TRIM Captura to TRIM Context Upgrade Notes - TRIM User Network

TRIM Captura to 

TRIM Context 6 

Upgrade Notes 

TopDrawer to Offline Records, Data Conversion and 

Upgrading Limitations 

September 2007 

TOWER Software TOWER Software TOWER Software 

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this product. TOWER Software shall not be liable for any loss howsoever caused whether due to 

negligence or otherwise arising from the creation, maintenance, or use of any database and this 

documentation. 

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TRIM Captura to TRIM Context Upgrade Notes - TRIM Context 6.1 Page 1 

Contents 

TRIM CAPTURA UPGRADE NOTES ................................................................. 2 

Before you Start - Managing your Conversion.................................................. 3 

Managing Users and ‘Stakeholders’ ............................................................. 5 

TRIM Captura to TRIM Context Conversion or Upgrade Overview........................ 7 

TRIM Functional Configuration....................................................................... 8 

Checklist - Upgrade Familiarization.............................................................. 9 

Resources - Upgrade Familiarization ............................................................ 9 

Client Configuration ....................................................................................10 

Converting User Data Overview .................................................................12 

TRIM Captura TopDrawer to TRIM Context Offline Records Conversion Facility..13 

Checklist - Client Upgrade.........................................................................14 

Resources - Client Upgrade .......................................................................14 

Server and Network Configuration ................................................................15 

Checklist - Server and Network Upgrade .....................................................17 

Resources - Server and Network Upgrade ...................................................17 

Data Conversions .......................................................................................18 

What is Converted..................................................................................19 

Data Conversion Notes .............................................................................20 

Checklist - Data Conversion ......................................................................22 

Resources - Data Conversion.....................................................................22 

Additional Storage Requirements ...............................................................22 

API Integration Conversion ..........................................................................24 

API/SDK Conversion Resources..................................................................24 

TRIM Captura to TRIM Context Checklist........................................................25 

Upgrade and Conversion Limitations .............................................................27 

How to Upgrade to TRIM Context..................................................................29 

Steps in the Upgrade ...............................................................................36


TRIM Captura Upgrade Notes 

TRIM Context is supplied to existing customers as part of the ongoing software 

upgrade clause in the maintenance agreement. This should not distract from the fact 

that TRIM Context heralds a new era for TRIM and that changes from TRIM Captura 

(4.3) are considerable. TRIM Context not only provides a newly designed user 

interface and some new and improved functionality, it is also based on a completely 

re-designed n-tier (multi-tier) architecture. 

All of the changes in TRIM Context make it impossible for a TRIM Captura client to 

interface to a TRIM Context dataset so there has to be a single cutover point for all 

clients and the dataset. This may sound like a difficult task, but it can be managed 

through careful planning and preparation. 

TOWER Software makes the task easier by providing a comprehensive set of upgrade 

documentation, utilities and wizards. 

This document will point out the considerations for an upgrade and provide a list of 

resources that can be used to make the planning of the upgrade easier. It is 

intended to help you think through and plan for your upgrade from TRIM Captura to 

TRIM Context. 

Depending on the size of an organization, different people look after different aspects 

of a TRIM implementation. This document is structured into areas that typically fall 

into separate spheres of responsibility. This document provides: 

• Suggestions for the management of your conversion 

• Introduces the tools used to convert elements of TRIM (for example, 

TopDrawer) 

• Data Conversion overview – what goes where 

• Checklists and Resource lists for each upgrade or conversion stage 

• Lists the behavior and limitations involved in a conversion or upgrade.


Before you Start - Managing your Conversion 

TRIM Captura Conversion 

Knowing TRIM Context 6 well is the best thing you can do to prepare for your 

upgrade. The tricky part is that much of TRIM Context appears outwardly the same 

as TRIM Captura but it is subtly different. 

It is advisable to test the upgrade process including your operating environment and 

TRIM configuration. 

1. Get a spare computer 

2. Install the TRIM Captura software and the demonstration database 

3. Install TRIM Context 6 software and its demonstration database 

4. You may now use these to compare the functionality differences in both 

applications. 

5. Read this document. Also have a look at the following documents: 

• TRIMSpec.pdf – TRIM specifications and known limitations, 

• TRIMInstall.pdf (or TRIMTEM.chm) – detailed notes about installing 

TRIM Context in a networked environment, and 

• TRIMReleaseNotes.pdf – The new features found in TRIM Context 6. 

6. Accumulate and write down any unanswered questions as you go (you will be 

surprised how many answers come from this process alone) and send them to 

the TOWER Software Help Desk. 

7. When you think you are getting to know TRIM Context – demonstrate it to your 

fellow workers. This is both the acid test of how much you know and will help 

you consolidate what you know. 

Upgrade Strategy 

Multi-tier architecture computing introduces additional requirements in hardware 

resources, staff skill levels, management, planning and use. 

Such a change in architecture may at first seem like significant effort, but the use of 

proven change-management techniques will ensure a smooth implementation. 

The key to a smooth transition is to ensure management support and involvement at 

all appropriate levels to get an accurate reading of the impact of adoption across the 

enterprise, to isolate potential trouble spots, and to take pre-emptive remedial action 

as necessary. 

The following areas should form the core of such change management planning: 

• End-user involvement, training and acceptance


• Appropriate financial commitment 

• Coordination with IS/IT department or outsourced service provider 

• Provision and testing of technical infrastructure requirements 

TOWER Software strongly advises a structured approach to upgrades and cannot 

highlight the need for testing in the target environment enough. 

A rollback strategy must be in place to be implemented if any unforeseen failure 

should occur during the system upgrade or data conversion. 

Client and Server Upgrades 

The recommended upgrade process is to upgrade all Client computers before 

upgrading the Server computers.


Managing Users and ‘Stakeholders’ 

This section provides advice on how to manage staff and users (stakeholders) who 

have an interest or responsibility in the upgrade or conversion process. 

Managing your Management 

• Ensure that you have the complete backing of senior management before 

you commence the upgrade. 

• Don’t downplay the effort involved in order to hurry your management 

into letting you upgrade. Upgrades are always resource intensive 

processes and failure (meaning a roll-back) is always costly in terms of 

both dollars and reputation. 

• Market to your management the advantages that a more configurable and 

capable TRIM Context will bring. 

• Take the opportunity to “re-invent” yourselves and your implementation if 

needed. 

If your TRIM Captura implementation is seen as being record “centric” then the 

upgrade is an ideal time to recast yourselves and your role in the organization 

from the manager of records to the professionals providing an information 

management service for end users. 

Managing your Information Technology Managers 

Your Information Technology people (be they internal or outsourced) are key to the 

success of your upgrade. 

• Consult with your IT people from the outset – TRIM Context is different 

and requires thought and planning to deploy well. They are your 

deployment experts and only they really understand your operating 

environment. 

• Market to your IT people to get them involved and interested. TRIM 

Context is leading edge technology – technological stuff that they may 

not have played with before. New technology “toys” are usually 

attractive for IT people. But beware new “toy” status wears off very fast, 

so keep the momentum going. 

• Communicate the technology involved. 

• Highlight the advantages in terms of increased performance and 

decreased network impact. 

• Should you need assistance, set the scene with your IT management, and 

then involve TOWER Software or business partners to help communicate 

these benefits. 

Managing your End Users


Probably the most important people to manage, and possibly the hardest, are your 

end-users. The people who need and use daily the service you provide. 

These folks are very important, and the challenging part is that: 

• Many users find change difficult or threatening 

• Some will regard computers, and their associated software, as a 

hindrance or more trouble than they're worth. 

There are no easy answers here, but a few suggestions are: 

• Consult. If there remains anybody that can complain “why wasn’t I 

consulted” then the job is not yet done. 

• Recruit end-users in selected serviced areas to be “heroes” of the 

implementation. Consult with them regards their needs, demonstrate 

TRIM Context to them and provide (at the very least) basic training for 

them. 

• Provide a “hot line” for end-users frustrated (or even frightened) by the 

change of system. 

• Emphasize the “fun features” (skins, user configurable menus, etc.) 

• Emphasize the “power user” features (Outlook Add-in, Favorites, Offline 

Records, etc.)


TRIM Captura to TRIM Context Conversion or Upgrade Overview 

Your “database” is the complete set of your records and documents. There are many 

things for you to do to prior to converting: 

• Test your configuration in the Demonstration Database - particularly the areas 

where you believe your configuration differs from the norm. 

• Set up your current version of TRIM Captura 4.3 Demonstration Database with 

a facsimile of your configuration and upgrade that database to TRIM Context 6. 

The Demonstration Database is small and the upgrade will be fast; thus 

allowing easy experimentation. 

• Do not rush to try a trial upgrade on your Production Database – it is 

imperative that you appreciate the pros and cons of the upgrade process first. 

• Plan a trial upgrade of a COPY of your Production Database 

o 

Document Management technology systems are one of the most 

complicated systems in terms of its “dataset”. 

A “dataset” is the set of data that makes up your TRIM system. 

Depending on configuration and licensing options, your “dataset” may 

consist of up to three different, but very closely related, collections of 

data. These are: 

• The Relational Database containing your document and record 

metadata 

• The Electronic Document ‘Stores’ with their individual documents 

• The Indexes to the content of the documents. 

o 

o 

o 

Involve your IT people 

Ensure that your Document Stores are either copied or disabled 

Ensure that your Document Content Indexes are either copied or disabled 

• Undertake you trial conversion. Ideally in a test environment that is 

physically isolated from your production network 

• Now may be the time to consider employing a TOWER partner to 

assist with your upgrade.


TRIM Functional Configuration 

This section covers the configuration of TRIM Context as an Electronic Document or 

Records Management system within the information management policies of your 

organization. 

Interfaces 

Changes have been made to the user interfaces. Whereas all the underlying 

paradigms and functionality, such as List Panes, View Panes, TRIM Viewer, Toolbars, 

Status Bar etc. still apply, it needs to be considered what amount of communication 

is necessary to bring the end users up-to-date. 

Personalized user items (for example, Saved Searches) are not upgraded and will 

need to be recreated in TRIM Context by each user. 

TRIM Context ice is the new Internet Browser interface to TRIM Context that may be 

considered as an alternative client. 

Functionality 

The functionality and concepts of TRIM Captura have been carried forward into TRIM 

Context, however with the interface update a lot of functions can be performed in a 

more user-friendly manner. 

Some of the existing functionality has been improved and some new functionality 

added. Although the new functionality cannot be applied until after the upgrade, it 

makes sense to look at what is available and plan any changes. 

Familiarize yourself with the changes to existing functionality and assessing their 

impact on your system.


Checklist - Upgrade Familiarization 

1 We are familiar with the changes made to existing functionality and with new 

functionality 

2 We have tested all our current business processes in TRIM Context and 

documented any changes 

3 We have assessed the impact of the changes on our users and put 

training/communication programs in place 

4 We have notified users of the need to recreate Saved Searches and 

Personalized details 

5 We have recreated all Report Layouts in TRIM Context 

6 All User Logins are using the same Login Name as the Windows (Network) 

login 

Resources - Upgrade Familiarization 

• The TRIMReleaseNotes.pdf document outlines the main functional and interface 

changes for each version. 

• The TRIM Context Help files (TRIM.chm and TRIMTEM.chm) list all functionality 

in detail. 

• The TRIMSPEC.pdf document lists known functional behavior, limitations and 

field lengths. 

• TOWER Software or its partners provide an IT Training course, which is aimed 

at giving the TRIM Data Administrators a head start in exploring the new and 

changed functionality in their trial implementation. 

• Contact your local TOWER Software Helpdesk to assist with any issues or 

problems encountered during the upgrade process.


Client Configuration 

This section covers the software installation on the TRIM Client computers from a 

technical point of view. 

Architecture 

TRIM Context’s multi-tier architecture means that all data services to the Client are 

provided by the TRIM Server tier: 

• TRIM Synchronization Server 

• TRIM Workgroup Server(s) 

• TRIM Event Server(s). 

For the Client installation this means that no database client, access to the Electronic 

Document Store or access to the Document Content Indexes needs to be configured. 

The only access needed is to the TRIM Server tier. 

TRIM Context does not use a “TRIM Startup Directory” and stores the Offline Records 

structure in the user profile and most of its settings in the registry. 

Access rights to this part of the registry need to be granted and the impact on the 

local copying of roaming profiles needs to be considered. 

The new architecture brings with it new minimum specifications for client computers, 

which need to be considered before an upgrade. 

The new architecture allows documents to be cached on the local computer, for 

which disk space needs to be considered. 

Desktop Integration 

Desktop Integration (ODMA, Macro (for non-ODMA applications) and E-mail) has 

been updated. 

The e-mail integration in TRIM Context has been reworked and requires later 

versions of the e-mail clients than TRIM Captura supported. 

The upgrade to TRIM Context may be affected by the timing of the upgrade to the 

supported versions of desktop applications and e-mail clients. 

TopDrawer to Offline Records Upgrade 

TOWER Software was mindful that enforcing a mandatory “All items must be checked 

in from TopDrawer” policy was unworkable in many circumstances, so instead, where 

users have a TRIM Captura TopDrawer with checked-out and draft items, a 

conversion utility is provided for migrating this environment to the TRIM Context 

Offline Records format. 

As with all data conversion processes, testing is considered a mandatory 

requirement. Given the potential number of TopDrawer clients that may need such


migration, it is strongly encouraged that the person(s) performing the changes 

familiarize themselves fully with its method and capabilities. 

Users 

TRIM Context makes full use of Windows 2000+ Authentication and does not allow 

the maintenance of separate logins any more. 

If your TRIM users are currently set up with a separate TRIM Login Name, they need 

to be changed to their Windows Network Login. 

Personalized Settings - The user settings stored in the TRIM.ini file and in the 

TRIM1024.cfg file will not be upgraded to TRIM Context. This means that common 

user interface settings will be rolled out across the organization. The users can then 

re-configure their interface with a lot more options than were available in TRIM 

Captura (4.3).


Converting User Data Overview 

User Data comprises end user computer configuration (personalized settings) and, 

most importantly, end user TopDrawer databases and documents. 

TOWER Software’s focus on end user data conversion is to ensure that what’s 

difficult to manage or recreate is done well and, wherever possible “automatically”. 

The more “cosmetic” of end user configuration detail is not converted. 

For example: 

• Search Preferences 

• View Pane Layouts 

• Recent Documents 

• Barcode Reader Setups. 

The most important and difficult to manage component of end-user data is that of 

TopDrawer (database and documents). A transparent and automatic conversion of 

each user’s TopDrawer to Offline Records database and documents occur when they 

first execute TRIM Context or TRIM Desktop and they attempt to access Offline 

Records. 

This is particularly valuable where staff may have been away during the main 

upgrade process and thus were unable to check in all their documents prior to the 

upgrade.


TRIM Captura TopDrawer to TRIM Context Offline Records Conversion 

Facility 

TRIM Context 6 includes a silent conversion to convert an existing TRIM Captura 4.3 

TopDrawer into Offline Records when the user accesses the Offline Records area for 

the first time. It does not provide a separate batch program for TRIM Captura 4.3 

TopDrawer conversions like earlier versions of TRIM Context did. If you are planning 

a large TRIM Captura 4.3 to TRIM Context 6 upgrade, please discuss the TopDrawer 

conversion with the TOWER Software representative responsible for your 

organization. 

The conversion steps 

• The Captura 4.3 TopDrawer database file is copied to a backup trimdms.bak (in 

the same location as the old TopDrawer database file). 

• The Offline Records database is created as trimtd.mbd under C:\Documents 

and Settings\Userid\Application Data\TOWER Software\TRIM5\dbid. 

• A directory called Offline Records (dbid) is created in the My Documents 

directory to store the Offline Records documents. 

• The entries in the Captura 4.3 TopDrawer database with the same database 

identifier and all of the draft document entries are copied to the Offline Records 

database. 

• For each document, the document is copied to a new more meaningful name, 

in the new My Documents\Offline Records (dbid) location (Note that this data 

is copied, the originals remain in their old location) 

The conversion process is non destructive and thus may be re-run in the event of 

system or network failure during conversion by renaming trimdms.bak to 

trimdms.cfg. If there are multiple datasets, then the trimdms.cfg file will remain in 

place until all documents from all databases have been converted. Once all of the 

databases have been converted the TRIM 4.3 TopDrawer structure can be removed. 

! Note (1): The Offline Records area will need to be accessed from each TRIM 

Context dataset for all of the users Captura 4.3 TopDrawer datasets to be upgraded 

to Offline Records. 

(2): If the users TRIM Captura TopDrawer contains draft documents from multiple 

TRIM Databases, then all the draft documents will be placed as drafts in the Offline 

Records folder of the first TopDrawer dataset converted. It will then be up to the 

user to move the draft documents to the correct Offline Records folder after all of the 

TopDrawer upgrades are complete.


Checklist - Client Upgrade 

1 All computer hardware and operating systems comply with the minimum 

specifications for TRIM Context 

2 Our Desktop Applications are sufficiently supported by TRIM Context 

3 Our e-mail client is supported by TRIM Context 

4 We tested the impact on our environment of Offline Records residing in the 

user profile 

5 We tested and are familiar with the TopDrawer to Offline Records conversion 

program 

6 We planned and tested the client rollout 

7 We planned and tested a client rollback in case of unforeseen problems 

Resources - Client Upgrade 

• The TRIMSpec.pdf document lists the minimum requirements for a TRIM 

Context computer and lists the supported e-mail and desktop applications. 

• The TRIMInstall.pdf document (and TRIMTEM.chm) explains the installation of a 

TRIM Context client and the architecture in detail. 

• TOWER Software or its partners provide a TRIM Context IT training course, 

which covers some aspects of the client installation. 

• Contact your local TOWER Software Helpdesk to assist you with any issues or 

problems encountered during the Client upgrade process.


Server and Network Configuration 

This area covers the introduction of the new TRIM Server Tier and what 

considerations need to be given to hardware and network configurations. 

Architecture 

TRIM Context’s multi tier architecture means that all data services to the client are 

provided by a TRIM Server tier. 

The TRIM Servers require a Windows Environment to run and will not execute on 

either Novell or Unix Servers. 

The Data tier (as described later) remains platform independent as in earlier versions 

of TRIM. 

The various TRIM Context components in the architecture communicate to each 

other via DCOM, which requires careful allocation of component access and security 

rights over a network. This will involve the creation of a “TRIM” user group. 

Server Tier 

The TRIM Context multi-tier Server architecture is composed of: 

• TRIM Synchronization Server - The TRIM Synchronization Server uses 

messaging to keep both the TRIM Event Server(s) and the TRIM Workgroup 

Server(s) up to date with the latest events and changes to the data. 

If a target Server is not running, it writes the messages to a queue. 

The TRIM Synchronization Server is also responsible for the generation of all 

unique identifiers in the TRIM database and thus no data updates are possible if 

the TRIM Synchronization Server is not available. 

All of this will need to be considered when designing a risk management 

strategy. 

• TRIM Workgroup Server - Where the client in previous versions of TRIM 

accessed the RDBMS, the Electronic Document Store and the Document 

Content Indexes itself, all of this access is now provided through TRIM 

Workgroup Server(s). 

The Workgroup Server(s) also provide caching facilities to help the clients 

overcome network bandwidth and latency restrictions. 

The deployment of Workgroup Servers needs to be considered with the 

organization’s network topography and client numbers in mind. 

• TRIM Event Server - The TRIM Event Server(s) process events and takes 

over from the TRIM Event Processor in earlier versions. 

Different Event Servers can process different types of events. 

The deployment and configuration of Event Servers should be planned in view 

of the processing load and network topography. 

Data Tier 

The new architecture does not require end users to have access to the Electronic


Document Store themselves. This means greatly enhanced security, as the only 

account that needs access to the Document Store is the account that runs the TRIM 

Servers. 

Similarly the directory that houses the Document Content Indexes does not need to 

be shared any more. 

The connection from the TRIM Server tier to the RDBMS is via OLEDB and you need 

to ensure the appropriate driver is installed on the TRIM Server computer(s). 

For sites currently using the ISAM database, this has been replaced with Microsoft’s 

Jet database technology. Whether this supports your system depends on the 

number of users as well as the size of the database. You may need to consider an 

upgrade to one of the RDBMS that TRIM Context supports.


Checklist - Server and Network Upgrade 

1 TRIM Server Hardware conforms with the technical specifications and the 

expected load 

2 TRIM Workgroup Server location(s) have been identified 

3 TRIM Event Server location(s) have been identified 

4 TRIM Synchronization Server location has been identified 

5 The TRIM Servers are in place and all communications have been tested: 

5a 

5b 

5c 

5d 

5e 

5f 

5g 

Synchronization Server to the Database 

Workgroup Server(s) to the Database 

Workgroup Server(s) to the Electronic Document Store 

Workgroup Server(s) to Document Content Indexes 

Event Server(s) to the Workgroup Server(s) 

Event Server(s) to Document Content Indexes 

Clients to the Workgroup Server(s) 

6 Network permissions for end users to connect to the Workgroup Server(s) 

have been granted 

7 We planned for unforeseen problems and a rollback strategy is in place 

Resources - Server and Network Upgrade 

• The TRIMSPEC.pdf document lists the minimum requirements for all TRIM 

Context Server hardware and lists the supported operating systems and 

settings. It also lists the various RDBMS that are supported by TRIM Context. 

• The TRIMInstall.pdf document (and TRIMTEM.chm) explains the installation of 

all TRIM Context Servers and the DCOM configuration changes made by the 

installation process. 

• The TRIM Context Installation and Setup Guide (TRIMTEM.chm) explains the 

functionality of the TRIM Enterprise Manager (the replacement for TRIM 

Captura DBTools) in detail. 

• TOWER Software or its partners provide a 1-day TRIM Context IT training 

course, which covers the installation and configuration of all TRIM Servers. 


problems encountered during the Server upgrade process.


Data Conversions 

This area covers the upgrade of the data tier from TRIM Captura (4.3) to TRIM 

Context. 

Document Management technology systems are one of the most complicated 

systems in terms of its dataset. 

A dataset is the set of data that makes up your TRIM system. Depending on 

configuration and licensing options, your dataset may consist of up to three different, 

but very closely related, collections of data. 

The division of TRIM data in three spheres is maintained in the new TRIM Context 

architecture. These are: 

• RDBMS - The Relational Database containing your document and record 

metadata. 

The design of the RDBMS structures for metadata has evolved significantly 

from TRIM Captura to TRIM Context, extending existing capabilities, and 

introducing support for the many new features and modules of the latter 

product. 

As such, existing TRIM Captura metadata must undergo an upgrade process to 

enable its use in a TRIM Context environment. 

A wizard is included as part of the TRIM Enterprise Manager tool to perform this 

upgrade, providing a fully automated method with many management options. 

Not all RDBMS versions that were supported in TRIM Captura are still supported 

in TRIM Context and you need to assess the work and cost involved in a 

possible change to another database system or version. 

Planning for a move to TRIM Context must include provision for testing this 

metadata upgrade before proceeding with a “production” change. The varied 

nature of a given environment – hardware, software, networks, size of data, 

etc. – means that testing is vital to highlight any possible problems. 

• Electronic Document Stores - The Electronic Document Stores with their 

individual documents remains the same and does not require any upgrading 

other than the decision that may be made to change from an FTP store to a 

directory store, based on the new security provided by the multi-tier 

architecture. 

• Document Content Indexes - The content of documents are not indexed 

during the conversion process and will need to be re-indexed after the 

conversion process is completed. 

The conversion functionality from TRIM Captura to TRIM Context includes the 

upgrade to the latest Document Content Indexing engine. 

TOWER Software recognizes that the additional work and processing load of reindexing 

the documents would be an added distraction to the task of converting 

from TRIM Captura to TRIM Context. Therefore this task can be performed 

using TRIM Enterprise Manager at your leisure after the conversion date.


What is Converted 

TOWER Software has invested very heavily to ensure that the most valuable and 

difficult to recreate parts of your database are converted “automatically”. But there 

are circumstances where this was not possible. 

The following TRIM Captura objects are converted 

• Record Types 

• Electronic Document Stores 

• Security Levels and Caveats 

• TRIM Captura Record Types Security Groups are converted to TRIM 

Context Groups 

• Thesaurus Terms and Relationships 

• Classification System (Record Plan) Terms and Numbering Patterns 

• Archive Retention Schedules 

• TRIM Captura Contacts, Organizations, Units, Positions and Staff are 

converted to TRIM Context Locations (Organizations, Positions and 

Persons) 

• User Defined Fields 

• Space Management System layout 

• Most Web Publishing layouts 

• TopDrawer database and documents 

• Main Spell Checker Dictionaries. 

The following are not converted 

Due to a total re-working of the way they are implemented, the following items 

cannot be upgraded and need to be re-created in TRIM Context. 

• Report Layouts 

• Saved Searches (Public and Private) 

• Personalized interface configurations (Toolbars Tray Contents etc).


Data Conversion Notes 

• Client and Server Upgrades - The recommended upgrade process is to 

upgrade all Client computers before upgrading the Server computers. 

• Database (RDBMS) Upgrades - There are no specific TRIM requirements to 

consider when upgrading your RDBMS software, other than to ensure the new 

RDBMS software version is included as a validated and supported version for 

TRIM. Refer to your online help under the "Relational Database (RDBMS) Client 

and Server Requirements". Follow the requirements specified by the upgrade 

documentation provided by your RDBMS vendor. 

• SQL Server Database Upgrades - For upgrades of SQL Server databases 

from TRIM Captura to TRIM Context, the SQL Server compatibility level must 

be set to 80. 

• Document Content Index Conversion Issues - TRIM Captura databases 

which use the 'Main Document Store' when converted will point to the directory 

specified in the Path for Default Electronic Store field. 

If this is not the same directory, the documents held in the store will need to 

be copied or moved to the new store OR the store path changed to the new 

directory. You may move the documents manually or you may use the 

Electronic Document Stores - Transfer Documents function in TRIM 


Alternatively you may use the %db% path statement for the global path. 

• Document Final Flag - In an upgrade from TRIM Captura to TRIM Context, 

the 'final' flag’s 'Date Finalized' field is set to the ‘Date Registered’ date. 

• Space Management System Captions - When upgrading a TRIM Captura 

Space Management System to TRIM Context, the Level descriptions are 

maintained during conversion. This will result in all levels being regarded as 

captioned. For more information about Space Management Captions, see the 

TRIM Context Help file – Administrator Guide – Ch 18 Space Management – 

Space System Caption Editor. 

• Record Types - If a Record Type is set to use an Electronic Document Store in 

TRIM Captura, it will be converted to a Document Record Type in TRIM 


If a Record Type is set to level 4 or above in TRIM Captura, it will be converted 

to a Folder Record Type in TRIM Context. 

• Record Type Security Groups - During a TRIM Captura to TRIM Context 

upgrade, all Record Type Security Groups are converted to Groups. The use of 

TRIM Captura Record Type Security Groups and Access Controls will require 

reviewing in TRIM Context after the conversion process is complete, because 

these functions have been significantly enhanced. 

Record Type Security Groups are created as new Locations called ‘Converted 

Group ##’. These converted Groups can be found in Locations using the


Groups filter. 

The converted Group will display the TRIM Captura 4.3 Security Group name in 

the notes field of the converted Group Location to help determine which TRIM 

Captura Record Type Security Group it was created from. A number of 

converted Groups maybe created for each Record Type Security Group as a 

converted Group is required for each TRIM Captura access permission set (for 

example, if a Record Type Security Group has access of ‘Create/Remove’ for 

one Record Type then ‘Read Access’ for another Record Type then two 

converted Groups will be created). 

The conversion process will automatically associate the converted Group to the 

Record Type Access permission, however it is recommended that these 

converted Groups be renamed. 

An upgrade from TRIM Captura creates a new "Converted Group" for every 

combination of Access Controls on records. 

Groups (for example, "Converted Group #nn") are not created for Record 

Access Controls and Classification Plan Access Controls. Instead, the 

conversion will place the locations directly against a record or Classification 

Plan entry. 

The value for the "Contribute Contents" Access Control will be set to 'Everyone' 

as part of the conversion. 

• Word Indexing - If users wish to search for indexed words that are part of an 

e-mail address or web address, then the Administrator should re-index the 

words in the upgraded TRIM Context dataset, otherwise words that are 

preceded by special characters such as the at symbol and forward slash will not 

be indexed. This is because the algorithm for indexing words is different 

between TRIM Context and TRIM Captura 4.3. 

For information on how to reindex the words in a dataset, see the TRIMTEM 

Help file, TRIM Context Enterprise Manager - Datasets Setup and Maintenance - 

Dataset Options - How to Reindex Words. 

For information on the word indexing algorithm, see the TRIM Help file, Chapter 

22 - Word Indexes - Word Indexing Rules and Behavior.


Checklist - Data Conversion 

1 We decided to upgrade to the latest Document Content Index engine after 

the conversion process 

2 We are assured that our version and RDBMS is validated with TRIM 

Context 

3 We tested the Database Upgrade and devised our strategy and are aware 

of the timing 

4 We allowed for unforeseen problems and tested a rollback strategy is in 

place 

Resources - Data Conversion 

• The TRIMSPEC.pdf document lists all the supported RDBMS versions. 

• The TRIM Context Help file (TRIM.chm) and also the Installation and Setup 

Guide (TRIMTEM.chm) describes in detail how to re-index the documents in the 

Electronic Document Store. 

• The TRIM Context Help file describes in detail how to set up a TRIM Directory 

Store and how to maintain Document Content Indexes and the RDBMS. It 

details the steps that the database conversion wizard works through. 


problems encountered during the data conversion process. 

Additional Storage Requirements 

For the Duration of a TRIM Captura Cross-grade 

If you are upgrading (cross-grading) an existing TRIM Captura database, you will 

need to allow working space within the database for the various data manipulation 

tasks involved. 

• For DB2 - 10% of used storage, plus the size of the largest existing table 

• For ISAM - 10% of used storage 

• For Microsoft SQL Server - 10% of used storage, plus the size of the largest 

existing table 

• For Oracle - 10% of used storage, plus the size of the largest existing table 

• For Sybase - 10% of used storage. 

Log Space and Log Management Required for the Duration of a TRIM 

Captura Upgrade.


The upgrade of a TRIM Captura database to a TRIM Context Dataset involves 

significant data manipulation, recreation of tables, and other work. As such, 

significant transaction log activity should be expected, and close monitoring and 

management of the transaction log for the database is required. 

Some indicative log space requirements for a 500MB TRIM Captura database are as 

follows: 

• For DB2 - Up to 1.5 GB (Depending on data profile) 

• For Microsoft SQL Server - Up to 1.5 GB (Depending on data profile) 

• For Oracle - Up to 1.5 GB (Depending on data profile) 

• For Sybase - Up to 1.5 GB (Depending on data profile). 

The upgrade process is broken down into 21 stages. The process is designed to 

allow for restarting at each of the 21 starting points associated with these stages. 

This approach can assist in reducing the total log space required for an upgrade, but 

needs additional manual control of the process to achieve this aim.


API Integration Conversion 

TRIM Context introduces a range of programming APIs, ActiveX controls, and 

supplementary items, which collectively are known as the SDK (Software 

Development Kit). Existing applications and software written by the organization to 

utilize the TRIM Captura API will need to have its API calls modified to conform to the 

new APIs provided within the TRIM Context SDK. 

Even though this means some programming work, it doesn’t require the same effort 

as the initial design and programming of the integration. The business rules and 

logic of the integration stay the same and only the calls to TRIM need to be adapted 

in most cases. 

API/SDK Conversion Resources 

The TRIM Context SDK Help file provides details of how to best convert a TRIM 

Captura integration to TRIM Context. It also describes in detail the new methods 

and properties of the TRIM Context APIs and gives code samples.


TRIM Captura to TRIM Context Checklist 

Environment 

1 Network infrastructure has been checked against TRIM Context requirements, 

ensuring that location of TRIM Context Server tiers is appropriate for the 

network topology, bandwidth, latency, etc 

2 Environmental privileges for TRIM Context’s application Server tiers have 

been configured as per specification 

3 Method of installation of TRIM Context Client components has been chosen, 

and tested successfully 

4 All communications between the Client, Server and Data tiers have been 

tested successfully 

5 Other applications that have utilized the TRIM Captura API have been 

identified, and the required changes to use the new TRIM Context SDK have 

been undertaken 

Servers 

1 Servers for use as TRIM Context Synchronization Server, Workgroup 

Server(s), Event Server(s) and possibly the TRIM Context ice and WebDrawer 

Server(s) have been identified, and their specifications checked against the 

hardware and software requirements 

2 The RDBMS Server has been checked against the validated list of relational 

databases for TRIM Context 

Data Conversion 

1 A trial dataset upgrade has been performed successfully 

2 The Electronic Document Store is in place and is accessible to users 

3 The Document Content Index has been re-indexed 

4 User TopDrawers requiring conversion have been identified, and the schedule 

for the conversion to Offline Records has been set 

5 A rollback strategy exists as a contingency for any unforeseen failures 

Users 

1 User and Administration training has been planned to familiarize staff with 

the new and improved functionality of TRIM Context 

2 Key users have been identified to ensure post-implementation “sanity checks” 

are satisfied


3 Management, IT services, other staff and TRIM users have all been briefed on 

the scope of the change that is about to happen, and have committed the 

required support to achieve a successful change


Upgrade and Conversion Limitations 

• Alternative Database IDs - When you upgrade from TRIM Captura to TRIM 

Context, you must go through the process of setting up your database before 

you are given the to opportunity to select the Upgrade option. 

Part of this process involves you specifying a Database ID. 

If you setup a database with an alternative Database ID (a different ID that is 

set in the database to be converted), then a message will display advising of 

the consequences. 

Care should be taken when setting alternative Database ID’s as these are used 

data items in TRIM (for example, Barcodes, Electronic Document Stores and 

TopDrawer/Offline Records). 

If you set an alternative ID during the conversion process, the new dataset will 

have it's Database ID set to the one provided in the wizard; explicitly 

overwriting the "copied" one, and ensuring uniqueness. 

! Note: Electronic Document Stores and Content Indexes must be copied 

and configured manually. 

• Events - You must ensure that all Events are processed prior to upgrading 

TRIM Captura to TRIM Context. 

This is due to the changed directory structure between the different versions – 

any unprocessed Events after the upgrade will not be found and therefore will 

not be processed. 

• Duplicate Thesaurus Terms - Duplicate Thesaurus Term creation is not 

supported in TRIM Context (for example, an ordinary term called “Project” and 

a prompt term “Project”). 

TRIM Captura allowed the creation of duplicate terms (with different 

attributes). Existing duplicate terms are converted from TRIM Captura to TRIM 

Context and can be used successfully. 

• Location Barcodes – All Location Barcodes are converted across from TRIM 

Captura to TRIM Context. 

Foreign Barcodes attached to Locations are converted from TRIM Captura to 

TRIM Context during the database conversion. If a Location in TRIM Captura 

has a Foreign Barcode assigned to it, then the Location in TRIM Context will 

also have that Foreign Barcode assigned to it. 

TRIM Captura Database Upgrades - Unit and Position Barcodes – There is an 

option in the Upgrade from Captura wizard which allows the user to convert 

their Unit and Position barcodes. These will be placed in the Locations Foreign 

Barcode field. If the Foreign Barcode field has an existing entry, the Unit or 

Position Barcodes will not be entered and will be reported as an entry in the 

Conversion log file.


• Retention Schedules - Date Conversion Issues - The TRIM Captura to 

TRIM Context conversion process is unable to convert Retention Schedules that 

use “Date 1” Triggers. 

The conversion process will list the Retention Schedules that have not been 

converted. The Administrator will then have to review each Retention Schedule 

and assign an appropriate User defined Date to the Schedule which is 

appropriate to the Record Type(s) which utilize those Retention Triggers. 

• Dates without Times - Conversions of dates without times will result in dates 

based on a value of Midday rather than Midnight. This means that for a 

conversion carried out in Australian Eastern Standard Time Zone, that "date 

created" fields will have a value that ends in "0200000" instead of "1400000", 

and the date part will be same day rather than day before. 

North American Time Zones - Assuming a zone of GMT minus 5 hours, the 

dates will have a value of "1700000" and same day instead of the "0200000". 

• Personal Settings - All user personal settings are not upgraded to TRIM 

Context (for example, Toolbar, Tray and Interface settings). 

o 

Work Tray Contents - The process of upgrading from TRIM Captura to 

TRIM Context does not convert the users Work Tray. 

Each user will need to note down the record numbers (or other metadata 

details they use to retrieve these records in searches) and then search for 

them again after the upgrade is complete and then add them to their 

TRIM Context Work Tray. 

• Saved Searches - Saved Searches will be lost in the TRIM Captura upgrade 

process and will need to be manually recreated. Please note down the Search 

Criteria details of your search in TRIM Captura so they can be recreated once 

the conversion process has completed. 

• Document Stores - TRIM Captura databases that use the ‘Main Document 

Store’, when converted will point to the directory specified in the Path for 

Default Electronic Store field. If this is not the same directory, the 

documents held in the store will need to be copied or moved to the new store 

OR the store path changed to the new directory. You may move the 

documents manually or you may use the Electronic Document Stores - Transfer 

Documents function in TRIM Context. 

Alternatively you may use the “%db%” path statement for the global path. 

• Series Orphans - A Series Orphan is a record that has been created from a 

Record Type that belongs to a Series, but where the Series object has NOT 

been specified for that record. Series Orphans are not allowed, but in previous 

versions of TRIM they could be created if care was not taken. 

Upgrading a database or performing an import that has Series Orphans records 

will create them in TRIM Context. 

You may search for any Series Orphan files that may have inadvertently been 

created by using the Navigate – Series Contents Search Method and leaving 

the field blank. You can then perform a common task against the records (for 

example: move them to the same Location or even attach them to the Series 

Record to make them no longer "orphans").


How to Upgrade to TRIM Context 

Assumptions 

• The following upgrade process is based on the example of a TRIM Captura (4.3) 

SQL database and requires basic knowledge of TRIM Enterprise Manager 

Console. 

• It’s assumed the login is the current TRIM Captura schema/owner. 

Prerequisites 

The following prerequisites must be met before proceeding with the upgrade of a 

TRIM Captura Database. 

• SQL Server, including OLE DB provider, has been installed on this computer. 

• The TRIM Captura Database is on this computer. 

• Connectivity between the RDBMS client and Server is operating correctly. 

• You are performing this process on the computer that will become the 

Synchronization Server for TRIM Context, and also host the first Workgroup 

Server. 

• TRIM Enterprise Manager Console is installed. 

• Directories for the Default Electronic Store and Document Content Index files 

have been created. 

• You must be on latest build of TRIM Captura before upgrading to TRIM Context. 

The following section details the steps required to upgrade an existing TRIM Captura 

database to a TRIM Context Dataset. 

The entire upgrade process is managed from within the TRIM Enterprise Manager 

console. 

The “New TRIM Dataset” wizard will guide you through the upgrading steps. 

The wizard can be accessed by: 

• Right Mouse Click on the TRIM Datasets icon and then select New TRIM 

Dataset, or 

• From the Datasets Taskpad, Left Mouse Click on the New TRIM Dataset icon. 

Once you have click on the “New TRIM Dataset” icon, the Identification dialog will 

display. 

The purpose of the Identification dialog is to recognize the TRIM Captura database 

prior to upgrading.


In the Dataset Name and Dataset Identifier, type in the TRIM Captura Database 

Name and Database Identifier. Click the Next button to go to the Connection dialog. 

The Connection dialog is where the OLE DB provider for the TRIM Captura 

Database is established.


Click the KwikSelect button to display the Data Link Properties, which allows you to 

select database connection properties such as the Server Name, log on to the Server 

and database on the Server.


After you have filled in the required fields, click on the Test Connection button to test 

your connection to the database. If successful, click the OK button to continue. 

The Options dialog is used to configure options such as the path for the default 

Electronic Store. Make sure that the Path for the Default Document Store is the 

same as what TRIM Captura was using. If it is not, the documents held in the store 

will need to be copied or moved to the new location. 

Click the Next button to continue 

The Initialization dialog is where you choose to upgrade a TRIM Captura SQL 

database. 

Select Upgrade TRIM Captura SQL Dataset and then click Next to continue.


The Indexes and Sizing dialog will be displayed. 

Number of Records: Where an upgrade is being performed, this field will already 

contain the count of records from the source dataset. 

Table Location: By default, the wizard will use the login ID’s default location. 

For Microsoft SQL Server - This will be the file group used by the wizard for placing 

the tables created. 

Index Location: By default, the wizard will use the login ID’s default location. 

For Microsoft SQL Server - This will be the file group used by the wizard for placing 

the indexes created. 

Click Next to continue to the Run Parameters dialog box.


The Run Parameters dialog will be displayed. 

Working Directory: Specify a directory for the wizard to use for the restart and log 

files. These files will typically consume no more than a few megabytes of disk space. 

Write SQL Commands to a log file: Check this option to have all SQL commands 

logged to a file. This option is recommended so remedial action can be taken if any 

dataset errors occur. If a Log file exists with the same name, TRIM Context will 

display the following Warning message: 

“This tool creates a log file called ‘C:\Program Files\TRIM 

Context\SQLCommands**.txt’. This file already exists. Do you wish to overwrite it” 

If you are performing a TRIM Captura Database Upgrade, this dialog will also include 

an option to Convert TRIM Captura Unit and Position Barcodes. Enabling this 

option will ensure that all Unit and Position barcodes are updated. 

Press Run Now to continue (this will not start the process immediately).


The Dataset Work In Progress dialog controls the actual work of upgrading a TRIM 

Captura database to a TRIM Context Dataset.


The “Pause After” option will control which restart files (if any) are created, and 

allows you to break out of the upgrade process and restart a step. 

The available options are: 

Each Step – Pause after each step is completed. 

Major Steps – Pause after each Major step is completed. Major steps are identified 

by having the word ‘major’ in brackets eg (major) 

Complete All Steps – Complete the process (all steps) without pausing. 

Steps in the Upgrade 

The Dataset Work In Progress dialog (displayed above) controls the actual work 

of upgrading a TRIM Captura database to a TRIM Context Dataset. 

The following section outlines what the “Pause after” option is and what is involved in 

each step. 

The main purpose of the “Pause After” option is to control the creation of Restart 

files which allows you to break out of the upgrade process and restart a step. The 

Restart files are created in the Working Directory you have specified. These files use 

the following naming convention “Restart_DBIDStep_1.bin”


The available options are: 

Each Step – Pause after each step is completed. 

Why would you pause after each step 

• You may want to create incremental backups for each step that is completed. 

• You may also like to check table spaces prior to continue to the next step. 

Major Steps – Pause after each Major step is completed. 

Why would you like to pause after each major step 

• You may want to truncate rollback segments before going to the next major 

step. 

• You may also like to run your own scripts to clean up some SQL statements. 

Complete All Steps – Complete the process (all steps) without pausing. 

The next table describes all twenty one steps that take place in the database 

upgrade. 

Step Name 

Description 

Initialization 

Initializes the Dataset tool 

1 - Removing identity constraints (major) Drops TRIM Captura table constraints 

2 - Update database table structures 

(major) 

The structure of 18 existing tables is adjusted and 68 new tables 

are created. 

3 - Convert System Parameters (minor) System parameters such as DBVERSION is converted in the 

TSTWRSYS table 

4 - Convert Miscellaneous date and time 

fields (major) 

5 - Convert Electronic Store definitions 

(minor) 

6 - Convert Values in the record table 

(major) 

7 - Convert Record Type definitions 

(minor) 

Dates and times fields are converted in the following tables: 

TSARCHIVEE 

TSCENSUS 

TSERECVSN 

TSRECACTST 

TSRECELEC 

TSSCHEDEVE 

The TSELECSTOR table is adjusted 

The TSRECORD table is adjusted 

The TSRECTYPE table is adjusted 

8 - Convert Classifications (minor) The TSFILEPLAN table is adjusted 

9 - Convert Last Numbers (minor) The TSNUMBERS table is adjusted 

10 - Convert Thesaurus Terms (minor) The TSTHESAURU table is modified 

11 - Convert Location Control data 

(major) 

12 - Convert Space Management data 

(major) 

Converted Locations data is inserted in tables: 

TSLOCATION 

TSLOCUSAGE 

TSLOCREL 

TSLOCADDRE. 

Converted Space Management data is inserted in the TSSPACE 

table 

13 - Convert Linked Location data (major) Converted Linked Location data such as Home Location is inserted 

in tables:


TSACTDEF 

TSACTSTEP 

TSARCHIVEE 

TSFILEPLAN 

TSRECACTST 

TSRECTYPE 

TSBARCODE 

14 - Convert Record Locations (major) Converted Record Locations data such as record's location history 

is inserted in tables: 

TSRECLOCHI 

TSRECLOCAT 

TSRECLOC 

TSRECREQUE 

15 - Convert Access Controls (major) Converted Access Controls data is inserted in the TSACCESSCO 

table 

16 - Convert User -Defined fields and 

forms (minor) 

17 - Updating incremental database 

changes (major) 

Converted User-Defined fields and forms are inserted in tables: 

TSEXFIELDV 

TSRTYFORM 

TSRTYFORMF 

The 'sysLastUpdated' column is updated for all tables 

18 - Converting Schedule Notes (minor) Converted Schedule notes are inserted in TSSCHEDUL table 

19 - Converting Archive Events (major) Converted Archive Events have an effect on tables: 

TSRECLOC 

TSARCHIVEE 

20 - Converting Web Publisher Layouts The table affected by this conversion is the TSWWWLAYOU table 

(minor) 

21 - Completing conversion (major) All TRIM Captura tables such as TLACTNAME, TLNAME, TLRECORD 

are dropped. 

TRIM Context Store Procedures are created: 

- ConstructManyRecord 

- ConstructManyLocations 

- ConstructManySchedules 

- AddManyNotes 

- AddManyAccessControls 

- AddManyExtraValues 

Note: After completing the above steps, you must run the tool called ‘Schema 

Repair’ under ‘Other Tasks’. Some indexes were dropped as part of the upgrade and 

these need to be recreated. It is also highly recommended that you turn on 

Referential Integrity under ‘Other Tasks’. Some constraints may have been removed 

as part of the upgrade process and need to be recreated.

TRIM Captura to TRIM Context Upgrade Notes - TRIM User Network

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