Similar to the bulk upload page for report, users, maintenance items, etc, it would be helpful to be able to to upload files in bulk based on the structure they should be associated with, the file type, and the file name.
For the time being, bulk processing via the API is definitely the best option for doing this sort of work in an automated fashion.
However, if we can design a means to handle this in a configurable way that would work for everyone, we could consider how to work this into a future version of the product. For example, there is a lot of metadata that can be populated when a file is uploaded, including the file type, name, description, timestamp, and categories, along with a list of objects (assets, reports?) that you'd want the file to attach to. Many possible ways of implementing this seem like they might not save any time at all if we still need a user to enter all this data and somehow select a bunch of assets (and/or reports) manually.
If we supported including that metadata through xlsx, we could maybe handle one file at a time with its own xlsx uploaded along with it. Or perhaps if we included a column for the filename to be used per spreadsheet row, you could upload a zip of all of the (distinctly-named) files and the master spreadsheet with all of the necessary metadata? But that seems complicated at first glance.
Mark K, thanks for the response and perspective. We will certainly look into the API. I know our consultants are anxiously awaiting an opportunity to develop their own Excel files and bulk import their report values, etc. As to use cases for bulk uploading of files, we have a few thousand bridge-class culverts that are on extended frequency inspections. We would like to upload an explanatory memo regarding why they still qualify for 48-month inspections even though they don't technically meet all of the originally agreed upon criteria between us and the FHWA. We would bulk upload these files to each structure based on the first 18 characters of the file names, which essentially can be reliably be translated into the unique asset names. Mark W
Bulk file imports have historically been performed by Bentley using custom built importers. No two users have the same file naming convention, folder structure, etc. The concern is requiring a large manual time commitment for someone to rename/reconfigure files and folders to use this feature versus just doing the imports per asset in the first place. I am very curious to hear some use cases for how and why a feature like this could be built.
As of December, updates were released to the AssetWise Inspections API. These allow IT developers to get files/photos into and out of AWI. The API developer specification can be found below, replace "sitename" with your url. Contact Bentley Support to enable the API if needed to reach the page below.
Great idea Bob! We can use that for getting files into individual bridges like our load rating explanations, extended inspection frequency justifications, etc. Great time saver versus navigating to each bridge individually and then uploading the attachment.
For the time being, bulk processing via the API is definitely the best option for doing this sort of work in an automated fashion.
However, if we can design a means to handle this in a configurable way that would work for everyone, we could consider how to work this into a future version of the product. For example, there is a lot of metadata that can be populated when a file is uploaded, including the file type, name, description, timestamp, and categories, along with a list of objects (assets, reports?) that you'd want the file to attach to. Many possible ways of implementing this seem like they might not save any time at all if we still need a user to enter all this data and somehow select a bunch of assets (and/or reports) manually.
If we supported including that metadata through xlsx, we could maybe handle one file at a time with its own xlsx uploaded along with it.
Or perhaps if we included a column for the filename to be used per spreadsheet row, you could upload a zip of all of the (distinctly-named) files and the master spreadsheet with all of the necessary metadata? But that seems complicated at first glance.
Thoughts?
Mark K, thanks for the response and perspective. We will certainly look into the API. I know our consultants are anxiously awaiting an opportunity to develop their own Excel files and bulk import their report values, etc. As to use cases for bulk uploading of files, we have a few thousand bridge-class culverts that are on extended frequency inspections. We would like to upload an explanatory memo regarding why they still qualify for 48-month inspections even though they don't technically meet all of the originally agreed upon criteria between us and the FHWA. We would bulk upload these files to each structure based on the first 18 characters of the file names, which essentially can be reliably be translated into the unique asset names. Mark W
Bulk file imports have historically been performed by Bentley using custom built importers. No two users have the same file naming convention, folder structure, etc. The concern is requiring a large manual time commitment for someone to rename/reconfigure files and folders to use this feature versus just doing the imports per asset in the first place. I am very curious to hear some use cases for how and why a feature like this could be built.
As of December, updates were released to the AssetWise Inspections API. These allow IT developers to get files/photos into and out of AWI. The API developer specification can be found below, replace "sitename" with your url. Contact Bentley Support to enable the API if needed to reach the page below.
https://SITENAME-it-api.bentley.com/swagger/index.html
Great idea Bob! We can use that for getting files into individual bridges like our load rating explanations, extended inspection frequency justifications, etc. Great time saver versus navigating to each bridge individually and then uploading the attachment.
Mark/NIFF