raven/docs/8.0/ayanova/docs/adm-attachments.md

Attached files

The attached files form is used to manage attachments that users have attached to objects.

Authorization Roles required

This form is available to user's with the following roles:

Full access

• Business administration

Read only access

• Business administration - restricted

How to access attached files table

Attached files are accessed in the following ways:

• From the Administration navigation pane Attached files item

How attachments are stored

When a user uploads an attachment using the attachments control, AyaNova first creates a unique digital signature of the file and then stores it in the file system (not the database) in a sub-folder under the attachments folder specified by the AYANOVA_ATTACHMENT_FILES_PATH server configuration setting.

The files are not stored under their original name but rather re-named according to their digital signature. The special folder structure in attachments and the renaming are used for three reasons:

1. ensure that there are never more files in a single folder than are permitted under the operating system requirements
2. save disk space by ensuring that identical files are only stored once
3. secure the file names themeselves which may contain sensitive information

Menu options

Start attachment maintenance job

It is a possibility however unlikely that over time a file could become separated from it's business object. This menu option starts a job that verifies every object and file are present and connected to each other. If an object is found to link to an attachment that does not exist that link will be removed from the database.

If a file is found to be physically present that does not have an object in the database linked to it, it will be linked to a special "nothing" object that will appear in this attachments list as the host object for that file so that the administrator can either re-attach it or delete it (or leave it unattached, there's no harm in doing so if that is useful).

Move selected items

This option will "move" one or more selected attachments to a different object.

This option is useful for situations where you want to delete an object but keep the attached files elsewhere or in cases where unattached "orphan" files are found in the maintenance job and need to be re-attached to the correct object.

Delete selected items

This option will permanently delete one or more selected attachments from the file system and permanently remove their links to objects in the database.

This option is useful to free up space when there are a large number of files that are no longer required to be stored.

Data table columns

The data table shows all the attachments that are known to AyaNova, that is, attachments that Users have made to object, not a list of files on disk.

Attachment

File name of the attachment. This link will open to the object the file is attached to if it's an openable type.

Object

AyaNova object to which the file is attached. This link will open to the object the file is attached to if it's an openable type.

Size

Size of the object in human readable units.

Notes

Any notes entered about this attachment.

File exists

Indicates that AyaNova has confirmed that the file was present the last time an attachment maintenance job was run