The Library Switcher lets you switch the storage platform of your AODocs libraries from Google Drive to Google Cloud Storage.
Learn more:
- What's the difference between Google Cloud Storage (GCS) and Google Drive storage?
- Google Cloud Storage (GCS) in the Google Help Center
This article provides an overview of what happens when you perform a library switch.
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What you need to know before you run a library switch
When you switch the storage platform of your library to Google Cloud Storage:
- the library keeps the same ID
- all documents in the library keep their IDs, including any versions
- all attachments change their IDs
- the history of the library and documents is preserved
- the attachments are stored in Google Cloud Storage buckets – you can use the default buckets created and managed by AODocs or choose one of your own
Google Cloud Storage is available in Document Management libraries only, so if your library is a Team Folder or a Secured Folder, it is converted to a Document Management library during the switch process. Features that are specific to Team Folders or Secured Folders are lost during the switch process:
- Documents that are published are automatically unpublished. Learn more: Publish your document.
- In Team Folders, all the permissions (folders, documents, workflow states, etc.) are removed, except AODocs library administrator permissions which are kept.
- The emails to documents feature is specific to Google Drive storage so its configuration is lost during the switch process.
The Library Switcher process
The Library Switcher process has the following stages:
1. Lock the library
A lock is applied to the library within AODocs, to disable:
- the ability to update existing AODocs documents
- automatic workflow transitions
Important: Users can still create new AODocs documents and modify attachments in Google Drive. However, we strongly recommend not making changes to your library from AODocs or Google Drive during the switch process.
2. Prepare the library
If your library is a Team Folder or a Secured Folder, it is first converted into a Document Management library. If your library is already a Document Management library, nothing happens during this stage.
3. Configure document classes
This is a technical step that involves creating a URL type property in each document class in the libraries you're switching.
4. Upload attachments
All the attachments contained in the library are uploaded to the Google Cloud Storage bucket you defined when you configured the Library Switcher. This concerns attachments from all document classes, templates, documents and versions.
Google files are converted into file types that are supported in Google Cloud Storage. There are default formats for each type of Google file, but you can choose from a list of supported types when you configure the Library Switcher. Learn more: Switch the storage platform of your AODocs libraries.
Note: At this stage, no documents have been updated yet.
5. Configure the attachment search engine
The attachment search engine is switched from Google Drive to Google Cloud Storage.
Important: Don't use your library's search feature during the switch process, as it's not reliable while your documents are being converted. When the library switch is complete, the search feature will be up and running with your new Google Cloud Storage attachments.
6. Patch documents
All the Google Drive attachments contained in the library (all document classes, templates, versions) are replaced with the corresponding Google Cloud Storage attachments.
Users lose all access (edit, comment, read) to the Google Drive files. The files remain in Google Drive as a secured backup, but only the storage account used to run the switch process has access to them.
7. Configure the library
The library is configured so it supports only Google Cloud Storage attachments. At the end of this step, the storage platform of your library is Google Cloud Storage.
8. Unlock the library
The library lock implemented in step 1 is removed.
9. Validate the process
This is a technical step. The Library Switcher compares the number of documents expected to be processed with the number of documents that were actually processed. If the result is a mismatch, the process isn't blocked and the switch is still considered complete.
Learn more: