Not Your Father’s Laserfiche AA101 Michael Allen

Table of Contents Overview of What’s New Architecture Installing and Upgrading Compatibility with Existing Software A Tour of Version 8

Laserfiche 8 What’s New –New backend server and search engine –Updated Windows client –Updated Toolkit library –Updated Snapshot Also New to the Family –Workflow 8 –Web Access 8 (coming soon) –Quick Fields 8 (coming soon)

What Changed? New search engine New network protocol (HTTP and WebDAV) New template field system New annotations Auditing and security enhancements Refreshed user interface …and much more!

System Architecture Content Server Search Engine Database Systems File Systems Client Applications Workflow Engine

Server Changes No more expansion databases Redesigned auditing and reporting Notifications, activity log, user areas, trustee attributes HTTP support added –Eliminates most firewall configuration –Industry standard and widely interoperable

Server Architecture HTTP/DAV DCOM LFAPI Content Server Engine Database Systems File Systems (Volumes)

Data Storage Databases store: –Folder and document structure –Annotations –Field values and other metadata –Security configuration Portable volumes store: –Document content: images, text, OCR locations, thumbnails, electronic files –Exported metadata

Portable Volumes Segregation of storage by document type, organizational value, retention period, etc. Drop, export, and attach volumes –Partial backup –Data transfer between systems Simple and robust design

Protocols and Toolkits Laserfiche 6Laserfiche 7Laserfiche 8 LFAPIDCOMHTTP/WebDAV, WMI, LRNP LFAPI, LFAPICom, Laserfiche Objects LFAPICom 7, Laserfiche Server Objects LFSO 8 (now), LFSO.NET (soon)

New Search Engine Runs as a separate service Greater reliability More features –Unicode and multi-language –Smarter word-breaking –Intelligent ranking of hits

Search Engine/Server Import/Modify Document RELEASE Notification Sent Activity Log Query LFQL Query Invert and Merge Document Mark as Indexed

Notifications Clients subscribe to one or more activity types in the server Server sends notifications to interested clients as activities occur Out of band message-oriented protocol Used by: –Laserfiche client auto-refresh –Search engine auto-indexer –Workflow Subscriber Service

Laserfiche Query Language Similar to standard database SQL Read-only, high-performance queries Schema comprised of “virtual” tables which expose the repository Supports reading document content, object definitions, etc. Will become a central feature

Installing and Upgrading

Server Requirements XP SP2+, Server 2003 SP2+, Vista 1 GB RAM (2 GB strongly recommended) SQL Server 2000 SP3+, 2005 Oracle 9iR2, 10g, 11g 64-bit edition of Laserfiche requires 64-bit Windows

Upgrading Cannot install Laserfiche 8 server side- by-side with previous versions Can upgrade version 7 in-place Migration utility provided –Creates new database –Creates new full-text index files –Direct migration from versions 6.x and 7.x –Audit data migrated

Compatibility

Volumes and Briefcases Volumes –Attach and export version 6, 7, and 8 formats –Utility provided to convert v5 to v6 format Briefcases –Import all versions using v7 and v8 clients –Export: Version 8 format using 8 client, Version 7 format using 7 client, etc.

Client Compatibility Laserfiche 8 Server Laserfiche 6 Basic import & retrieval Administration not supported Laserfiche 7 Advanced operations supported System manager not supported Snapshot 6.04 Quick Fields 7.1+ WebLink Web Access 7.0+ Import Agent 6.03+

Toolkit Compatibility Compatible with all versions of LFAPICom and LaserficheServerObjects (LFSO) LFSO 8.0 is not compatible with any previous version of LFSO or with previous servers –Different interfaces and GUIDs –Differences in locking and security –API similar so porting code should be straightforward

Database Compatibility Schema is different Triggers will have to be rewritten Direct database modifications are discouraged because they –Bypass security checks and auditing; –May disrupt server stability and database consistency; –Make troubleshooting, repairs, and upgrades more difficult and complex

A Tour of Version 8

Templates and Fields Fields are now “first class” objects –Define a field once; assign it to multiple templates –Assign a field to an entry independently of the template assignment New field types Multi-value fields More tokens

Annotations New annotations: –Drawings and shapes (lines, circles, etc.) –Text box –Strikeout and underline Prevent other users from modifying or seeing annotations your annotations Personal stamps are stored on the server Record sticky notes edit history More powerful and precise searches on annotations

Auditing and Security New auditing system writes audit data to external files –No more filling up your database –Offline audit trail reporting Events are grouped into “classes” for ease of use More events audited, with more detail

Auditing and Security, cont. New privileges for finer-grained control Windows accounts can be referenced in access control lists (ACLs) Windows accounts and Laserfiche accounts now have full feature parity Filter entries based on field values, system properties, and trustee attributes