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Import and export from the command-line

AtoM supports import and export via the user interface, and these tasks are executed as jobs and performed asynchronously in the background to avoid timeouts in the browser. Jobs in AtoM are handled by Gearman, and the status of AtoM jobs can be seen in the user interface via the Manage > Jobs page. For more information, see: Manage jobs and Asynchronous jobs and worker management.

However, there may be occasions where it is more efficient to import directly from the command-line. For example, XML files can only be imported one at a time via the user interface, but the command-line task supports bulk XML import. Also the Digital object load task (described below) is only available via the command-line.

The following will outline the options available for command-line imports and exports in AtoM.

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See also

The following pages in the User Manual relate to import and export. We strongly recommend reviewing the CSV preparation recommendations found on the CSV import page prior to import CSV data.

Bulk import of XML files

While XML files can be imported individually via the user interface (see: Import XML), it may be desireable to import multiple XML files through the command line. The import:bulk command-line task can be used to import the following types of XML data:

The primary documentation on preparing for XML imports, and on how matching behavior is handled for some of the import options, is maintained in the User Manual. See:

Warning

You can only import one type of XML at a time with this task. For example, do not attempt to import EAC CPF and EAD 2002 XML at the same time. Instead, you should import one entity type first, and then the other with a separate import:bulk command

Below is the basic syntax for the bulk XML import task:

php symfony import:bulk /path/to/my/xmlFolder

Using the import:bulk command

An image of the options available in the import:bulk command

By typing php symfony help import:bulk into the command-line without specifying the path to a directory of XML files, you can see the options available on the import:bulk command, as pictured above.

The --application, --env, and --connection options should not be used - AtoM requires the uses of the pre-set defaults for symfony to be able to execute the import.

The --index option is used to enable the rebuilding of the search index as part of the import task. When using the user interface to import XML files, the import is indexed automatically - but when running an import via the command-line interface, indexing is disabled by default. This is because indexing during import can be incredibly slow, and the command-line is generally used for larger imports. Generally, we recommend a user simply clear the cache and rebuild the search index following an import - from AtoM’s root directory, run:

php symfony cc & php symfony search:populate

However, if you would like to index the import as it progresses, the --index option can be used to enable this.

The --taxonomy option is used to assist in the import of SKOS xml files, such as places and subjects, ensuring that the terms are imported to the correct taxonomy. As input, the --taxonomy option takes a taxonomy ID - these are permanent identifiers used internally in AtoM to manage the various taxonomies, which can be found in AtoM in /lib/model/QubitTaxonomy.php (see on GitHub here).

Tip

SKOS imports can also be completed via the user interface from a remote URL or a local file. In the user interface, multiple SKOS serializations can be used, while only SKOS XML can be imported with this task. See the primary SKOS import documentation in the User Manual:

Example use: Importing terms to the Places taxonomy

php symfony import:bulk --taxonomy="42" /path/to/mySKOSfiles

Example use: Importing terms to the Subjects taxonomy

php symfony import:bulk --taxonomy="35" /path/to/mySKOSfiles

Note

To ensure a successful import with SKOS files, please use the absolute path to your SKOS file(s), not a relative path from your current location

Example of a relative path, when currently located at the root AtoM installation directory:

SKOS/mySKOSfile.xml

Example of an absolute path:

/usr/share/nginx/atom/SKOS/mySKOSfile.xml

Below is a list of some of the more commonly used taxonomies in AtoM, and their IDs. This list is NOT comprehensive - to see the full list, navigate to /lib/model/QubitTaxonomy.php, or visit the Github link above.

Taxonomy name ID
Places 42
Subjects 35
Genres 78
Level of description 34
Actor entity type (ISAAR) 32
Thematic area (repository) 72
Geographic subregion (repository) 73

The --completed-dir option is used to automatically move files (e.g. XML files during an import) into a completed directory after they have imported. This can be useful during troubleshooting, to determine which files have imported and which have failed. The option takes a file path to the chosen directory as its parameter. You must manually create the directory first - the task will not automatically generate one at the specified location. Example use:

php symfony import:bulk --completed-dir="/path/to/my/completed-directory"
/path/to/my/importFolder

The --schema option is deprecated and should not be used.

The --output option will generate a simple CSV file containing details of the import process, including the time elapsed and memory used during each import. To use the option, you mush specify both a path and a filename for the CSV file to output. For example:

php symfony import:bulk --output="/path/to/output-results.csv"
/path/to/my/importFolder

The CSV contains 3 columns. The first (titled “File” in the first row) will list the path and filename of each imported file. The second column (titled “Time elapsed (secs)” in the first row) indicates the time elapsed during the import of that XML file, in seconds, while the third column (titled “Memory used”) indicates the memory used during the XML import of that file, in bytes. Also included, at the bottom of the CSV, are two summary rows: Total time elapsed (in seconds), and Peak memory usage (in megabytes).

an example of the CSV output after an import using the output option

The --verbose option will return a more verbose output as each import is completed. Normally, after the import completes, a summary of the number of files imported, the time elapsed, and the memory used:

Successfully imported [x] XML/CSV files in [y] s. [z] bytes used."

… where [x] is the number of files imported, [y] is a count of the time elapsed in seconds, and [z] is the memory used in bytes.

an example of the summary output after an import

If the --verbose command-line option is used (or just -v for short), the task will output summary information for each XML file imported, rather than a total summary. The summary information per file includes file name, time elapsed during import ( in seconds), and its position in the total count of documents to import. For example:

[filename] imported.  [x]s  [y]/[z] total

… where [x] is the time elapsed in seconds, [y] is the current file’s number and [z] is the total number of files to be imported.

an example of the verbose output after an import via the CLI

The --update option can be used when you want to use an XML import to update existing archival descriptions, instead of creating new records. There are 2 modes, but only the --update="delete-and-replace mode is supported for XML imports. When used, AtoM will attempt to identify matching records, and then delete the match before proceeding with the XML import as a new record. For more information on how AtoM attempts to match incoming XML imports to existing records, see:

Important

The --update option will only work with EAC-CPF and EAD 2002 XML imports. It cannot be used for MODS or SKOS XML imports via the command-line. Only the “Delete and replace” mode will work with the update option.

Related enities that were linked to the matched and deleted records are not also deleted - if you want them removed, they must be manually deleted separately. Simliarly, on import of the replacement record(s), recreating the previous links to other related entities is not guaranteed - AtoM proceeds with the replacement import as if it were new, and uses the matching and linking criteria described in the links above to determine if it should link to existing related entities or create new ones.

We strongly recommend you review the User Manual documentation, as it contains further details:

The --limit option can be used with --update to increase the likelihood of a successful match by limiting the match criteria to either records belonging to a specific repository, or matching a specific existing top-level description (for archival description imports). For more information on how entities can be linked to a repository, see:

The --limit option takes the slug of the related repository or top-level archival description as its value. For example, to import a folder of EAD 2002 XML descriptions called “my-updates”, deleting any existing matches but limit the matching criteria to those descriptions linked to a repository with the slug “my-repository”, your command might look like this:

php symfony import:bulk --update="delete-and-replace" --limit="my-repository"
/path/to/my-updates

Important

The --limit option can only be used in conjunction with the --update="delete-and-replace" option. This means it can only be used for EAD 2002 and EAC-CPF XML. When importing EAC-CPF authority record data, you can only use a repository slug as the limiter. See the links above to the primary User Manual documentation for more information.

Normally, when attempting to match records, if AtoM fails to find a match candidate, it will proceed to import the row as a new record. However, you can use the --skip-unmatched option with --update to change this default behavior. When --skip-unmatched is used, then any records that do not match will be ignored during the import, and reported in the console log shown on the Job details page of the related import job (see: Manage jobs for more information). This is recommended if you are intending to only import updates to existing records. Note that --skip-unmatched will not work if it is not used in conjunction with the --update option.

Similarly, with new imports, you can use the --skip-matched option to skip any records that AtoM identifies as matching those you have already imported. This can be useful if you are uncertain if some of the XML records have been previously imported - such as when passing records to a portal site or union catalogue. Any XML data that appear to match records will be ignored during the import, and reported in the console log shown on the Job details page of the related import job. For more information on how AtoM attempts to match incoming imports to existing records, see:

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Bulk export of XML files

While XML files can be exported individually via the user interface (see: Export XML), it may be desireable to export multiple XML files, or large files (typically larger than 1 MB) through the command line. This can avoid browser-timeout issues when trying to export large files, and it can be useful for extracting several descriptions at the same time. XML files will be exported to a directory; you must first create the target directory, and then you will specify the path to it when invoking the export command:

php symfony export:bulk /path/to/my/xmlExportFolder

Note

There is also a separate bulk export command for EAC-CPF XML files (e.g. for exporting authority records via the command-line. It uses the same CLI options as the EAD XML export task. See below below for syntax; see the EAD usage guidelines for how to use the available options.

Important

The Inherit reference code (information object) setting also determines how the <unitid> element in the EAD XML is populated. If the inheritance is turned on, then AtoM will populate all descendant records in the EAD XML with the full inherited reference code. If inheritance is turned off, AtoM will only add the identifier for that record in the <unitid> on export. This allows users exporting to a different source system that does not have a reference code inheritance setting to maintain a full reference code at all levels in the target system. However, if you are exporting from one AtoM instance to another (for example, from a local institution to a portal site), you might want to consider how this will impact your record display in the target system - if you have reference code inheritance turned on when you export, and the target AtoM instance also has the setting turned on, you may end up with duplication in the display!

Using the export:bulk command

An image of the options available in the export:bulk command

By typing php symfony help export:bulk into the command-line without specifying the path to the target directory of exported XML files, you can see the options available on the export:bulk command, as pictured above.

The --application, --env, and --connection options should not be used - AtoM requires the uses of the pre-set defaults for symfony to be able to execute the import.

The --items-until-update option can be used for a simple visual representation of progress in the command-line. Enter a whole integer, to represent the number of XML files that should be exported before the command-line prints a period (e.g. . ) in the console, as a sort of crude progress bar. For example, entering --items-until-update=5 would mean that the import progresses, another period will be printed every 5 XML exports. This is a simple way to allow the command-line to provide a visual output of progress.

Example use reporting progress every 5 rows:

php symfony export:bulk --items-until-update=5 /path/to/my/exportFolder

This can be useful for large bulk exports, to ensure the export is still progressing, and to try to roughly determine how far the task has progressed and how long it will take to complete.

The --format option will determine whether the target export uses EAD XML, or MODS XML. When not set, the default is to export using EAD. Example use:

php symfony export:bulk --format="mods" /path/to/my/exportFolder

The --criteria option can be added if you would like to use raw SQL to target specific descriptions.

Example 1: exporting all draft descriptions

php symfony export:bulk --criteria="i.id IN (SELECT object_id FROM status
WHERE status_id = 159 AND type_id = 158)" /path/to/my/exportFolder

If you wanted to export all published descriptions instead, you could simply change the value of the status_id in the query from 159 (draft) to 160 (published).

Example 2: exporting all descriptions from a specific repository

To export all descriptions associated with a particular archival institution, you simply need to know the slug of the institution’s record in AtoM. In this example, the slug is “example-repo-slug”:

php symfony export:bulk --criteria="i.repository_id = (SELECT object_id FROM
slug WHERE slug='example-repo-slug')" /path/to/my/exportFolder

Example 3: exporting specific descriptions by title

To export 3 fonds titled: “779 King Street, Fredericton deeds,” “1991 Canada Winter Games fonds,” and “A history of Kincardine,” You can issue the following command:

sudo php symfony export:bulk --criteria="i18n.title in ('779 King Street,
Fredericton deeds', '1991 Canada Winter Games fonds', 'A history of
Kincardine')" path/to/my/exportFolder

You could add additional archival descriptions of any level of description into the query by adding a comma then another title in quotes within the ()s.

The --current-level-only option can be used to prevent AtoM from exporting any children associated with the target descriptions. If you are exporting fonds, then only the fonds-level description would be exported, and no lower-level records such as series, sub-series, files, etc. This might be useful for bulk exports when the intent is to submit the exported descriptions to a union catalogue or regional portal that only accepts collection/fonds-level descriptions. If a lower-level description (e.g. a series, file, or item) is the target of the export, it’s parents will not be exported either.

The --single-slug option can be used to to target a single archival unit (e.g. fonds, collection, etc) for export, if you know the slug of the target description.

Example use

php symfony export:bulk --single-slug="test-export"
/path/to/my/directory/test-export.xml

Important

For the export task to succeed when using the --single-slug option, you must specify not just a target output directory, but a target output file name. Exporting to path/to/my/directory/ will result in nothing being exported - you will be given a warning that the path should be a file - while exporting to path/to/my/directory/some-filename.xml will succeed. Note that the task cannot create new directories - but you can give the target file any name you wish (ending in .xml); it doesn’t need to be based on the target slug.

An example of using the single-slug option

The --public option is useful for excluding draft records from an export. Normally, all records in a hierarchical tree will be exported regardless of publication status. Note that if a published record is the child of a draft record, it will not be included when this option is used - when the parent is skipped (as a draft record), the children are also skipped, so as not to break the established hierarchy.

See also

Exporting EAC-CPF XML for authority records

In addition to the bulk export CLI tool for archival descriptions described above, AtoM also has a separate command-line task for the bulk export of authority records in EAC-CPF XML format.

The EAC-CPF XML standard is prepared and maintained by the Technical Subcommittee for Encoded Archival Context of the Society of American Archivists and the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, and a version of the Tag Library is available at:

When using the task, EAC-CPF XML files will be exported to a directory; you must first create the target directory, and then you will specify the path to it when invoking the export command:

php symfony export:auth-recs /path/to/my/xmlExportFolder

The authority record bulk export task has the same options available as the archival description export task described above. Some of these options will not be relevant to EAC-CPF exports (e.g. the --current-level-only option, as authority records are not hierarchical; and the --public option, as currently authority records do not have a publication status), but otherwise they can be used with this task in the same way as described for the archival description export options above. Please refer there for more detailed usage notes. Below is an example application, using the --criteria option:

Example: using the --criteria option to select only authority records whose entity type is “family”

First, you will need to know the entity type ID for family. Entity type is a term maintained in the Actor entity types taxonomy - when elements from a different table in the database are linked to actors, the term ID is used. Here are the term object IDs for the Actor entity types:

Term Term ID
Corporate body 131
Person 132
Family 133

Tip

An easy way to figure this out in the user interface is to use the related Entity type facet on the authority record browse page, and look at the resulting URL. For example, if we go to the public AtoM demo site, navigate to the Authority record browse page, and use the facet to limit the results to those records with an Entity type of family, the resulting URL is:

See the 133 in the URL? This represents the Entity type we have applied to filter the results!

We can now use the entity type to limit our export to include only those authority records with an entity type of “Family,” like so:

php symfony export:auth-recs --criteria='a.entity_type_id=133'
path/to/my/export-folder

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Import CSV files via the command-line

As of AtoM 2.4, the import and export functionality in the user interface is supported by the job scheduler, meaning that large CSV files can be imported via the user interface without timing out as in previous versions. However, there are some options available via the command-line that do not have equivalents in the user interface. For this reason, there may be times when it is preferable to import a CSV records via the CLI. Below are basic instructions for each available import type.

Jump to:

You can find all of the CSV templates on the AtoM wiki, at:

Examples are also stored directly in the AtoM codebase - see: lib/task/import/example

Important

Please carefully review the information included on the CSV import page prior to attempting a CSV import via the command-line! Here is a basic checklist of things to review before importing a CSV:

  • You are using the correct CSV template for both the type of record you want to import, and for the version of AtoM you have installed. You can
  • CSV file is saved with UTF-8 encodings
  • CSV file uses Linux/Unix style end-of-line characters (/n)
  • All parent descriptions appear in rows above their children if you are importing hierarchicla data (such as descriptions)

The CSV import User manual documentation also includes more specific guidance for preparing a CSV for each entity type - ensure you have reviewed it carefully prior to import.

All CSV import command-line tasks should be run from the root AtoM directory.

Check filepaths before importing digital objects

AtoM includes a command-line task to help double-check import files that involve digital objects. The task will take the path to a CSV file and the path to a directory of digital objects as inputs, and will report on any potential errors, such as:

  • Any digital objects in the filesystem directory that aren’t referenced in the CSV data
  • Any digital objects that are referenced in CSV data but missing on the filesystem
  • Any digital objects that are referenced more than once in the CSV data

This can be a useful way of verifying archival description or authority record CSV imports that use the digitalObjectPath column to link local digital objects during the import, or for double-checking the CSV accompanying a digital object load, before you actually import your data.

The basic syntax of the task is:

php symfony csv:digital-object-path-check path/to/objects/directory path/to/csv-file.csv

Where path/to/objects/directory is the path to where your digital object directory is located on the server, and path/to/csv-file.csv is the path to the CSV file with your import metadata.

By default, this task expects the column in the CSV with the digital object file paths to be named digitalObjectPath, as it is in the description and authority record CSV templates. However, the task also includes one user option, --csv-column-name, that can be used to specify a different CSV column to check. This allows you to use the task to review a digital object load task CSV for example, which uses a column named filename instead. An example:

php symfony csv:digital-object-path-check --csv-column-name="filename" /usr/share/nginx/atom/import-images/ /usr/share/nginx/atom/digital-object-load.csv

An example of the task output:

An image of the command-line output for the path-check task

Importing archival descriptions

Example syntax use (with the RAD CSV template):

php symfony csv:import lib/task/import/example/rad/example_information_objects_rad.csv
An image of the command-line options for CSV import

By typing php symfony help csv:import into the command-line from your root directory, without specifying the location of a CSV, you will able able to see the CSV import options available (pictured above). A brief explanation of each is included below. For full archival description CSV import documentation, please see:

The --application, --env, and --connection options should not be used - AtoM requires the uses of the pre-set defaults for symfony to be able to execute the import.

The --rows-until-update option can be used for a simple visual representation of progress in the command-line. Enter a whole integer, to represent the number of rows should be imported from the CSV before the command-line prints a period (e.g. `` . `` ) in the console, as a sort of crude progress bar. For example, entering --rows-until-update=5 would mean that the import progresses, another period will be printed every 5 rows. This is a simple way to allow the command-line to provide a visual output of progress. For further information on the --rows-until-update option and an example of the command-line option in use, see also the section below, Display the progress of an upload via the command-line interface (CLI).

You can use the --skip-rows option to skip X amount of rows in the CSV before beginning the import. This can be useful if you have interrupted the import, and wish to re-run it without duplicating the records already imported. --skip-rows=10 would skip the first 10 rows in the CSV file, for example. Note that this count does not include the header column, so in fact, the above example would skip the header column, and rows 2-11 in your CSV file.

The --error-log option can be used to specify a directory where errors should be logged. Note that this option has not been tested by Artefactual developers.

Use the --source-name option (described in the CSV import documentation here) to specify a source when importing information objects from multiple sources (with possibly conflicting legacy IDs), or when importing updates, to match the previous import’s source name. This will ensure that multiple related CSV files will remain related - so, for example, if you import an archival description CSV, and then supplement the authority records created (from the eventActors field in the description CSV templates) with an authority record CSV import, using the --source-name option will help to make sure that matching names are linked and related, instead of duplicate authority records being created. You can also use this option to relate a large import that is broken up into multiple CSV files, or when importing updates to existing descriptions. See the Legacy ID mapping: dealing with hierarchical data in a CSV section in the User manual for further tips and details on the uses of this option.

Tip

When no --source-name is set during import, the filename of the CSV will be used by default instead.

You can always check what source name was used for records created via an import by entering into edit mode and navigating to the Administration :term:` area <information area>` of the edit page - the source name used will be diplayed there:

An image of the source name used during import, shown in the Administration area of the AtoM edit page.

The --default-legacy-parent-id option will allow the user to set a default parentID value - for any row in the CSV where no parentID value is included and no qubitParentSlug is present, this default value will be inserted as the parentID.

Similarly, the --default-parent-slug option allows a user to set a default qubitParentSlug value - wherever no slug value or parentID / legacyID is included, AtoM will populate the qubitParentSlug with the default value. If you are importing all rows in a CSV file to one parent description already in AtoM, you could use the --default-parent-slug option to specify the target slug of the parent, and then leave the legacyID, parentID, and qubitParentSlug columns blank in your CSV. Note that this example will affect ALL rows in a CSV - so use this only if you are importing all descriptions to a single parent!

By default, AtoM will build the nested set after an import task. The nested set is a way to manage hierarchical data stored in the flat tables of a relational database. However, as Wikipedia notes, “Nested sets are very slow for inserts because it requires updating left and right domain values for all records in the table after the insert. This can cause a lot of database thrash as many rows are rewritten and indexes rebuilt.” When performing a large import, it can therefore sometimes be desirable to disable the building of the nested set during the import process, and then run it as a separate command-line task following the completion of the import. To achieve this, the --skip-nested-set-build option can be used to disable the default behavior.

NOTE that the nested set WILL need to be built for AtoM to behave as expected. You can use the following command-line task, from the AtoM root directory, to rebuild the nested set if you have disabled it during import:

php symfony propel:build-nested-set

The task is further outlined on the Command line tools page - see: Rebuild the nested set.

Tip

Want to learn more about why and how nested sets are used? Here are a few great resources:

Similarly, when using the user interface to perform an import, the import is indexed automatically - but when running an import via the command-line interface, indexing is disabled by default. This is because indexing during import can be incredibly slow, and the command-line is generally used for larger imports. Generally, we recommend a user simply clear the cache and rebuild the search index following an import - from AtoM’s root directory, run:

php symfony cc && php symfony search:populate

However, if you would like to index the import as it progresses, the --index option can be used to enable this. This is useful if you have a large database, and don’t want to have to re-index everything. For more information on indexing options, see: Populate search index.

The --update option can be used when you want to use a CSV import to update existing archival descriptions, instead of creating new records. There are 2 modes: --update="match-and-update" and --update="delete-and-replace. When used, AtoM will attempt to identify matching archival descriptions and, depending on which option is used, either update them in place, or delete the match and replace it with the new description in the CSV. For more information on how AtoM attempts to match incoming imports to existing descriptions, see: Matching criteria for archival descriptions.

For the “match-and-update” option, AtoM will update any information object related columns that have new data. Columns in the related CSV row that are left blank will not delete existing data - instead, they will be ignored and any existing data in the related field will be preserved.

Important

AtoM can only update description fields that are stored in the primary information object database tables using this method. This means that related entities (such as events, creators, access points, etc.) cannot be deleted or updated with this method. You can add additional related entities, but the old ones will be left in place. There is code to prevent duplication however - so if you have left the same creator/event information as previously, it will be ignored.

For more information on supported fields for updating, see:

The one exception to this is updating the biographical or administrative history of a related authority record, which requires specifc criteria. See scenario 2B in the following section of the User manual: Attempting to match to existing authority records on import.

Additionally, in AtoM notes are stored in a different database table - this includes the General note, Archivist’s note, and the RAD- and DACS-specific note type fields in AtoM’s archival description templates. This means that in addition to related entities, notes cannot be deleted or updated with this method, though again, you can append new notes if desired.

If you wish to make updates to these entitites or fields, consider using the “Delete and replace” update option instead - though be sure to read up on the behavior and limitations of that method as well!

Finally, note that without the --rountrip option (described below), title, identifier, and repository may be used as matching criteria. This means that trying to import updates to these fields may cause matching to fail, unless you successfully meet the first matching criteria or use the --roundtrip option. For more information on matching, see:

With the “delete-and-replace” option, the matched archival description and any descendants (i.e. children) will be deleted prior to import. Note that related entities are not deleted - such as linked authority records, terms such as subject, place, or genre access points, accessions, etc. If you want these removed as well, you will need to manually delete them from the user interface following the delete-and-replace import. On import of the replacement record, AtoM will also not automatically link to the same entities. Instead, it will use the existing matching logic to determine if it should link to an existing linked record, or create a new one. For more information on how AtoM determines whether or not to link to an existing authority record, see: Attempting to match to existing authority records on import.

See also

The AtoM user manual further explains these options, as they are available on the Import page in the user interface. See:

The --limit option can be used with --update to increase the likelihood of a successful match by limiting the match criteria to either records belonging to a specific repository, or matching a specific existing top-level description. It takes the slug of the related repository or top-level archival description as its value. For example, to import a CSV called “my-updates.csv” and update the descriptions of the John Smith Fonds, your command might look like this:

php symfony csv:import --update="match-and-update" --limit="john-smith-fonds"
/path/to/my-updates.csv

Normally, when attempting to match records, if AtoM fails to find a match candidate, it will proceed to import the row as a new record. However, you can use the --skip-unmatched option with --update to change this default behavior. When --skip-unmatched is used, then any records that do not match will be ignored during the import, and reported in the console log shown on the Job details page of the related import job (see: Manage jobs for more information). This is recommended if you are intending to only import updates to existing records. Note that --skip-unmatched will not work if it is not used in conjunction with the --update option.

Warning

It is very difficult to use the --skip-unmatched option with a --update="delete-and-replace when working with hierarchical data. Once a match is found for the top-level description (e.g. the root parent record), AtoM will then proceed to delete the original description and all of its children (e.g. lower level records). This means that when AtoM gets to the next child row in the CSV, it will find no match in the database - because it has already deleted the children - and the records will therefore be skipped and not imported.

Unless you are only updating standalone descriptions (e.g. descriptions with no children), we do not recommend using the --skip-unmatched with --update="delete-and-replace.

Similarly, with new imports, you can use the --skip-matched option to skip any records that AtoM identifies as matching those you have already imported. This can be useful if you are uncertain if some of the records in your CSV have been previously imported - such as when passing records to a portal site or union catalogue. Any records that appear to match existing archival descriptions will be ignored during the import, and reported in the console log shown on the Job details page of the related import job. For more information on how AtoM attempts to match incoming imports to existing descriptions, see: Matching criteria for archival descriptions.

Normally during an update import when using match-and-update, the digital object will be deleted and re-imported as part of the update, even if the path or URI provided is the same - this is in case the digital object itself has changed at the source. However, there are 2 ways users can avoid this. The first is to include a digitalObjectChecksum column in the import CSV, and to populate the row with the exact same checksum used by AtoM when uploading the digital object (this can be seen in the file path to the master digital object). If you export a CSV with a digital object from AtoM, the checksum column and value is included in the export (see: CSV export). However, if you do not have the checksum value handy and you don’t want or need the digital object to be deleted and re-imported, then the other way to skip this process is to use the --keep-digital-objects option. When this option is used with --update="match-and-update", then the deletion of the existing digital object and its derivatives will be skipped.

The --skip-derivatives option can be used if you are using the Digital object-related import columns to import a digital object attached to your description(s). For every digital object uploaded, AtoM creates two derivative objects from the master digital object: a thumbnail image (used in search and browse results) and a reference display copy (used on the view page of the related archival description). The master digital object is the unaltered version of a digital object that has been uploaded to AtoM. When the --skip-derivatives option is used, then the thumbnail and reference display copy of your linked digital object will not be created during the import process. You can use the digital object derivative regeneration task to create them later, if desired - see: Regenerating derivatives.

Finally, the --roundtrip option is useful when attempting to update records that have been exported from the same system which you are trying to update via import (“roundtripping” implies exporting a CSV, making changes, and then re-importing it as an update). On export, AtoM populates the legacyId column with the unique database object ID value used in AtoM. When the --roundtrip option is used, AtoM will only look for exact matches on the legacyId in the CSV, comparing it against AtoM’s internal description object ID values and bypassing all other matching criteria. This can be useful when trying to update secondary matching criteria values such as the title, identifier, and/or repository associated with a description.

Important

Note that if you originally created your descriptions via import, AtoM’s object ID value (included in the legacyID column in exports) is not the same value as you added in the legacyID column during the original import. That value is stored in AtoM’s keymap database table, and is used only for matching criteria for subsequent imports. The legacyID column was originally added for supporting and troubleshooting migrations from third-party systems (so that a unique ID from the source system would remain associated with the incoming descriptions); without the --roundtrip option AtoM continues to assume that the metadata originates from outside of AtoM, and will use the sourcename and legacyID values in the keymap table from the original import as the first matching criteria. For more information, see:

Because AtoM object IDs are always unique throughout an installation, this option provides a more reliable matching criteria when roundtripping descriptions in the same system. The --roundtrip should be used in conjunction with the --update option.

Example use:

php symfony csv:import --update="match-and-update" --roundtrip /path/to/rad_0000000001.csv

Normally, the --roundtrip option, when used, will first ask you if you have a backup of your database before proceding. However, you can skip this confirmation requirement by adding the --no-confirmation option as well.

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Importing events

Read more about importing events in the AtoM User manual documentation, here:

Example use - run from AtoM’s root directory:

php symfony csv:event-import lib/task/import/example/example_events.csv

There are also various command-line options that can be used, as illustrated in the options depicted in the image below:

An image of the command-line options for events imports

By typing php symfony help csv:event-import into the command-line from your root directory, without specifying the location of a CSV, you will able able to see the CSV import options available (pictured above). A brief explanation of each is included below.

The --application, --env, and --connection options should not be used - AtoM requires the uses of the pre-set defaults for symfony to be able to execute the import.

The --rows-until-update, --skip-rows, and --error-log options can be used the same was as described in the section above on importing descriptions. For more information on the --rows-until-update option, see also the section below, Display the progress of an upload via the command-line interface (CLI).

Use the --source-name to specify a source importing to a AtoM installation in which information objects from multiple sources have been imported, and/or to associate it explicitly with a previously-imported CSV file that used the same --source-name value. Further information is provided in the section on legacy ID mapping in the User Manual - see: Legacy ID mapping: dealing with hierarchical data in a CSV.

The --event-types option is deprecated, and no longer supported in AtoM.

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Importing repository records

Example use - run from AtoM’s root directory:

php symfony csv:repository-import
lib/task/import/example/example_repositories.csv

There are also various command-line options that can be used, as illustrated in the options depicted in the image below:

An image of the command-line options for repository imports

By typing php symfony help csv:repository-import into the command-line from your root directory, without specifying the location of a CSV, you will able able to see the CSV import options available (pictured above). A brief explanation of each is included below. For full details on archival institution CSV imports, please see:

The --application, --env, and --connection options should not be used - AtoM requires the uses of the pre-set defaults for symfony to be able to execute the import.

The --rows-until-update, --skip-rows, and --error-log options can be used the same was as described in the section above on importing descriptions. For more information on the --rows-until-update option, see also the section below, Display the progress of an upload via the command-line interface (CLI).

Use the --source-name option (described in the CSV import documentation here) to specify the source name that will be added to the keymap table. This can be useful for improving the matching logic when importing updates - you can specify the same source name used as the was used during the original import for greater matching. By default in AtoM, when no source name is specified during import, the CSV filename will be stored in the keymap table as the source name.

The --index option will progressively add your imported repository records to AtoM’s search index as the import progresses. Normally when using the user interface to perform an import, the import is indexed automatically - but when running an import via the command-line interface, indexing is disabled by default. This is because indexing during import can sometimes be incredibly slow, and the command-line is generally used for larger imports. Generally, we recommend a user simply clear the cache and rebuild the search index following an import - from AtoM’s root directory, run:

php symfony cc && php symfony search:populate

However, if you would like to index the import as it progresses, the --index option can be used to enable this. This is useful if you have a large database, and don’t want to have to re-index everything. For more information on indexing options, see: Populate search index.

The --update option can be used when you want to use a CSV import to update existing archival institutions, instead of creating new records. There are 2 modes: --update="match-and-update" and --update="delete-and-replace. When used, AtoM will attempt to identify matching archival institution records and, depending on which option is used, either update them in place, or delete the match and replace it with the new repository record in the CSV. The matching criteria for repository records is based on an exact match on the authorized form of name of the existing repository. This means that you cannot use the --update option to update the name of your existing repositories, or AtoM will fail to find the correct match on import.

For the “match-and-update” option, AtoM will update any repository record related columns that have new data. Columns in the related CSV row that are left blank will not delete existing data - instead, they will be ignored and any existing data in the related field will be preserved.

Important

At this time, not all fields in the archival institution record can be updated. Primarily, these are fields that are found in other tables in the AtoM database than the primary repository record table. For further details, see: Updating repository records in place via CSV import.

With the “delete-and-replace” update option, AtoM will delete the matches prior to importing the CSV data as a new record to replace it.

Note that only the matched repository record is deleted during this process. Any related/linked entities (such as an authority record linked as being maintained by the repository, Thematic area or other repository access points, and linked archival descriptions) are not automatically deleted. If you also want these fully removed, you will have to find them and manually delete them via the user interface after the import.

Once the original matched repository record has been deleted, the CSV import proceeds as if the record is new. That is to say, just as AtoM does not automatically delete entities related to the original archival institution, it also not automatically re-link previously related entities.

Warning

This means that if your archival institution record is linked to descriptions, using the “Delete and replace” method will unlink all descriptions - these will not be automatically re-linked with the new import!

We recommend you only use the “Delete and replace” method with repository records that are not currently linked to other entities.

Normally, when attempting to match records, if AtoM fails to find a match candidate, it will proceed to import the row as a new record. However, you can use the --skip-unmatched option with --update to change this default behavior. When --skip-unmatched is used, then any records that do not match will be ignored during the import, and reported in the console log shown on the Job details page of the related import job (see: Manage jobs for more information). This is recommended if you are intending to only import updates to existing records. Note that --skip-unmatched will not work if it is not used in conjunction with the --update option.

Similarly, with new imports, you can use the --skip-matched option to skip any records that AtoM identifies as matching those you have already imported. This can be useful if you are uncertain if some of the records in your CSV have been previously imported - such as when passing records to a portal site or union catalogue. Any records that appear to match existing repository records (based on the authorized form of name) will be ignored during the import, and reported in the console log shown on the Job details page of the related import job.

You can use the --upload-limit option to specify the default upload limit for repositories which don’t specify their uploadLimit in the CSV file. That is, if for example you performed a CSV import with the command-line option of --upload-limit=5, then for every repository in the CSV that does NOT have a value in the uploadLimit column, the default value of 5 GBs will be assigned. For more information on this functionality in the user interface, see: Set digital object upload limit for an archival institution.

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Importing authority records

The authority record import tool allows you to import data about people, familiies, and organizations. Note that authority records and their relationship data can also be imported via the user interface - for more information, see: Import new authority records via CSV and Import new authority record relationships via CSV.

You can view the example CSV files for authority records in the AtoM code (at lib/task/import/example/authority_records/) or they can be downloaded directly here:

The primary documentation for preparing the authority record CSV template can be found in the User Manual, here:

Run the CSV import task from AtoM’s root directory. To use the example authority record import file that is included with the AtoM installation:

php symfony csv:authority-import lib/task/import/example/authority_records/example_authority_records.csv --index

There are also various command-line options that can be used, as illustrated in the options depicted in the image below:

An image of the command-line options for authority record CSV imports

By typing php symfony help csv:authority-import into the command-line from your root directory, without specifying the location of a CSV, you will able able to see the CSV import options available (pictured above). A brief explanation of each is included below.

The --application, --env, and --connection options should not be used - AtoM requires the uses of the pre-set defaults for symfony to be able to execute the import.

The --rows-until-update, --skip-rows, --error-log, and --index options can be used the same was as described in the section above on importing descriptions. For more information on the --rows-until-update option, see also the section below, Display the progress of an upload via the command-line interface (CLI). Use the --source-name option (described in the CSV import documentation here) to specify the source name that will be added to the keymap table. This can be useful for improving the matching logic when importing updates - you can specify the same source name used as the was used during the original import for greater matching. By default in AtoM, when no source name is specified during import, the CSV filename will be stored in the keymap table as the source name.

The --index option will progressively add your imported authority records to AtoM’s search index as the import progresses. Normally when using the user interface to perform an import, the import is indexed automatically - but when running an import via the command-line interface, indexing is disabled by default. This is because indexing during import can sometimes be incredibly slow, and the command-line is generally used for larger imports. Generally, we recommend a user simply clear the cache and rebuild the search index following an import - from AtoM’s root directory, run:

php symfony cc && php symfony search:populate

However, if you are running a small import or simply would like to index the import as it progresses, the --index option can be used to enable this. This is useful if you have a large database, and don’t want to have to re-index everything. For more information on indexing options, see: Populate search index.

The --update option can be used when you want to use a CSV import to update existing authority records, instead of creating new records. There are 2 modes: --update="match-and-update" and --update="delete-and-replace. When used, AtoM will attempt to identify matching authority records and, depending on which option is used, either update them in place, or delete the match and replace it with the new repository record in the CSV. The matching criteria for authority records is based on an exact match on the authorized form of name of the existing authority record. This means that you cannot use the --update option to update the authorized form of name of your existing authority records, or AtoM will fail to find the correct match on import.

For the “match-and-update” option, AtoM will update any authority record related columns that have new data. Columns in the related CSV row that are left blank will not delete existing data - instead, they will be ignored and any existing data in the related field will be preserved.

Important

At this time, not all fields in the authority record template can be updated. Primarily, these are fields that are found in other tables in the AtoM database than the primary authority record table. For further details, see:

With the “delete-and-replace” update option, AtoM will delete the matches prior to importing the CSV data as a new record to replace it.

Note that only the matched authority record is deleted during this process. Any related/linked entities (such as a repository linked as the authority record’s maintainer, other authority records linked via a relationship, Occupation access points, and linked archival descriptions) are not also automatically deleted. If you also want these fully removed, you will have to find them and manually delete them via the user interface after the import.

Once the original matched authority record has been deleted, the CSV import proceeds as if the record is new. That is to say, just as AtoM does not automatically delete entities related to the original archival institution, it also not automatically re-link previously related entities.

Warning

This means that if your authority record is linked to descriptions, a repository, or other authority records, using the “Delete and replace” method will unlink all descriptions, repositories, and authority records - these will not be automatically re-linked with the new import!

We recommend you only use the “Delete and replace” method with authority records that are not currently linked to other entities.

For more information on linking authority records, see:

The --limit option can be used with --update to increase the likelihood of a successful match by limiting the match criteria to records linked to a specific repository as its maintainer. This option takes the slug of the related repository as its value. For example, to import a CSV called “my-updates.csv” and update an authority record for Jane Doe belonging to the Example Archives, your command might look something like this example:

php symfony csv:authority-import --update="match-and-update"
--limit="example-archives" /path/to/my-updates.csv

Normally, when attempting to match records, if AtoM fails to find a match candidate, it will proceed to import the row as a new record. However, you can use the --skip-unmatched option with --update to change this default behavior. When --skip-unmatched is used, then any records that do not match will be ignored during the import, and reported in the console log shown on the Job details page of the related import job (see: Manage jobs for more information). This is recommended if you are intending to only import updates to existing records. Note that --skip-unmatched will not work if it is not used in conjunction with the --update option.

Similarly, with new imports, you can use the --skip-matched option to skip any records that AtoM identifies as matching those you have already imported. This can be useful if you are uncertain if some of the records in your CSV have been previously imported - such as when passing records to a portal site or union catalogue. Any records that appear to match existing authority records (based on the authorized form of name) will be ignored during the import, and reported in the console log shown on the Job details page of the related import job.

Import authority record relationships

Relationships between authority records can be imported in a CSV file. This import can be done via the user interface or from the command line, as explained below.

Another way to create relationships between two authority records is via the user interface. See: Create a relationship between two authority records.

The primary documentation for preparing the authority record relationships CSV template can be found in the User Manual, here:

An example CSV template containing relationship data is available in the AtoM source code at lib/task/import/example/authority_records/ example_authority_record_relationships.csv or it can be downloaded here:

Note that the Relationships CSV file can only import relationships between two authority records that already exist in the AtoM database and using a relationship type term that has already been created in the Actor relation type taxonomy. For more information on managing and creating relation type terms, see: Terms; see specifically Add/edit a converse term.

Assuming you have already imported the authority records in the lib/task/import/example/authority_records/example_authority_records.csv file, here is an example import that establishes a relationship between those authority records:

php symfony csv:authority-relation-import lib/task/import/example/authority_records/example_authority_record_relationships.csv --index

Include the --index parameter to update the search index for each imported relationship. Otherwise run php symfony search:populate to rebuild your entire application index in one batch after the import completes.

When an authority record in the Relationship CSV file does not match an existing authority record, AtoM will ignore that row in the CSV file and provide a warning to indicate that a match was not found.

As with other import jobs, you can add an --update parameter to specify more specific import behaviour. Specifically:

  • --update="match-and-update" : AtoM will look for a match on the subjectAuthorizedFormOfName and objectAuthorizedFormOfName. If the relationType is also the same, then AtoM will update any new values for the description, dates, and/or culture fields found in that row of the CSV file. If the relationType is different, then AtoM will create a new relationship between the two authority records using this new relationship type along with any values found in the description, dates, and/or culture fields. If a newly imported relationship matches an existing relationship but the match-and-update parameter is not being used, then AtoM will ignore that row in the CSV file and provide a warning to indicate that an update was not made.
  • --update="delete-and-replace" : AtoM will look for a match on the subjectAuthorizedFormOfName and objectAuthorizedFormOfName fields. When it finds these matches, AtoM will delete all existing relationships records between these two authority records and replace them with the one or more new relationships found in the CSV file.

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Import accession records

The accession record import tool allows you to import data about your accessions. Additionally, when importing descriptions as well, you can use the subsequent archival description CSV import to create a link between your accession records and your descriptions, by adding an accessionNumber column in the archival description CSV and populating it with the exact accession number(s) used during your accessions data import.

Alternatively, you can use the qubitParentSlug column to link existing descriptions in AtoM to new or updated accessions records via your import - for more details see the User Manual: Prepare accession records for CSV import.

An example CSV template file is available in the lib/task/import/example/example_accessions.csv directory of AtoM, or it can be downloaded here:

The primary documentation for preparing your accession record data in a CSV file for import can be found in the User Manual:

Please review the guidance provided there carefully prior to running a command line import. The use of the command-line task and its options are outlined below.

Example use - run from AtoM’s root directory:

php symfony csv:accession-import /path/to/my/example_accessions.csv

There are also a number of options available with this command-line task.

An image of the command-line options for accession record imports

By typing php symfony help csv:accession-import into the command-line from your root directory, without specifying the location of a CSV, you will able able to see the CSV import options available (pictured above). A brief explanation of each is included below.

The --application, --env, and --connection options should not be used - AtoM requires the uses of the pre-set defaults for symfony to be able to execute the import.

Use the --source-name to specify a source importing to a AtoM installation in which accessions and information objects from multiple sources have been imported, and/or to associate it explicitly with a previously-imported CSV file that used the same --source-name value. An example is provided in the section on legacy ID mapping in the User Manual - see: Legacy ID Mapping.

The --rows-until-update, --skip-rows, --error-log, and --index options can be used the same was as described in the section above on importing descriptions. For more information on the --rows-until-update option, see also the section below, Display the progress of an upload via the command-line interface (CLI).

The --index option will progressively add your imported accession records to AtoM’s search index as the import progresses. Normally when using the user interface to perform an import, the import is indexed automatically - but when running an import via the command-line interface, indexing is disabled by default. This is because indexing during import can sometimes be incredibly slow, and the command-line is generally used for larger imports. Generally for very large imports we recommend a user simply clear the cache and rebuild the search index following an import - from AtoM’s root directory, run:

php symfony cc && php symfony search:populate

However, if you would like to index the import as it progresses, the --index option can be used to enable this. This is useful if you have a large database, and don’t want to have to re-index everything. For more information on indexing options, see: Populate search index.

The --assign-id option can be used to automatically assign the next unique accession number value to each incoming record, based on the accession mask and counter settings available in Admin > Settings > Identifiers. For more information on these settings, see:

Typically, populating the accessionNumber column in an accession record CSV import is required for the row not to be skipped. However, when the --assign-id option is used, you can leave this column blank in the CSV file. On import, AtoM will add the next available unique accession number value, based on the mask and counter settings.

Important

The accession counter may not auto-increment in the user interface after the import completes. To ensure that the next time you generate an accession number in the user interface you don’t get an error, make sure you check the incremental number of the last accession in your import against the counter value, and manually increment the counter to this number post-import if it has not updated automatically.

See: Accession counter

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Import deaccession records

The deaccession import tool allows you to import data about deaccession activies, which can be appended to accession records in AtoM. For more general information on working with deaccession records in AtoM, consult the User manual: Deaccession records. For the task to succeed, an accession number for an existing accession must be provided for each row - it is not possible to create new accession records while importing deaccession CSV data.

An example CSV template file is available in the lib/task/import/example/example_deaccessions.csv directory of AtoM, or it can be downloaded here:

The expected CSV will have 7 columns, corresponding to various fields available in the Deaccession record template. These include:

  • accessionNumber: expects the accession number of an existing accession record in AtoM as input. If no match is found for an existing accession, the console will provide a warning, the row will be skipped, and the task will continue.
  • deaccessionNumber: an identifier for the deaccession. Free text, will support symbols and typographical marks such as dashes and slashes.
  • date: expects a date value in ISO-8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD).
  • scope: expects one of the controlled terms from the “Scope” field in the AtoM deaccession record template. English options include “Whole” and “Part”.
  • description: Free-text. Identify what materials are being deaccessioned.
  • extent: Free-text. Identify the number of units and the unit of measurement for the amount of records being deaccessioned.
  • reason: Free-text. Provide a reason why the records are being deaccessioned.
  • culture: Expects a 2-letter ISO 639-1 language code as input (e.g.: en, fr, es, pt, etc).

Example use - run from AtoM’s root directory:

php symfony csv:deaccession-import /path/to/my/example_accessions.csv

There are also a number of options available with this command-line task.

An image of the command-line options for deaccession record imports

By typing php symfony help csv:deaccession-import into the command-line from your root directory, without specifying the location of a CSV, you will be able to see the CSV import options available (pictured above). A brief explanation of each is included below.

The --application, --env, and --connection options should not be used - AtoM requires the uses of the pre-set defaults for symfony to be able to execute the import.

The --rows-until-update, --skip-rows, and --error-log options can be used the same was as described in the section above on importing descriptions. If you wish a summary of warnings reported in the console log, you can use the --error-log option - it takes a path to a new text file as input, and will copy all console warnings to this log file. Acceptable file extensions for the log file are .txt or .log. For more information on the --rows-until-update option, see also the section below, Display the progress of an upload via the command-line interface (CLI).

More than 1 row of data (i.e more than 1 deaccession record) can be associated with the same accession record. To prevent accidental exact duplicates, by default AtoM will skip any rows where all data is identical to a row preceding it, and will report the skipped record in the console log. If you are intentionally importing duplicate deaccession records, you can use the --ignore-duplicates option.

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Import physical storage containers and locations

This task will allow for the import of physical storage data, as well as updates to existing physical storage containers, via a CSV file. Read more about managing physical storage data in AtoM in the User manual:

The basic syntax for this task is:

php symfony csv:physicalobject-import /path/to/storage.csv

The CSV filename and path (shown as the example /path/to/storage.csv above) must be a valid path to a CSV file that is readable by the current user. The CSV file must use UTF-8 character encoding if it includes characters outside of the basic ASCII character set. The CSV file formatting must use a comma for the column delimiter. Literal values that include a comma character must be enclosed in double-quotes (e.g. “Shelf 10, Box 12345”). Line endings can be Windows (\r\n) or Linux (\n) formatted. For more general suggestions on properly preparing your CSV for import, see: Verify character encoding and line endings.

You can find a copy of the example physical object CSV import template on the AtoM wiki, or stored locally in AtoM’s code at lib/task/import/example/example_physicalobject.csv

The CSV template contains 6 columns, summarized below:

  • legacyID: A unique value, used to capture database identifiers from legacy systems during data migrations for easier troubleshooting. Not required for new import data, but recommended. Can be any alphanumeric characters. Does not display in AtoM’s user interface.
  • name: Free-text. The container name to be used in AtoM
  • type: Type of container. Links to AtoM’s Physical Object Type taxonomy. See Manage physical storage types in the User manual for more information and default terms. A new term in the CSV data will create a new corresponding term in the Physical Object Type taxonomy in AtoM on import.
  • location: Free text. Used to add information about a container’s location.
  • culture: Language of the import data. Expects ISO 639-1 two-letter language codes. If left unpopulated, it will default to en during import.
  • descriptionSlugs: multi-value input for the slugs of related archival descriptions. When linking a container row to multiple archival descriptions, separate each slug value with a | pipe separator.

Tip

A slug is a word or sequence of words which make up a part of a URL that identifies a page in AtoM. It is the part of the URL located at the end of the URL path and often is indicative of the name or title of the page (e.g.: in www.youratom.com/this-description, the slug is this-description). For more information on slugs in AtoM, see:

By typing php symfony help csv:physicalobject-import into the command-line without specifying the path to a CSV file, you can see the options available on the csv:physicalobject-import command:

An image command-line options for the physicalobject:import task

The --application, --env, and --connection options should not be used - AtoM requires the use of the pre-set defaults for symfony to be able to execute the import.

The --culture option can be used to specify a default culture code for the CSV import using a two letter ISO 639-1 code (e.g. en for English, fr for French). The culture column in the CSV import file can be used to specify a culture for that row, and will override the default culture value set with this option. The default value if this option is not specified is en for English.

The --debug or -d option outputs timing data for various import subprocesses to help identify and diagnose bottlenecks.

The --empty-overwrite or -e option will cause empty columns to overwrite existing data in AtoM when updating existing physical storage data via the --update option. This option must be used with the --update option.

The --error-log or -l option can be used to specify a file to log errors encountered during import. Note that it is possible for critical errors in the import to halt the import completely, in which case the critical error will not be written to the log file, but will be output to the console (STDERR) instead. Other error messages and warnings will be logged to the file. Output that is not a warning or error (e.g. progress indicators) will not be logged to the error log, but will be output to console (STDOUT) and can be saved to file if desired by redirecting STDOUT to a file. This option expects a path to where the log should be output. Example:

php symfony physicalobject:import --error-log="/usr/share/nginx/atom/import-log.txt" lib/task/import/example/example_physicalobject.csv

You can leave the file extension off the error log path, but the path must end in the file name you want used for the log file. Acceptable file extensions include .log or .txt.

The --header option can be used to specify a comma delimited list of strings (e.g. --header="name,type,location,culture") that will be used as column names for the import. This option should not be used for CSV import files that already include column headers (such as the example_physicalobject.csv template), as the first row will be imported as physical object data. If the --header option is not used, the first row of the CSV file will be used as column header names. The number of column names passed to --header must match the number of columns in the import file.

The --index or -i option adds imported data to the AtoM search index incrementally during execution of the import script. For large imports it may be desirable to omit the index option as the import will run more quickly, and then run php symfony search:populate to update the search index after the import is complete. For more information on populating the search index, see: Populate search index.

The --multi-match option determines how the import script will handle an import name that matches more than one physical object name in AtoM when the --update option is used. It expects one of 3 values as input: “skip”, “first”, or “all.” The default value of “skip” will not update any existing records if the import name matches multiple existing records, and will report the matched and skipped rows in the error log or STDERR. The “first” option will update only the first matching record in the database, and skip subsequent matches - skipped matches will be reported in the error log or STDERR. Please be aware that the sort order of the matched records may not match your expectations for ordering based on the database primary key or default ordering. The “all” option will update all records in the database that match the import name.

The --partial-matches or -p option will match any records in the AtoM database where record name starts with the import name value. For instance, an import name of “box” will match existing records “boxes”, “box1”, and “box-hollinger”, but will not match “hollinger-box” or “bo”. Note that matches are not case sensitive, and the --multi-match option will determine which matched records are updated in the case of multiple matching records.

The --rows-until-update or -r option controls how often the import task will output information about the progress of the import process. For more on this general import option, see below: Display the progress of an upload via the command-line interface (CLI).

The --skip-unmatched or -s option must be used with the --update option, and prevents the unwanted creation of new records in the database. CSV rows that match an existing record in the database (by name) will update the matched record or records (see the --multi-match option for information on multiple matches). Normally, when a match is not found duing an update import, AtoM will treat an unmatched row as new data, and will create a new container - however, with the skip-unmatched option used as well, CSV records that do not match an existing database record will be ignored. A warning message will be output to the error log or STDERR for each CSV record that is skipped because it does not match an existing container record.

The --skip-rows or -o option will skip the specified number of rows in the CSV, and then start importing data after that point. For instance, specifying --skip-rows=100 would start the import at row 101 of the CSV import file. The --skip-rows option is normally used to resume an import that failed or was aborted to prevent duplicating already imported data. Please note that unless the --header option is used, the first row of the CSV file is assumed to contain field names rather than data, and this row is not counted when determining the number of skipped rows. For example, if the --header option is not specified and --skip-rows=10, the first eleven rows of the CSV file (i.e. the header plus 10 data rows) will be skipped, and the 12th CSV row will be the first record imported.

The --source-name option is used to logically group multiple imports together if a single data set has been split into multiple CSV files to prevent running out memory during an import, or to limit the time each import takes to complete. For exmaple, --source-name="January 2020 import" could be used for multiple CSV files that comprise a January 2020 data update.

Finally, the --update or -u option will attempt to match each import record with one or more (see --multi-match) existing physical storage records in the database, and will use the matching CSV row data to update the matched record(s).

A match is determined solely on physical object name by default (though see the --partial-match option, which modifies the matching criteria), and matching is not case sensitive (i.e. “box-1234” will match “BOX-1234”). For example, if the --update option is used, and the CSV import file includes a container named “box-1234”, and there is an existing physical object in AtoM named “Box-1234,” then the existing physical object will be updated with the CSV data instead of creating a new physical object in AtoM.

Please note that the --empty-overwrite, --skip-unmatched, --multi-match, and --partial-match options all affect the match and update criteria when using the --update option.

An example

The following example import command will:

  • Import a CSV of physical storage data as an update to existing data
  • Skip any unmatched rows
  • Update all matching records where multiple matches on container name are found
  • Allow for partial name matches to be considered acceptable matching criteria
  • Skip the first 10 data rows of the CSV
  • Report any non-fatal errors to a file called “errors.log”
  • Update the search index as the import progresses
php symfony csv:physicalobject-import --update --skip-unmatched --multi-match="all" --partial-match --skip-rows=10 --error-log="/usr/share/nginx/atom/errors.log" --index /path/to/my/storage.csv

This example could also be written as follows, use the short names for the options:

php symfony csv:physicalobject-import -u -s --multi-match="all" -p -o=10 -l="/usr/share/nginx/atom/errors.log" -i /path/to/my/storage.csv

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Display the progress of an upload via the command-line interface (CLI)

The various CSV import tools allow the use of the --rows-until-update command-line option to display the current row of CSV data being imported. This is an extremely simplified way to indicate progress graphically via the command-line - the user sets a numerical value for the number of rows the task will progress before an update, and then the task will output a dot (or period ) in the command-line every time the indicated number of rows has been processed in the current CSV.

Example use reporting progress every 5 rows:

php symfony csv:import
lib/task/import/example/rad/example_information_objects_rad.csv
--rows-until-update=5

This can be useful for large imports, to ensure the import is still progressing, and to try to roughly determine how far the task has progressed and how long it will take to complete.

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Load digital objects via the command line

Known as the Digital object load task, this command-line tool will allow a user to bulk attach digital objects to existing information objects (e.g. archival descriptions) through the use of a simple CSV file.

This task will take a CSV file as input, which contains two columns:

filename is a required column, that should contain the path to the digital asset (file), ending in the filename and extension of the object to be attached. AtoM does not allow more than one digital object per information object (with the exception of derivatives), and each digital object must have a corresponding information object to describe it, so this one-to-one relationship must be respected in the CSV import file. See the “NOTES ON USE” at the bottom of this task’s documentation for more information on how the task will behave if more than one CSV row points at a single archival description.

The second CSV column column identifies the related information object (AKA archival description), to which you wish to attach your digital object. There are 3 different ways of providing this information - and therefore 3 different possible column header names, depending on the method you use:

  • The first option is information_object_id. This is a unique internal value assigned to each information object in AtoM’s database - it is not visible via the user interface and you may have to perform a SQL query to find it out. For instructions on how to do so, see Accessing the MySQL command prompt and Finding the Object ID of a record.
  • The second option is slug. A slug is a word or sequence of words that make up the last part of a URL in AtoM. It is the part of the URL that uniquely identifies the resource and often is indicative of the name or title of the page (e.g.: in www.yourwebpage.com/about, the slug is about). The slug is meant to provide a unique, human-readable, permanent link to a resource. For more information on slugs in AtoM, see: Notes on slugs in AtoM. The values entered into this column are case sensitive, meaning that capitalization matters - AtoM will not match My-Slug to my-slug, for example.
  • Finally, the description identifier can be used instead if preferred. A description’s identifier is visible in the user interface, which can make it less difficult to discover. However, if the target description’s identifier is not unique throughout your AtoM instance, the digital object may not be attached to the correct description - AtoM will attach it to the first matching identifier it finds.

The final CSV, once prepared, should have only 2 columns - one for the filename, and a second column with information on the related description (i.e. either information_object_id, slug, or identifier). The task will take a path to this CSV as input - and it includes a number of additional options, described in more detail below.

Using the digital object load task

Before using this task, you will need to prepare:

  • A CSV file with 2 columns - EITHER information_object_id and filename, OR identifier and filename, OR slug and filename . See above for further details on each option.
  • A directory with your digital objects inside of it

Important

You cannot use information_object_id, slug, and identifier in the same CSV - only one of these columns must be present.

If you use the identifier column, make sure your target description identifiers are unique in AtoM - otherwise your digital objects may not upload to the right description!

Here is a sample image of what the CSV looks like when the identifier is used, and the CSV is prepared in a spreadsheet application:

Example CSV for digitalobject:load task using identifier

The task also includes an option to provide a default file path prefix to your digital object directory (explained further below). Here is an example of a CSV prepared using the slug column, with the full path to each object omitted:

Example CSV for digitalobject:load task using slug

Tip

Before proceeding, make sure that you have reviewed the general CSV preparation instructions included in the User Manual here, to ensure that your CSV will work when used with the digitalobject:load task. The key point when creating a CSV is to ensure the following:

  • The CSV file is saved with UTF-8 encodings
  • The CSV file uses Linux/Unix style end-of-line characters (/n)

Additionally, AtoM also has a task that can be used to double-check your load CSV against the digital object directory, looking for any discrepencies such as unused files, incorrect or duplicate file paths in the CSV, etc. For more information, see:

You can see the options available on the CLI task by typing in the following command:

php symfony help digitalobject:load
An image of the command-line options for digitalobject:load

The --application, --env, and --connection options should not be used - AtoM requires the uses of the pre-set defaults for symfony to be able to execute the import.

By default, the digital object load task will not index the collection as it runs. This means that normally, you will need to manually repopulate the search index after running the task. Running without indexing allows the task to complete much more quickly - however, if you’re only uploading a small set of digital objects, you can choose to have the task index the collection as it progresses, using the --index (or -i) option.

Similarly, the task will typically update AtoM’s nested set (used to manage hierarchical relationships) as it progresses, but this can slow import time. If desired, you can use the --skip-nested-set-build option to omit nested set updates, and then manually run the nested set build task after the digital object load task completes.

The --limit option enables you to set the number of digital objects imported via CSV using the digital object load task.

The --link-source option could apply in a use case where an institution might typically store master digital objects in a separate local repository. Rather than maintain multiple copies of every digital object, you could use the --link-source option to load objects via local filepath stored to a source file in the database. Essentially, when you use the --link-source option, the digital object load task will behave like an external digital object being uploaded via URI, and ultimately, the source “master” file(s) are not copied to the uploads directory.

Note

When using the --link-source option, local derivatives are still generated and stored in the uploads directory per usual.

The --path option will allow you to simplify the filename column in your CSV, to avoid repetition. If all the digital objects you intend to upload are stored in the same folder, then adding /path/to/my/folder/ to each object filename seems tedious - your filename column will need to look something like this:

filename
/path/to/my/folder/image1.png
/path/to/my/folder/image2.jpg
/path/to/my/folder/text1.pdf
etc...

To avoid this when all digital objects are in the same directory, you can use the --path option to pre-supply the path to the digital objects - for each filename, the path supplied will be appended. Note that you will need to use a trailing slash to finish your path prefix - e.g.:

php symfony digitalobject:load --path="/path/to/my/folder/"
/path/to/my/spreadsheet.csv

The --attach-only option changes the behavior of where the task will attach the associated digital object. When used, rather than attaching the digital object to the target description, AtoM will instead always create a new stub child description, and attach the digital object there. This can be useful if you want to pass multiple digital objects to the same parent description - for example, attaching individual TIFF files of book pages as children to an item-level record describing the book.

Tip

See the “NOTES ON USE” section below to learn more about the load task’s default behaviors when multiple CSV rows point to the same archival description and no other task options are used.

The --replace option can be used if you want to overwrite existing digital objects with those indicated in the CSV. When used, AtoM will delete any existing attached digital object it finds and then attach the new object.

Important

You cannot use the --replace and --attach-only options at the same time. This will generate the error:

Cannot use option "--attach-only" with "--replace".

Additionally, this option overrides the default multi-row behavior described below (in the “notes on use”), and those of the --attach-only option. When the --replace option is used:

  • If the import CSV contains one image for a specific description and the description specified in the CSV does not have a digital object attached to it, this digital object will be imported and linked.
  • If the import CSV contains one image for a specific description and the description specified in the CSV already has one attached, the attached digital object will be deleted and the one specified in the CSV will be imported and linked.
  • If the import CSV contains more than one image for a specific description, and the description does not yet have a digital object directly linked to it, the last image specified in the CSV for this target description will be linked.
  • If the import CSV contains more than one image for a specific description, and the description does already has a digital object directly linked to it, the existing image will be deleted and the last image specified in the CSV for this target description will be linked.

TO RUN THE DIGITAL OBJECT LOAD TASK

php symfony digitalobject:load /path/to/your/loadfile.csv

NOTES ON USE

  • If a single CSV row points to a description that already has a digital object, then the row will be skipped and reported in the console
  • If the CSV contains multiple rows pointing at a description that already has a digital object, then new stub child descriptions will be created below the target, and digital objects will be attached there. If child descripitons already exist, they will be ignored (meaning, running the task more than once will result in duplicate child descriptions).
  • Note that the --attach-only and --replace options change the above default behaviors when multiple rows point to one description. Read the option descriptions above for more information.
  • Remember to repopulate the search index afterwards if you haven’t used the --index option! For more information, see: Populate search index.
  • Additionally, if you use the --skip-nested-set-build option, you will need to manually rebuild the nested set after the task has completed. See: Rebuild the nested set.

Regenerating derivatives

Sometimes the digitalobject:load task won’t generate the thumbnail and reference images properly for digital objects that were loaded (e.g. due to a crash or absence of convert installed, etc.). In this case, you can regenerate these thumbsnail/reference images using the following command:

php symfony digitalobject:regen-derivatives

Warning

All of your current derivatives will be deleted! They will be replaced with new derivatives after the task has finished running. If you have manually changed the thumbnail or reference display copy of a digital object via the user interface (see: Edit digital objects), these two will be replaced with digital object derivatives created from the master digital object.

For more information on this task and the options available, see: Regenerating derivatives.

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Index your content after an import

After any kind of import, you’ll want to index your content so it can be searched by users. To do so, enter the following into the command-line:

php symfony search:populate

Tip

If you have used the --index option while running your command-line imports, then you will not need to reindex - when used, the --index option will progressively add records to the search index as they are created during the import process.

For more information on search index population in AtoM, see: Populate search index.

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Export CSV files from the command-line

In addition to bulk XML import and export, AtoM also includes tasks to export archival descriptions and authority records in bulk from the command-line in CSV format.

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Export archival descriptions in CSV from the command-line

The CSV export task is a command-line task that will allow a system administrator with access to the root AtoM directory to export some or all archival descriptions held in AtoM in CSV format. This template is the same as that used for CSV import, and the export produced can therefore also be used to import data into another AtoM instance.

Example use - run from AtoM’s root directory:

php symfony csv:export /path/to/my/export-location/example.csv

If you specify just a path to a directory, AtoM will generate a name for the CSV. If you wish to name your CSV file, then you can specify the target filename in the path (e.g. in the above example, “example.csv” is the target filename).

CSV export task options

An image of the command-line options for CSV export

By typing php symfony help csv:export into the command-line from your root directory, without specifying an export location of the CSV, you will able able to see the CSV import options available (pictured above). A brief explanation of each is included below.

The --application, --env, and connection options should not be used - AtoM requires the uses of the pre-set defaults for symfony to be able to execute the export.

The --items-until-update option can be used for a simple visual representation of progress in the command-line. Enter a whole integer, to represent the number of rows should be imported from the CSV before the command-line prints a period (e.g. `` . `` ) in the console, as a sort of crude progress bar. For example, entering --items-until-update=5 would mean that the import progresses, another period will be printed every 5 rows. This is a simple way to allow the command-line to provide a visual output of progress.

The --criteria option can be added if you would like to use raw SQL to target specific descriptions.

Example 1: exporting all draft descriptions

php symfony csv:export --criteria="i.id IN (SELECT object_id FROM status
WHERE status_id = 159 AND type_id = 158)" /path/to/my/exportFolder

If you wanted to export all published descriptions instead, you could simply change the value of the status_id in the query from 159 (draft) to 160 (published).

Example 2: exporting all descriptions from a specific repository

To export all descriptions associated with a particular archival institution, you simply need to know the slug of the institution’s record in AtoM. In this example, the slug is “example-repo-slug”:

php symfony csv:export --criteria="i.repository_id = (SELECT object_id FROM
slug WHERE slug='example-repo-slug')" /path/to/my/exportFolder

Example 3: exporting specific descriptions by title

To export 3 fonds titled: “779 King Street, Fredericton deeds,” “1991 Canada Winter Games fonds,” and “A history of Kincardine,” You can issue the following command:

sudo php symfony csv:export --criteria="i18n.title in ('779 King Street,
Fredericton deeds', '1991 Canada Winter Games fonds', 'A history of
Kincardine')" path/to/my/exportFolder

You could add additional archival descriptions of any level of description into the query by adding a comma then another title in quotes within the ()s.

The --current-level-only option can be used to prevent AtoM from exporting any children associated with the target descriptions. If you are exporting fonds, then only the fonds-level description would be exported, and no lower-level records such as series, sub-series, files, etc. This might be useful for bulk exports when the intent is to submit the exported descriptions to a union catalogue or regional portal that only accepts collection/fonds-level descriptions. If a lower-level description (e.g. a series, file, or item) is the target of the export, its parents will not be exported either.

The --single-slug option can be used to to target a single archival unit (e.g. fonds, collection, etc) for export, if you know the slug of the target description.

Example use

php symfony csv:export --single-slug="test-export"
/path/to/my/directory/test-export.csv

The --public option is useful for excluding draft records from an export. Normally, all records in a hierarchical tree will be exported regardless of publication status. When using the --public option, only records with a publication status of “Published” will be exported.

Important

If you are planning on re-importing your CSV export into another AtoM instance, and you are using the --public option, you will need to ensure that there are no published records that are children of draft parents. If so, your re-import may fail!

AtoM uses the legacyID and parentID columns to manage hierarchical relationships - but if the parent record is draft (and therefore excluded from the export), then the parentID value for the published (and exported) child record will point to a legacyID that is not included in the export. We recommend you either remove such rows before trying to re-import, or publish the parent record prior to exporting.

For more information on the legacyID and parentID columns, and how AtoM manages hierarchical data via CSV import, see: Legacy ID mapping: dealing with hierarchical data in a CSV and LegacyID and parentID.

The --standard option allows you to determine if the Canadian RAD template or the international ISAD(G) template is used when exporting. The default if the option is not specified is ISAD(G). AtoM maintains several different standards-based templates (see: Descriptive standards) and there are currently 2 different CSV import/export templates - the default ISAD(G) template, and the Canadian RAD template (because there are many different fields in the RAD template). Other standards-template users (such as DACS users) are encouraged to use the ISAD template.

The --rows-per-file option can be used when performing large exports, to break the export into multiple CSV files. You can specify a whole integer representing the number of rows to be included in a single CSV file, before the export task will begin a new CSV. When invoking the task, remember to specify the destination target to a directory, not a filename.

Example use

php symfony csv:export --rows-per-file="1000" /path/to/my/export-directory/

In the above example, when 1000 rows are added to the first CSV, AtoM will export it, and begin a second CSV - and so on.

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Export authority records in CSV from the command-line

The CSV authority export task is a command-line task that will allow a system administrator with access to the root AtoM directory to export some or all authority records held in AtoM in CSV format. This template is the same as that used for the authority record CSV import, and the export produced can therefore also be used to import data into another AtoM instance.

Example use - run from AtoM’s root directory:

php symfony csv:authority-export /path/to/my/export-location/example.csv

If you specify just a path to a directory, AtoM will generate a name for the CSV. If you wish to name your CSV file, then you can specify the target filename in the path (e.g. in the above example, “example.csv” is the target filename).

If your database includes relationships between authority records, these will exported along with the authority records CSV file in a separate relations CSV file.

CSV authority export task options

An image of the command-line options for CSV authority export

By typing php symfony help csv:export into the command-line from your root directory, without specifying an export location of the CSV, you will able able to see the CSV import options available (pictured above). A brief explanation of each is included below.

The --application, --env, and connection options should not be used - AtoM requires the uses of the pre-set defaults for symfony to be able to execute the export.

The --items-until-update option can be used for a simple visual representation of progress in the command-line. Enter a whole integer, to represent the number of rows should be imported from the CSV before the command-line prints a period (e.g. `` . `` ) in the console, as a sort of crude progress bar. For example, entering --items-until-update=5 would mean that the import progresses, another period will be printed every 5 rows. This is a simple way to allow the command-line to provide a visual output of progress.

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