You can import file attachments into Case IQ via Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) using Case IQ's data import feature. For example, if you are migrating a legacy case management system to your new Case IQ application, you can bring files attached to cases, such as images, text documents, and videos, from your legacy system to Case IQ.

The process for importing file attachments is slightly different than for other record types. To import file attachments, you will:

1. Organize your attachments into a folder structure, so Case IQ can identify to which records to attach files. 
2. Add a data import to tell Case IQ how to import the file attachments.
3. Upload your organized attachments folder to Case IQ's SFTP server. 
4. Schedule when the system will import your attachments folder into Case IQ. Unlike other import entities, you cannot run an attachments data import from its page.

This article covers how to import file attachments to Case IQ. If you want to import another record type, such as cases, user profiles, or parties, see the Add or Edit a Data Import article.

Before Setting Up an Attachments Data Import...

• Make sure your organization can upload folders to Case IQ's SFTP server, as this is required for importing file attachments. Reach out to your Account Executive for your SFTP credentials.
• Make sure to remove any files in your attachments folder that you do not want to be imported. Any hidden files included in your attachments folder will also be imported. 
• If you are migrating your legacy case management system to Case IQ, make sure to migrate your user and cases into Case IQ before scheduling your file attachment import.
• Consider if you want to retain attachments on Case IQ's SFTP after they have been imported. By default, Case IQ will purge the attachments after they have been processed, but you can choose to retain them if necessary.
• See Supported File Types for a list of file attachment formats that you can import into Case IQ.

1. Organize Attachments into Folder Structure

You will need to organize your file attachments into three levels of nested folders in the following structure:

1. Level 1: create a folder to contain all your attachments. This will be the folder you upload to Case IQ's SFTP server. In the image above, this folder is called "fileattachments".
2. Level 2: add a sub-folder in your main attachments folder for each parent record type to which you want to attach files (i.e. case, note, or to-do). 
   1. For example, suppose you want to attach the imported files to cases and to-dos. You would need to add two sub-folders in your main attachments folder, named "case" and "todo".
3. Level 3: for each parent record to which you want to attach files, add a sub-folder to its corresponding parent record type folder. Then, organize the file attachments you want to import for each parent record in its sub-folder. All attachments for a parent record should be contained in one level 3 folder.
   1. Name each level 3 folder the "Reference Record Target" field for each parent record, which is the field on the parent record type (case, note, or to-do) to which the system should refer when attaching files during the import. 
   2. For instance, suppose you are using case number as the reference record target for cases and you want to attach files to case 2023-016. You would put all files you want to attach to this case in a folder named "2023-016". The "2023-016" folder would be nested in the "case" folder.
   3. You can set the "Reference Record Target" field when configuring the data import in Case IQ during the next step.

2. Add a File Attachment Data Import

After organizing your files, you can configure the data import settings for your file attachment migration. On the Data Import page under the System tab in Settings, click the Add Data Import button. Fill in the Configure Import and Identify Relationship section. See details on each in the sections below.

After filling in the Configure Import and Identify Relationship sections, click the Save button on the New Data Import form. You have now finished configuring your data import's settings. 

3. Upload Attachments to SFTP

We recommend uploading your folder of attachments to Case IQ's SFTP server after configuring the data import. Make sure your folder follows the structure outlined in the Organize Attachments into Folder Structure section of this article. Reach out to your Account Executive for your SFTP credentials.

4. Schedule a File Attachments Import

After configuring your data import and uploading your attachments folder to Case IQ's SFTP, you can schedule when the system will import the attachments by adding a "rule". In Case IQ, rules are configured by system administrators to automatically execute tasks. Use the following steps to add a "Schedule Process" rule and "SFTP Data Import" action. You can see details on other types of rules in Add a Rule.

1. In Settings, navigate to the Rules page under the Workflow tab. 
2. Click the Add Rule button.
3. The New Rule form will be loaded. In the "Name" field, enter a descriptive name for your rule.
4. In the "Rule Type" field, select "Schedule Process".
5. The "Frequency" and "Trigger Time" fields will now be displayed for you to fill in. 
   1. Frequency: choose the frequency with which the system should run the data import. You can choose from the following options: calendar quarterly, daily, daily (work week), fiscal quarterly, weekly, and monthly. 
      1. If you select "Daily (work week)", the process will be triggered every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.
      2. If you choose "Weekly" or "Monthly", a "Days of the Week" or "Days of the Month" field will be displayed so you can choose the days within the week or month to run the process. The "Days of the Month" field has a "Last calendar day of the month" option at the end of the list. You can select multiple days.
      3. "Calendar quarterly" and "Fiscal quarterly" will schedule the process for 00:00:00:000 on the first day of the next quarter. Fiscal quarters are based on the "fiscalYearStartMonth" setting on the Options page, see Update Application Options.
   2. Trigger Time: set the time that the system should run the process. The system may not use the same timezone you do. Hover your cursor over the question mark icon beside the field to see the system's timezone.
6. Click the "+" button in the Actions section and select "Add SFTP Data Import".
7. The following fields will be displayed in the New SFTP Data Import form for you to fill in: 
   1. Data Import: select your file attachment data import.
   2. Keep Source Files: choose if the system should retain the file attachments on Case IQ's SFTP server. If you do not check the "Keep Source Files" checkbox, the file attachments will be moved to an inaccessible location on our SFTP immediately following the import and cannot be processed again.
   3. Attachment Folder Name: enter the name of the folder you uploaded to Case IQ's SFTP.  The system will look for a folder with the name you enter in this field when the rule is triggered. For example, if you enter "caseattachments" in the "Attachment Folder Name" field, Case IQ will look for a folder called "caseattachments" when the SFTP Data Import action is triggered. Do not include spaces or special characters and ensure all characters are in lowercase. 
8. Click the Save button in the New SFTP Data Import form. 
9. Click the Save button for the New Rule form. You have now scheduled your attachments data import.