1. Administering Oracle WebCenter Content
  2. Administering System Migration and Archiving
  3. Exporting Data in Archives

26 Exporting Data in Archives

This chapter provides information on exporting data from one Oracle WebCenter Content Server instance to another instance for backup, storage, or import.

This chapter covers the following topics:

26.1 Understanding Exporting Data

The Export function in the Archiver utility is used to copy native and web-viewable files out of the Content Server instance for backup, storage, or import to another Content Server instance. This function also can be used to export content types and user attributes. Note that this exports only a copy; the original content remains.

You can export revisions that are in the following status: RELEASED, DONE, EXPIRED, and GENWWW. You cannot export revisions that are in an active workflow (REVIEW, EDIT, or PENDING status) or that are DELETED.

26.1.1 Export Uses

Typical uses for the Export function include:

  • Copying files from an intranet to make them available to an extranet for vendor or customer viewing.

  • Creating an archive of content items that will then be imported back to the same instance with different metadata.

  • Removing content from the Content Server instance for permanent or temporary storage. For example, if space becomes limited or performance drops, you could remove all but the latest revision of each file.

  • Copying files, content types, and user attributes from a development Content Server instance for use in a production instance.

    Caution:

    Do not use Archiver as your primary method of disaster recovery; use standard backup systems for the database and file system.

26.1.2 Export Methods

After you set up the export criteria, you can export archives in the following ways:

  • Manual: A one-time export initiated from Archiver by an administrator. This creates an archive on the local Content Server instance.

  • Automatic (Replication): Export to a local archive is initiated automatically whenever a content item that meets the export criteria is indexed.

Manually Exporting and Replicating Files discuss these processes in more detail.

Note:

You can export expired revisions manually, but expired revisions do not get exported automatically.

26.2 Managing Exports

This section provides information about typical tasks used in managing exports.

26.2.1 Manually Exporting

To export content manually:

  1. Create an archive where the exported Content Server data will be stored. See Creating a New Archive.
  2. Select the archive in the Current Archives list.
  3. Create an export query. See Creating a Content Item Export Query.
  4. Set configuration information export options. See Exporting Configuration Information.
  5. Set the general export options. See Setting Export Options.
  6. Initiate the export. See Initiating the Export.

26.2.2 Creating a Content Item Export Query

Export queries define which revisions will be exported. Follow these steps to create an export query:

  1. Open the archive collection. See Opening a Collection.

  2. Select the archive in the Current Archives list.

  3. Click the Main Archiver Export Data window.

  4. Click Edit in the Export Query (Content) section.

  5. In the Edit Export Query (Content) window, select a metadata field from the Field list.

  6. Select an Operator from the list.

    • The available operators depend on which field is selected.

    • The available operators map to basic SQL query operators. To use other SQL query operators, create a basic expression and then edit it in the Custom Query Expression box (see step 10).

  7. Enter the criteria in the Value field.

    Depending on the option selected in the Field list, you can enter text directly, click the Select button and select from the available values, or select directly from a list of the available values.

  8. Click Add.

    The query expression is added to the Query Expression box, and the SQL version of the query expression is displayed in the Custom Query Expression box.

  9. To add to the query expression, repeat steps 5 through 8. By default, each part of the expression is added using an AND operator.

    To update an existing query, select the line to be changed in the Query Expression box and edit the Field, Operator, and Value fields as necessary. Click Update. The specified query expression replaces the selected line.

    To delete a line from the query expression, select the line to be deleted in the Query Expression box. Click Delete. The selected line is deleted.

  10. To edit the SQL expression directly:

    1. Select Custom Query Expression.

    2. Edit the text in the Custom Query Expression box.

      You can use Idoc Script in the query expression. For example, to archive content more than one year old, you could use <$dateCurrent(-365)$> as the Release Date value. See Custom Query Expressions in Developing with Oracle WebCenter Content.

      Caution:

      If you deselect the Custom Query Expression check box, the query expression reverts to its original definition; all modifications will be lost.

  11. Specify whether to export revisions based on the last export date:

    • To export only revisions that have been released since the last export, select Export Revisions with Release Date later than most recent Export Date.

    • To export all revisions, deselect Export Revisions with Release Date later than most recent Export Date.

  12. Specify whether to export revisions that were published to the Content Server instance by Oracle Content Publisher:

    • To export published revisions, select Allow Export of Published Revisions.

    • To export only unpublished revisions, deselect Allow Export of Published Revisions.

  13. Specify which revisions to export:

    • To export all revisions of each content item, select the All Selected Revisions option.

    • To export only the latest revision of each content item, select the Latest Revisions option.

    • To export all revisions except the most recent, select the Not Latest Revisions option.

    • To export the most recent revision that matches the query, select the Single Revision Replication option. For details about how this option affects the replication process, see Single Revision Replications.

      Caution:

      Do not use the Latest Revision option and automatic replication. These options, used in conjunction, can cause unpredictable archive behavior. For more details about automatic replication, see Replicating Files .

  14. Click OK. The export query is displayed in the Export Query box on the Content tab.

  15. To see a list of revisions that will be included in the export, click Preview.

    Note:

    Although an unlimited number of revisions can be exported, a maximum of 100 revisions can be displayed in the Content Satisfying the Export Query page. Use the Filter and Release Date since features to display subsets of the list as necessary.

  16. Review the list on the Previewing Export Queries (Content) window to ensure that the export includes the intended revisions.

  17. Click Close.

26.2.3 Exporting Configuration Information

To export content type and user attributes:

  1. Open the archive collection. See Opening a Collection.
  2. Select the archive in the Current Archives list.
  3. Click the Main Archiver Export Data window.
  4. Click Edit in the Additional Data section.

    The Edit Additional Data Page appears.

  5. To export content types, select Export Content Configuration Information.
  6. To export user data, select Export User Configuration Information.
  7. Click OK.

    The configuration information options are displayed in the Additional Data section of the Export Data tab.

26.2.4 Adding a Table to an Archive

To add a table to an archive:

  1. Open the archive collection. See Opening a Collection.
  2. Select the archive in the Current Archives list.
  3. Click the Main Archiver Export (Table) window.
  4. Select an archive from the Current Archives list.
  5. Click Add.
  6. In the Add New Table window, complete the fields as appropriate. These fields are used to export the parent/child relationship in any tables used in schemas.
  7. Click OK.

    The table is added to the Table list on the Table tab.

    Caution:

    When exporting tables, ensure that the column names are the same if you are creating a relationship between two tables. If tables are imported individually, without assigning a relationship, it is not essential to match the column names. But if tables are imported in a relationship, the column names should be the same.

26.2.5 Editing the Archive Properties of a Table

To edit the archive properties of a table:

  1. Open the archive collection. See Opening a Collection.
  2. Select the archive in the Current Archives list.
  3. Click the Main Archiver Export (Table) window.
  4. Select an archive from the Current Archives list.
  5. Select a table from the Table list.
  6. Click Edit.
  7. In the Edit Table window, edit the fields as appropriate.
  8. Click OK.

26.2.6 Creating a Table Export Query

To create a query that defines which tables will be exported:

  1. Open the archive collection. See Opening a Collection.

  2. Select the archive in the Current Archives list.

  3. Click the Main Archiver Export (Table) window.

  4. Select a table from the Table list.

  5. Click Edit in the Export Query section.

  6. In the Edit Export Query (Table) window, select a metadata field from the Field list.

  7. Select an Operator from the list.

    • The available operators depend on which field is selected.

    • The available operators map to basic SQL query operators. To use other SQL query operators, create a basic expression and then edit it in the Custom Query Expression box (see step 10).

  8. Enter the criteria in the Value field.

  9. Click Add.

    The query expression is added to the Query Expression box, and the SQL version of the query expression is displayed in the Custom Query Expression box.

  10. To add to the query expression, repeat steps 6 through 9. By default, each part of the expression is added using an AND operator.

  11. To update an existing query:

    1. Select the line to be changed in the Query Expression box.

    2. Edit the Field, Operator, and Value fields as necessary.

    3. Click Update. The specified query expression replaces the selected line.

  12. To delete a line from the query expression:

    1. Select the line to be deleted in the Query Expression box.

    2. Click Delete. The selected line is deleted.

  13. To edit the SQL expression directly:

    1. Select Custom Query Expression.

    2. Edit the text in the Custom Query Expression box. You can use Idoc Script in the query expression. See Custom Query Expressions in Developing with Oracle WebCenter Content.

      Caution:

      If you deselect the Custom Query Expression check box, the query expression reverts to its original definition; all modifications will be lost.

  14. Click OK.

    The export query is displayed in the Export Query box on the Table tab.

  15. To see a list of tables that will be included in the export, click Preview.

    Note:

    Although an unlimited number of tables can be exported, a maximum of 100 tables can be displayed in the Content Satisfying the Export Query page. Use the Filter and Release Date since features to display subsets of the list as necessary.

  16. Review the list on the Previewing Export Queries (Content) window to ensure that the export includes the intended revisions.

  17. Click Close.

26.2.7 Setting Export Options

To set general export options:

  1. Open the archive collection. See Opening a Collection.
  2. Select the archive in the Current Archives list.
  3. Click the Main Archiver window.
  4. Click Edit in the Export Options section.
  5. In the Edit Export Options window, specify whether to replace existing batch files upon export:

    • To delete all existing batch files when the next export is initiated, select Replace Existing Export Files.

    • To leave existing batch files in place when the next export is initiated, deselect Replace Existing Export Files.

  6. Specify which files to export:

    • To export the native (vault) and web-viewable (weblayout) files, select Copy Web Content.

    • To export only the native (vault) files, deselect Copy Web Content.

  7. Specify whether to export content or not:

    • To export only tables, select Export Table Only.

    • To export content items, deselect Export Table Only.

  8. Click OK.

    The export options are displayed in the Export Options section of the General tab.

26.2.8 Initiating the Export

To manually export content and configuration information:

  1. Open Archiver for the Content Server instance that contains the files you want to export.
  2. Open the archive collection. See Opening a Collection.
  3. Select the archive to export to in the Current Archives list.
  4. From Actions, choose Export.

    Note:

    If the Export option is disabled, the archive is being exported automatically. You must disable the automatic replication to perform a manual export. For details, see Replicating Files .

  5. In the Export Archiver window, specify whether to delete the revisions from the Content Server instance after the export is successfully completed:

    • To delete revisions after export, select Delete revisions after successful archive.

    • To leave revisions in the Content Server instance after export, deselect Delete revisions after successful archive.

  6. Click OK.

    The export process is initiated, and the status bar at the bottom of the Archiver page displays progress messages.