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Overview

The permissions import feature allows a user to establish permissions from platforms that wouldn't otherwise support reading permissions, and it does so based on the contents of a delimited text file or a database table. This can be useful when importing data that is produced during an export routine such as exporting content from a platform that is not yet supported by the application. Permissions import runs after all content has been processed. It will iterate over each row from the import source and attempt to determine the impacted file along with the desired permissions. If the file can be determined, it will map the users and groups and then apply the permissions.

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File Format

The import source can be any delimited file or a database table. The import source needs to contain 2 types of information for each row in the file: the file path and the associated permissions.

File Path

The first column(s) in the import source must be the file path. This can be specified using the column name(s). The file path can either be relative to the job source or an absolute path within the source platform. For example, if the job source is /C/files/users/ and the file in question is /C/files/users/jdoe/locations.xls, then the file path in the import source could be /jdoe/locations.xls or /C/files/users/jdoe/locations.xls.

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• If using one column for the path, the first column should contain the full path.  Valid column names when using one column are FilePath, Path, FullPath, File_Path, and Full_Path.

• If using two columns for the path,

  • the first column should be used for the directory name. Valid directory column names are FolderName, Folder_Name, and Folder_Structure. 

  • The second column should then be used for the file name. Valid file column names are FileName, File_Name.

Permissions

The remaining columns identify the associated permissions. 

Example Import File

Below is an example CSV file. Notice that any empty fields in the CSV file are empty quotes. Currently, the CSV parser does not allow empty fields to be unquoted.

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Using the Permissions Level Transfer Export to Import Permissions

You can export the Permissions Level Transfer export from the Sharing Insights tab for an individual job or a report group. You can then edit the file to include the applicable permissions, and use the file as your permissions import.

Below is an example of exported report. The import only reads the five columns identified in the table below. Just edit the information for these columns as needed. All other columns are skipped regardless of the information in the columns.

Example Transfer Level Permissions Export

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API Usage

To create a transfer job with permissions import using the REST API, include the following in your "transfer" block in postman:

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{
    "name":"Sample Job | Permissions Import via CSV File",
    "kind": "transfer",
    "transfer": {
      "transfer_type": "copy",
      "audit_level": "trace",
      "batch_mode": "always",
      "conflict_resolution": "latest",
      "delete_propagation": "ignore_both",
      "failure_policy": "continue",
      "large_item": "skip",
      "lock_propagation": "ignore",
      "max_items_per_container": 10000,
      "performance": {
                "parallel_writes": {
                    "requested": 2
                }
      },          
      "permissions": {
    		"policy": "add",
    		"links": true,
    		"failures": "none",
			"import": {
				"source": {
					"text": {
						"delimiter": ",",
						"target": {
							"path": "/permissions.csv"
						}
					}
				},
				"output": {
					"format": "text"
				}
    		}	
      },
      "preserve_owners": true,
      "timestamps": true,
      "empty_containers": "create",
      "duplicate_names": "rename",
      "item_overwrite": "overwrite",
      "restricted_content": "convert",
      "segment_transform": true,
      "versioning": {
    		"preserve": "native",
    		"select": "all"
      },
      "account_map": {
         "id": "{{account_map_id}}",
         "type": "account_map"
    },
        "filter":{
         "source":[
            {
               "action":"exclude",
               "rules":[
                  {
                     "type":"filter_shared"
                  }
               ],
               "type":"filter_rule"
            }
         ],
         "destination":[
            {
               "action":"exclude",
               "rules":[
                  {
                     "type":"filter_shared"
                  }
               ],
               "type":"filter_rule"
            }
         ]
        },        
        "source": {
            "connection": { "id": "{{cloud_connection_source}}" },
            "target": {
                "path": "/sourcePath"
            }
        },
        "destination": {
            "connection": { "id": "{{cloud_connection_destination}}" },
            "target": {
                "path": "/destinationPath"
            }
        },
        "simulation_mode": false
    },
    "schedule": {
        "mode": "manual"
    },
    "stop_policy": {
        "on_success": 5,
        "on_failure": 5,
        "on_execute": 25
    },
    "category": {
      "id": 4,
      "name": "Category Name"
    }
}

Database Table

The import source can also be from a database table.

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User Experience

Here is an example of how to create a job with permissions import.

1. Create a folder with some test data on your local machine.

2. Create a file describing permissions data in that same folder.
   

Permission Import File | Example

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FilePath,access,allow,user1,group
/PermissionsTest/subPermissions,full,allow,someone@company.com,qatest

Permissions Import Useful Notes

• Specify a permissions policy of none for simple scenarios. See Permissions | Permissions Preservation.

• Create and utilize an account map with the option map_by:passthrough for simple scenarios (File Share or NFS; both sides only). See Permissions | Account Map / Group Map.

• When using the REST API to create a Job with permissions import, it is advisable to utilize the JSON configuration path transfer.permissions.import.source.text.target.path.

Check Results

In Windows Explorer, check your source NFS folder. The presence of one of the following files indicates the import success or failure. 

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