Attaching a Document Vault

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A document vault may be detached from M-Files Server (see Detaching a Document Vault), in which case all data in the document vault is kept in a file folder on a hard drive but the document vault is not registered on the server. If you know the name of the document vault and want to start using it again, you can do so by attaching the vault back to M-Files Server using M-Files Admin.

When the vault is detached from the server, it is not displayed in the list of available document vaults in M-Files Admin and users cannot access it, but all the data stored in the vault stays intact. You can, for instance, move a detached vault to a another server machine and take it back into use by attaching it to the new server.

If, for example, lack of space makes it necessary to move a document vault from one server to another, this can be done with the Detach and Attach functions: simply detach the vault on server A, copy the vault data to server B, and attach the vault on server B.

Do the following steps to attach a document vault:

  1. Open M-Files Admin.
  2. In the left-side tree view, expand a connection to M-Files server.
  3. Select Document Vaults.
  4. In the task area, click Attach Document Vault.
    Result:The Attach Document Vault dialog is opened.
  5. In the Name field, enter the name of the detached document vault.
    You may look for the name of the detached vault on the server computer in the folder C:\<M-Files installation directory>\Server Vaults.
  6. Select either:
    • Attach using original identity: Select this option if you want to use the existing ID of the vault.
      or
    • Attach as a different vault (new identity): Select this option if you want to create a new unique ID for the vault.
    The vault identity is used in establishing document vault connections to the server.
  7. Optional: On the Advanced tab, you may select and configure the database engine for storing document vault data.
    See Using Firebird as the Database Engine and Using Microsoft SQL Server as the Database Engine for more information.
  8. Click OK.
    Result:The Attach Vault Options dialog is opened.
  9. Select the features to be disabled in the attached vault:

    If you do not know which features to disable, do not make any changes in this dialog.

  10. Click Disable selected.
    Result:A dialog is displayed listing the features that will be in use in the attached vault.
  11. In the Attach Vault dialog, click Attach.
The selected document vault is attached to M-Files Server and can be accessed again.
The users of the document vault must add a connection to it via M-Files Desktop settings. For instructions, see Adding a Vault Connection.