FAQ: Why is the Title of my Document NOT the File Name?

In Fall of 2018, Nextpoint released a comprehensive export template library, coupled with a metadata fields expansion project.  The addition of 15 new metadata fields means clients gained enhanced access to more refined searching and exporting, and that we are able to extract more information than ever before from your data. What this also means is that certain fields previously populated by default from one document attribute may be populated differently now.  More specifically, the blue Document Link you see when you are viewing documents from your Grid View (see a full list of fields and their metadata priority list here)

One question we have received more often since the release of the aforementioned project, is "Why is the title of my document NOT the file name?".  Let's take a closer look at the what and the why:

Question:

"I renamed XXXX documents with descriptions before importing to Nextpoint. Once the documents were imported, I noticed that the document link name (in the grid view) is pulling in a metadata field instead of the document name I gave it prior to importing.  Can you tell me why this happens?"

Response:

The blue document link you see in your Grid View, is not actually the title of the document, rather a field which is populated based on a prioritized list of metadata attributes.  The priority of this list is:

1. Subject/Title
2. Original File Name
3. Untitled

What this means, is that if a Subject/Title is present in the underlying metadata, we will populate the blue document link with that value.  If there is no Title present, we will populate with the Original File Name.  If Title and Original File Name are both not present, we will populate with the value, "Untitled".

Question:

"What can I do to change this or how can I avoid this in the future?"

Response:

Solution 1

Add the Subject/Title, File Name, Shortcut, or any combination of such, to your Grid View Template.  This will provide further visibility into other names you may have "given" the file(s) prior to import.

Solution 2

If you are importing with Bates in the File Name (e.g. PDFs produced to you) and they rename to something else upon import, you can create a simple directory listing, turn that information into a simple CSV load file, and then import your PDFs with that newly developed load file. This will not only allow you to maintain the PDFs named as their Bates start but also search on the Bates numbers/ranges of that data.

To create the load file, take the following steps:

1. Create a directory listing of your folder of documents to be imported.

2. Open Excel and copy/paste the directory listing information in Column A so that each document is a row in your excel (further referenced as your load file).

3. Add a row at the top and name the first column header (A1) image_file

4. Name your second column header (B1) bates_start

5. Insert formula =left(a2,8) in B2 and drag to the bottom of your table so all rows are filled.

   • Note: If your Bates has less than 8 characters, you may need to modify the number component in the above-listed formula

6. Save as nextpoint_load_file.csv and save in line with the directory from which the file was saved.

After save, upload to your parent folder to your Nextpoint File Room (unzipped), and import same.

Solution 3

Contact our Product Support team for extended assistance in creating the load file outlined in Solution 2 or for an ESI Protocol Consultation.