Preserve original file date when uploading to OpenText LiveLink

Question

When uploading documents to LiveLink (we're using 9.7.1) the original create data on the file is changed to the date/time the file was uploaded. This make sense, but is there an easy way to upload files and preserve the file create date?

Third party solutions or specific approaches for custom development would be helpful. The emphasis is on easy. We're going to want to upload discrete sets of data multiple times, as opposed to a large set of of data one time.

General approaches and solutions not specific to LiveLink 9.7.1 aren't helpful.

Answer 1

The easiest solution I can think of is to use LAPI. LAPI contains functions for uploading documents, and once they are uploaded, you can modify its properties (including the create date) with the UpdateObjectInfo function.

Answer 2

I have never found this to be possible with Linux or Windows. DataTime fields are locally stored - they are not written to the file you are changing or moving.

This is also a logical conclusion ... if you change the datetime and an operating system placed that datetime in the file it would change the MD5 hash, therefore changing the file.

Also you could do a server-side script to get the date of the file before upload, then write it to the file as soon as it is uploaded.

Answer 3

I know nothing of the program you speak of but this might help you come to a solution:

1. Read the file created/modified time before upload
2. Upload
3. Upon upload completion use a command line tool of some sort to change the file created/modified time.

If you are on Windows there is this http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/nircmd.html it supports changing created/modified time on files via command line.

Answer 4

You can preserve the creation date when uploading documents using the Object Importer

The creation date can be found in the tag in the xml files used within the OI

Answer 5

I would recommend not to play with the so called system attributes (creation date, modified date) in Content Server (Livelink). Instead, if the File creation date is of business significance to you, store this date into a custom category/date attribute field (making it read-only). This can be very well done either using LAPI from external application, if your external application provides File upload functionality. If you are using out-of-the box File upload screen, you can achieve this by over-riding post-node-creation scripts from LLNODE module.