Last date modified: 2025-Oct-16

Metadata Retention

This topic provides information on the metadata retention feature in the File Download & Replacement workflow.

File Download and Replace

The Download & Replace functionality allows for the download of errored files to a user's local workstation and provides the ability to replace a discovered file with a different version (often repaired or decrypted). This feature can be found in the Mass action drop-down in the Files tab.

For more information on Download / Replace, see Processing error resolution.

Metadata retention

The Metadata retention operation will preserve all metadata associated with a replaced file and its original version for visibility in a workspace. This occurs automatically on completion of replacing a file. The results are visible in two metadata fields, which can be mapped for Publish, and are available in the Details modal of the Files tab.

Source nameField TypeDescriptionExample
Other Metadata ReplacedLong Text This field contains newly found, non-empty, metadata values of the replacement file. These metadata values were present in the original file but had changed in the replaced file.Office/Headings= Worksheets,2;Office _GUID=Unknown;Excel/HasHiddenRows=True; Author=SteveBrule
Other Metadata OriginalLong TextThis field contains metadata from the original file as Processing requires them to always be associated to the native record associated to it.

The specific fields included will always be File Type, File Extension, File Size, IsContainer, MD5Hash, SHA1Hash, and SHA256Hash.

FileType=Outlook Message File;FileExtension=MSG;FileSize=43
520;IsContainer=False;MD5Hash=;S
HA1Hash=2E4AF3EEB4D7BD9CF2
97A94788DE17E198D4A1D5;SHA2
56Hash=9249E29E43334DDDDF2A
B617FE47B0FD0BA4A034409ED8
AA4132FC74E9CC614

The process to manage these fields is slightly different than the regular field catalog. Steps to accomplish this can be found below:

  1. Open the Fields tab.
  2. Click New Field or Edit an existing field.
  3. Provide a name in the Name field. We recommend that you give the field an identical name as the one being mapped to.
  4. In the Object Type field, select Document. Only document fields are eligible to map to a value in the Source field. Selecting any other object type disables the Source field.
  5. In the Field Type field, select Long Text.
  6. When the Field Type is selected, you will see the menus for Field Settings and Advanced Settings. Click Advanced Settings.
  7. Click Selecton the Source field to display the processing fields to which the Relativity field can be mapped.
  8. Click the drop-down near the upper left corner of the modal and select the All Fields option.
  9. Filter for Other Metadata in the Source FIeld Name column.
  10. Select either option depending on which field is being created at that time.

For more information on field mapping, see Mapping processing fields.

Metadata retention behavior

The following table shows the Relativity Processing field names and the associated Metadata retention behavior.

Processing Field Name Metadata Replacement Behavior
Container ExtensionReflect Original File
Container IDReflect Original File
Container NameReflect Original File
Control NumberWill not change
CustodianWill not change
Extracted TextReflect Original File
Last Published OnReflect Original File
LevelWill not change
Originating Processing SetWill not change
Originating Processing Data SourceWill not change
Processing File IDWill not change
All CustodiansReflect Original File
All Paths/LocationsReflect Original File
Attachment Document IDsReflect Original File
Attachment ListReflect Original File
AuthorReflect Original File
BCCReflect Original File
BCC (SMTP Address)Reflect Original File
CCReflect Original File
CC (SMTP Address)Reflect Original File
Child MD5 Hash ValuesReflect Original File
Child SHA1 Hash ValuesReflect Original File
Child SHA256 Hash ValuesReflect Original File
CommentsReflect Original File
CompanyReflect Original File
Contains Embedded FilesReflect Original File
Control Number Beg AttachReflect Original File
Control Number End AttachReflect Original File
ConversationReflect Original File
Conversation FamilyReflect Original File
Conversation IndexReflect Original File
Created DateReflect Original File
Created Date/TimeReflect Original File
Created TimeReflect Original File
DeDuped CountReflect Original File
DeDuped CustodiansReflect Original File
DeDuped PathsReflect Original File
Delivery Receipt RequestedReflect Original File
Document SubjectReflect Original File
Document TitleReflect Original File
Email CategoriesReflect Original File
Email Created Date/TimeReflect Original File
Email Entry IDReflect Original File
Email Folder PathReflect Original File
Email FormatReflect Original File
Email Has AttachmentsReflect Original File
Email In Reply To IDReflect Original File
Email Last Modified Date/TimeReflect Original File
Email Modified FlagReflect Original File
Email SensitivityReflect Original File
Email Sent FlagReflect Original File
Email Store NameReflect Original File
Email UnreadReflect Original File
Error CategoryReflect Original File
Error MessageReflect Original File
Error PhaseReflect Original File
Error StatusReflect Original File
Excel Hidden ColumnsReflect Original File
Excel Hidden RowsReflect Original File
Excel Hidden WorksheetsReflect Original File
Excel Pivot TablesReflect Original File
File ExtensionReflect Replaced File
File NameReplacement data not tracked
File SizeReflect Replaced File
File TypeReflect Replaced File
FromReflect Original File
From (SMTP Address)Reflect Original File
Group IdentifierReflect Original File
Has Hidden DataReflect Original File
Has OCR TextReflect Original File
Image Taken Date/TimeReflect Original File
ImportanceReflect Original File
Is ContainerReflect Replaced File
Is EmbeddedReflect Original File
Is ParentReflect Original File
KeywordsReflect Original File
Last Accessed DateReflect Original File
Last Accessed Date/TimeReflect Original File
Last Accessed TimeReflect Original File
Last Modified DateReflect Original File
Last Modified Date/TimeReflect Original File
Last Modified TimeReflect Original File
Last Printed DateReflect Original File
Last Printed Date/TimeReflect Original File
Last Printed TimeReflect Original File
Last Saved ByReflect Original File
Last Saved DateReflect Original File
Last Saved Date/TimeReflect Original File
Last Saved TimeReflect Original File
Literal File ExtensionReplacement data not tracked
Lotus Notes Other FoldersReflect Original File
MD5 HashReflect Replaced File
MS Office Document ManagerReflect Original File
MS Office Revision NumberReflect Original File
Media TypeReflect Replaced File
Meeting End DateReflect Original File
Meeting End Date/TimeReflect Original File
Meeting End TimeReflect Original File
Meeting Start DateReflect Original File
Meeting Start Date/TimeReflect Original File
Meeting Start TimeReflect Original File
Message ClassReflect Original File
Message HeaderReflect Original File
Message IDReflect Original File
Message TypeReflect Original File
Native FileReflect Original File
Number of AttachmentsReflect Original File
Original Author NameReflect Original File
Original Email AuthorReflect Original File
Original File ExtensionReflect Original File
Other MetadataContains whatever was not mapped
Outlook Flag StatusReflect Original File
Parent Document IDReflect Original File
Password ProtectedReflect Original File
PowerPoint Hidden SlidesReflect Original File
Primary Date/TimeReflect Original File
Read Receipt RequestedReflect Original File
Received DateReflect Original File
Received Date/TimeReflect Original File
Received TimeReflect Original File
Recipient CountReflect Original File
Recipient Domains (BCC)Reflect Original File
Recipient Domains (CC)Reflect Original File
Recipient Domains (To)Reflect Original File
Recipient Name (To)Reflect Original File
Record TypeReflect Original File
Relativity Native TypeReflect Replaced File
SHA1 HashReflect Replaced File
SHA256 HashReflect Replaced File
Sender DomainReflect Original File
Sender NameReflect Original File
Sent DateReflect Original File
Sent Date/TimeReflect Original File
Sent TimeReflect Original File
Sort Date/TimeReflect Original File
Source PathReflect Original File
Speaker NotesReflect Original File
SubjectReflect Original File
Suspect File ExtensionReplacement data not tracked
Text Extraction MethodReflect Original File
TitleReflect Original File
ToReflect Original File
To (SMTP Address)Reflect Original File
Track ChangesReflect Original File
Unified TitleReplacement data not tracked
UnprocessableReplacement data not tracked

Multiple Replacement Operations

Relativity Processing supports subsequent file replacement operations of the same file. This is the action of replacing a file that has already been replaced. When this action occurs, Processing will compare the original file with the most recent replacement and compute the associated metadata fields without consideration of any replacement operations that have previously occurred.

Special Considerations

Special considerations are as follows:

  • The job to populate the metadata fields is not visible on the front end. It is a part of the retry job that automatically occurs after replacing the file. Indications on whether the retry is still in progress can be found in Processing Administration, the Processing Set, or the Error Status field within the Files tab.
  • The SavedOriginalFileMetadata field is visible in the File Metadata card of the Details modal within the Files tab. This field will not display relevant information. It is a container to store all metadata associated to the original file for purposes of validation in scenarios of multiple replacements.
  • It is not recommended to replace files in workspaces with Discovery jobs running concurrently. This is to avoid potential data collisions where a replacement operation is being executed on the same file being discovered. A potential result would be loss of original metadata.
  • When this functionality is not enabled, Processing will replace all existing metadata associated to a file with the metadata collected from the replacement file.
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