Bring previous files into Records¶

Pre-system files are records created before your organization started using Zerohive. Importing them preserves their documents and recognizable context so people can find them alongside current work. A submission is the group you bring in together; each item becomes one historical record with a main document and, where needed, supporting documents.

Availability: this guide follows the inspected final designs and backend rules. The frontend now has local form, file-selection and history previews. The connected journey and deployment have not been verified, and background ZIP processing has an unresolved integration constraint. Confirm availability with your organization before planning a migration or relying on these actions.

Choosing files in the current preview does not upload them. Submit, Try again and Cancel submission provide preview feedback; they do not save or change an import. Some counts, page totals and statuses are examples, and opening a history row can select a different example rather than your submission. Check actual saved records and outcomes in a connected service.

Before you begin¶

Use the correct organization. You need permission to view records to browse available files and submission history, and permission to manage records to submit files, try a failed submission again or cancel an eligible submission. A view-only reader can inspect outcomes but cannot perform those management actions.

Agree which previous records belong in the import, who will check their contents, and how to name the source collection. A source collection is a descriptive name such as Procurement Registry 2018. It is not a new storage location, access group or retention policy. Use the approved specialist process for personnel or other sensitive records; this general import journey has not established their complete access safeguards.

Keep the original files until the responsible team confirms the imported records and its preservation requirements. An import does not certify that the originals are complete, authorize their destruction or establish a legal retention period. Use a small representative submission to check organization-specific readiness before a larger migration.

Choose an import method¶

Open Records → Pre-system files, then select Bring in files.

Both methods require a recognizable Import name. Use a distinct name for each submission in the organization; a previous submission can already use that name even if it failed or was cancelled. Keep it within 256 characters. The name identifies this submission, not an official record number.

Supported document types are PDF, DOC/DOCX, RTF, PPT/PPTX, XLS/XLSX, ODT, TXT, PNG, JPG/JPEG, GIF and WebP. ZIP is the package format for the ZIP method. A supported extension alone does not guarantee acceptance: the upload and import checks must also succeed. Do not rename an unsupported file's extension to make it appear supported. Follow the active upload control's size limits; the public correspondence intake's file-size limit is not evidence of this internal import's limit.

One record can have one main document and up to nine supporting documents. Do not split unrelated records into supporting files simply to fit an import. For ZIP imports, a folder containing more than ten documents can fail when its record is created even if the submission was initially received.

Add file details¶

1. Choose Add file details and enter the Import name.
2. For the first item, choose Record category and enter a clear File subject.
3. Enter a Description explaining the record. The current submission rules require it, although the inspected design marks it optional; supply it to avoid rejection.
4. Add the Previous reference, Source collection and Original folder when known. These are optional under the current submission rules, despite required markers on two of the design fields. Do not invent a previous reference. Keep the source collection within 128 characters.
5. Add the Main document, followed by any Supporting files for that same record. Finish uploading each selected file. Use Replace before submission if you selected the wrong document.
6. Use Add another file for another record, or Remove file to remove an unwanted item before submitting. At least one item must remain.
7. Check the subjects, descriptions, previous references and main/supporting document choices, then select Submit files.
8. From the submitted screen, select View submission and verify its saved result. Bring in more starts a separate submission.

Source-collection suggestions reuse names already present in the organization. You may choose an existing suggestion or use the new text you entered. A suggestion is not proof that its earlier submission completed, nor confirmation that you have chosen the correct collection.

This method creates the historical records during the submission request. The common receipt still confirms only that the submission was received; inspect its detail rather than inferring the result from the receipt alone. The flow has no saved draft or edit-submission action. A page refresh or navigation away is not evidence that unfinished form entries were saved.

Prepare a ZIP predictably¶

Files directly inside one nonempty folder become one record. Zerohive sorts their filenames alphabetically, ignoring letter case: the first is the main document and the rest are supporting documents. Each file at the ZIP's top level becomes its own record. A nested folder with files creates another record; it does not automatically add those files to its parent record.

For example, prepare the following ZIP:

Procurement-2018.zip
├── PROC_MIN_2018_044 (Committee minutes)/
│   ├── 01-minutes.pdf
│   └── 02-attendance.pdf
└── Annual-summary.pdf

This produces two records. The folder produces Committee minutes, with previous reference PROC/MIN/2018/044, 01-minutes.pdf as its main document and 02-attendance.pdf as support. The top-level file produces Annual-summary as a separate record. A name in the form reference (subject) supplies both values; underscores in the reference become slashes. Without that form, the name supplies the subject and no previous reference is inferred.

Use clear folder names and simple numbered document names when main-document order matters. Avoid dots in folder names: the current import process treats a trailing dotted part as a file extension when deriving the subject. Check the actual result instead of assuming the folder's complete visible name will become the subject. The original folder records where the file came from; import does not recreate your previous filing structure as Zerohive classification folders.

Give ZIP files different filenames within a submission and avoid duplicate file paths. Empty folders do not create records. Packages must contain supported, nonempty documents; ZIP files nested as documents are not among the supported document types. The ZIP method derives descriptions from the original folder or package context rather than collecting a separate description for every record.

Submit ZIP files¶

1. Choose ZIP files and enter the Import name.
2. Choose the shared Record category. Split submissions if the records need different categories.
3. Enter or choose a Source collection when useful. This applies to all records in the submission and is optional under the current submission rules.
4. Add a ZIP, wait for its upload to finish, and use Add another ZIP file if needed. Use Remove to remove a package before submission.
5. Check the package names and folder arrangement, then select Submit ZIP files.
6. On the submitted screen, select View submission. The receipt is not confirmation that all records are available.

The ZIP files are checked and their proposed items identified before the submission is queued. Background processing then creates their records. The submission does not offer per-item editing, replacement of a stored ZIP or retry of only one failed record. If the source files themselves need correction, ask the responsible team to reconcile or cancel the old submission before preparing a distinct corrected one.

Find available records and submission history¶

In Pre-system files → Available files, search by subject or previous reference and narrow the results with the source collection. Use Previous and Next to move between pages, then Open record to inspect a result. The search also considers the saved description. A source-collection filter matches the selected collection, while the suggestion box helps find its name.

The imported record starts as a historical record, with its previous reference preserved when supplied. Import does not issue a new official registry number, mark it registered, start a process, classify it or file it under a retention rule. The current design's example “Registered” rows and new registry numbers need correction; they are not the result to expect from import alone. Imported historical documents and source metadata cannot be changed through the normal record document-editing actions.

Use Submission history to inspect the submission itself. Search by import name, filter by method, status or submitter, then select View. History is ordered by submission time, newest first; a retry does not create a separate submission row. Detail shows the method, submitter, dates, overall status and pages of item outcomes. Open record is available for an item with a created record, subject to the record's own access rules.

No submissions yet means no submissions were returned in the initial view. No matching submissions or No matching files calls for Clear filters, not an immediate replacement upload. Confirm the organization and contact the responsible team if the item remains missing. A failed load must not be shown or interpreted as an empty history.

Read the counts and statuses¶

An item count counts intended records, not ZIP packages or every attached document. Available means an item has a created record. Not yet available is the total minus available items. Needs attention counts items with a saved failure explanation and is included in Not yet available; do not add it to that count again. The figures are current outcomes, not a percentage, an estimated completion time or live upload progress.

For a ZIP attempt, Zerohive prepares all records before saving the completed result. A failure in a later item does not make earlier prepared items available. The current process stops at the first failure and can preserve a safe explanation for that item, or no item-specific explanation when the failure belongs to the submission. No item-specific explanation does not establish when in processing the failure occurred.

These views show the latest retained outcome, not a complete history of every attempt. Completion also does not certify that all temporary ZIP cleanup has finished; support may still need to resolve cleanup separately.

Try a failed ZIP submission again¶

1. Open the submission and review its current status and item explanations.
2. If Try again is available and the source ZIP is still appropriate, select it.
3. Read the confirmation: the retry covers the entire submission and all its ZIP packages, not just one item. Select Keep current status to leave it unchanged, or Try again to confirm.
4. Check for Waiting to try again and revisit the detail for its next outcome. Do not repeatedly queue retries while one is pending.

Retry is available only for a failed ZIP submission with no created records and no retry already queued. Direct file-detail submissions, completed or cancelled submissions, running attempts and inconsistent partial results do not qualify. If an action disappears or is rejected, refresh the detail: someone else or background processing may have changed the state. A missing action can also reflect view-only access.

Cancel an eligible submission¶

1. Open a waiting or failed ZIP submission with no available records.
2. Select Cancel submission when offered.
3. Enter a meaningful Reason. Select Keep submission to leave it unchanged, or Cancel submission to confirm.
4. Verify the refreshed status. If cancellation or uploaded-ZIP cleanup reports a problem, ask support to reconcile the existing submission.

Cancellation is unavailable once processing starts or records have been created. It is not a way to delete imported records. The cancellation path also tries to remove the stored source ZIP packages; the cancelled status alone is not proof that every cleanup step succeeded. Keep the reason concise; the stored reason is limited to 2,048 characters and is not shown in this detail view.

Recover without duplicating the import¶

Share diagnostic details through your organization's support channel. Do not include document contents, private download links or upload credentials in a public support message.

What managers and business owners should verify¶

Agree the scope and ownership of the migration, use consistent source-collection names, and compare a sample of imported records against their originals. Check both main and supporting documents, previous references and the number of records produced by folders. Record who accepted the result and how exceptions will be resolved.

A complete submission is evidence that its records were created, not evidence that their business content was approved, retention was assigned or a compliance obligation was satisfied. Successful import and responsible disposal of the originals are separate decisions. Continue with the Records overview, document and process guide and general dossier guide for the distinct roles of records, processing and grouping.