt><#return val?eval><#recover><#return val></#attempt>
   <#else><#return val>
   </#if>
</#function>
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<Records>
  <Record>
    <Field id="LF__User" length="-1" type="string">
      <Value>administrator</Value>
    </Field>
  <#list params?keys as key>
  <#assign values = (params[key]?size > 1) || isSeq(params[key][0])>
  <#assign doc = key?switch('submission.file.name',true,false)>
    <Field id="${doc?then('LF__Document',key)}" length="-1" type="${doc?then('document','string')}">
      <#if values><Values></#if>
      <#list params[key] as value><#assign attribs = toSeq(value)>
      <#if attribs?is_enumerable>
         <#list attribs as attrib><Value>${attrib}</Value></#list>
      <#else><Value>${value}</Value>
      </#if>
      </#list>
      <#if values></Values></#if>
    </Field>
  </#list>
  </Record>
</Records>
</#escape>
</#compress>

Expand

DocuWare Management System: - this template should work for the DocuWare Management System, provided there are no future changes to the format. This descriptor file is compatible with the Send to File System and Post data to your web application wizards.

Click here to see an example of a Filesystem Connector Descriptor file for ImageNow Document Imaging and Management System

Code Block

title

<#compress>
<#escape x as x?xml>
<#function isSeq val>
   <#return (val?starts_with("[") && val?ends_with("]"))>
</#function>
<#function toSeq val>
   <#if isSeq(val)>
   <#attempt><#return val?eval><#recover><#return val></#attempt>
   <#else><#return val>
   </#if>
</#function>
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<ControlStatements xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns="http://dev.docuware.com/Jobs/Control">
  <Document>
     <#list params['submission.file.name'] as value><InsertFile path='${value}' /></#list>
  </Document>
  <Page>
  <#list params?keys as name>
  <#if name != "submission.file.name">
    <#list params[name] as value>
    <#assign attribs = value?eval>
    <#assign values = toSeq(attribs["value"])>
    <#if values?is_enumerable>
       <#list values as val>
       <Field dbName="${name}" <#list attribs?keys as key><#if key = "value">${key}="${val}" <#else>${key}="${attribs[key]}" </#if></#list>/>
       </#list>
    <#else><Field dbName="${name}" <#list attribs?keys as key>${key}="${attribs[key]}" </#list>/>
    </#if>
    </#list>
  </#if>
  </#list>
  </Page>
</ControlStatements>
</#escape>
</#compress>

Expand

ImageNow Document Imaging and Management System - ImageNow doesn't have a metadata file structure or a file importing facility. Customers integrating with ImageNow must have the resources to create a custom script to parse the metadata file generated and push it to the document management system.

Code Block

<#compress>
<#escape x as x?xml>
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<Document>
  <Key name="filename" type="filename">
     <#list params['submission.file.name'] as value><Value>${value}</Value></#list>
  </Key>
  <#list params?keys as name>
  <#if name != "submission.file.name">
    <#list params[name] as value>
    <#assign attribs = value?eval>
    <Key name="${name}" <#list attribs?keys as key>type="${key}"><Value>${attribs[key]}</Value></#list></Key>
    </#list>
  </#if>
  </#list>
</Document>
</#escape>
</#compress>

Generating Metadata using the Send to File System wizard

...

Browse http(s)://<your server:port>/filesystem/health (replace <your server:port> with your frevvo server:port) to check the status of the connector. If the connector is up and running, you will see { "status" : "UP" }
If this is a new installation, revisit the installation steps to ensure the filesystem.war is correctly installed.
Ensure configuration settings are correct in the connector.file.root.dir parameter (in the frevvo-config.properties file) and the URL in the Send to File System wizard screen. Double-check spelling and capitalization.
Ensure the frevvo service user has permission to access and write to the submissions directory. If there is an issue with the submissions directory, you may see an error in the logs like "Root directory not found: <path>".
Check that your SSL certificate is valid and current.

...

Versions Compared

Old Version 1

New Version 2

Key

Installing the Filesystem Connector

In-house Customers with an existing frevvo tomcat bundle installation

Connect Forms/Workflows with the Send to File System wizard

Generating Metadata

Generating Metadata using the Send to File System wizard

Page Comparison

Versions Compared

Old Version 1

New Version 2

Key

Installing the Filesystem Connector

In-house Customers with an existing frevvo tomcat bundle installation

Connect Forms/Workflows with the Send to File System wizard

Generating Metadata

Generating Metadata using the Send to File System wizard