This section explains how the metadata refile follows a set of rules with different use cases and examples. 

Refile eligible metadata fields

Metadata refile can modify only the following metadata fields.

  • Class
  • Subclass
  • Custom1 through custom30.

These modifiable fields are collectively known as refile eligible metadata fields. All the other fields are not changed by refile.

Email exceptions

The refile eligible metadata fields custom13 through custom16, and either the pair custom21 and custom22, or custom23 and custom24 (check with the system administrator for the correct pairing) are used in emails to save the properties To, From, CC, BCC, Sent Date, and Received Date, respectively. For emails, these fields will never be overwritten even if they are selected for refile during the configuration. For example, if custom13 is selected for refile, it never gets updated in metadata refile and hence, the To field of an email is never updated. However, for documents, the custom13 field can be overwritten if allowed by other Refile rules.

Effect of refile on indexing

A refile causes limited re-indexing. This re-indexing is limited to only the information that was actually changed.

For example, if the custom26 field of a document is changed by a refile event, then the new data from the custom26 field is included in the index, but the rest of the document is not re-indexed.

Metadata refile use cases

Use case

Refile result

Changing workspace metadata

When a workspace's metadata changes, the changes are applied to its folders and documents.

Changing folder metadata

When a folder metadata changes, the changes are applied to its subfolders.

Moving a folder from one location to another

When a folder is moved, the folder and its contents inherit the metadata from the new parent.

Moving a document from one location to another

When a document is moved, it inherits the metadata from the new parent.

NOTE:

When changing workspace or folder metadata, the metadata refile operation updates all eligible metadata fields for an object when a metadata event is triggered. Therefore, each refile eligible metadata field is updated, including fields that might not have changed. For example, if a change is made to metadata field custom3 for a workspace, all refile eligible fields (potentially custom1 through custom30) for a document could be updated. This results in the document's metadata fields aligning with the metadata values for the workspace.