Carbon Copy to Laserfiche, Please - Setting up Import Agent for capturing emails
- CDI
- Jul 18, 2022
- 8 min read
July 2022 Consultants Corner
The Laserfiche Email Archiver allows you to automatically store emails to multiple Laserfiche repositories based on rules that you set and can extract and assign metadata to the emails stored. It can also extract and store attachments by setting alternate Attachment handling options.
Configuration Steps:
The configuration of the Laserfiche email Archive system entails the following 4 steps:
Network firewall exceptions (if needed)
Mail Cache settings / Editing the Laserfiche Email Archive Service’s configuration file
Create an Email Archive Profile
Configure your email server to route to the Email Archive
Exchange Server 2019, 2016 or 2010
Office 365
Network Configuration
The Email Archive runs as a Windows service and becomes a “Smarthost” to which your email server can send BCC messages to the Laserfiche Email Archive server. It will be installed on a single computer, typically a Server (if possible).
Please ensure that TCP/IP port 25 is open between your email server and the Laserfiche Email Archive server. This may require a Firewall exception.
Mail Cache
In some instances, if the Email Archive service is stopped, pending emails will be cached until the service restarts.
In other instances, if messages fail to import, they will be cached, and then the import will be retried again based on the configured retry interval.
With SMTP implementations only, the email server may send a large email as a multi-part file. Once all the parts have arrived, the Email Archive service will import the email.
The following three settings impact Mail Cache configuration within the config.xml file:
QueueCapabilty
PartialMessageRetrieveTimeout
RetryInterval
Below is a list of settings found in the config.xml file. Changing these settings will impact the performance of the server on which the Email Archive server service is installed.
Create an Email Archive Profile
From the Start Menu, go to Laserfiche and click on “Laserfiche Email Archive Config” to launch the Email Archive Profile editor.
Email Archive Configuration Utility
Step 1: Select Profile > New from the menu or click on the “Create a New Profile” icon.
Step 2: Set the sign-in information that Email Archive will use to connect to the Laserfiche repository.
Optionally, configure the Laserfiche Cloud Account ID and user credentials that will be used by this profile.
Step 3: Configure the General settings
Step 4: Configure the Archived Messages settings
Step 5: Configure the Templates & Fields settings
Tokens for email values can be selected for any of the fields. A list of those tokens is shown below.
Step 6: Configure the Tags settings
For Office 365 or Exchange servers, you will need to configure some “Forwarding” rules, which are sometimes referred to as “Transport Rules.”
A. Configuring Exchange Server 2016 or 2019 to Route Emails
Creating a Transport Rule
1.) Open the Exchange Management Console.
2.) Navigate to Mail flow -> Rules.
3.) Click the Add button, and select Create a new rule.
4.) Provide a descriptive name for the rule.
5.) Under Apply this rule if, configure the condition that must be met to route an email to the mailbox Email Archive is monitoring.
6.) Under Do the following, select Bcc message to, and select the email address associated with the mailbox Laserfiche Email Archive is monitoring. Click OK.
7.) Click Save.
B. Exchange Server 2010
Creating a Transport Rule
1.) Click the Transport Rules tab in the middle Hub Transport pane.
2.) Select New Transport Rule in the right pane.
3.) On the Introduction page, provide a descriptive name for the rule and add any comments needed. Click Next.
4.) On the Condition page, configure conditions. Only emails matching these conditions will be routed to Laserfiche.
5.) On the Actions page, select Blind carbon copy (Bcc) the message to addresses. Then click the addresses hyperlink.
6.) In the Specify recipients dialog box, click the arrow next to Add and select External E-mail Address.
7.) Enter the email address associated with the Laserfiche Email Archive service. The email address preceding the @ symbol in the address should be the email address specified on the general tab in the profile creation wizard. This address must have the same domain as you configured in step 6c of the Creating a Send Connector section above. Click OK. Then click OK again and Next.
8.) On the Exception page, define any exceptions for when you don’t want the rule to run and click Next.
9.) On the Create Rule page, review the configuration summary and click New.
10.) On the Completion page, click Finish.
C. Office 365
Routing Emails to the Laserfiche Email Archive Service
1.) For more information about creating rules in Office 365 see Microsoft’s online help.
2.) Sign in to the Office 365 Home Page.
3.) Click the Admin app using the app launcher icon in the top left.
4.) From the left menu, expand Admin centers.
5.) Select Exchange.
6.) From the left menu, click mail flow.
7.) Select rules, and click the plus button +.
8.) Select Create a new rule...
9.) In the new rule dialog box, configure the following:
a. Under Name, provide a descriptive name for the rule.
b. Under Apply this rule if..., specify when to archive emails to Laserfiche.
c. Under Do the following..., select Bcc the message to... and enter the email address associated with the Laserfiche Email Archive service. The email address should match the email address specified in the general tab of the profile creation wizard.
d. Click Save.
Converting Email Archive Configurations from SMTP to IMAP
Previous versions of Email Archive made use of SMTP. The SMTP option is being deprecated and is no longer recommended.
To switch a profile from SMTP to IMAP
1.) Update your Exchange server.
a.) Create a mailbox dedicated specifically to emails that will be archived to Laserfiche. This mailbox can be a shared mailbox or a single-account mailbox but should not be associated with a particular user. Most organizations prefer to create a shared mailbox for Email Archive to monitor. With a shared mailbox, multiple users can work with emails in the mailbox, and the messages will also be archived to Laserfiche. Microsoft documentation on how to create a shared mailbox.
b.) Create Outlook rules to route messages to the mailbox you created. Outlook rules can be configured either server-side or client-side.
c.) Update your Transport rules to forward or BCC messages to the new mailbox. You will no longer need the send connectors configured for the Email Archive.
2.) Open the Laserfiche Email Archive Configuration dialog box from the Windows Start Menu.
3.) Double-click a profile.
4.) Navigate to the General tab, and select IMAP.
5.) Configure the mail server settings on the General tab.
6.) Click OK to save the profile.
Exchange Server 2010 – SMTP( Deprecated ):
*Note: The SMTP method is being deprecated and is no longer recommended.
Creating a Send Connector
1.) Open the Exchange Management Console.
2.) Expand the Organization Configuration node in the console tree.
3.) Select the Hub Transport node.
4.) Click the Send Connectors tab in the middle Hub Transport pane.
5.) Select New Send Connector in the right pane.
6.) In the New Send Connector wizard:
a.) On the Introduction page, provide a descriptive name for the new connector and select Custom as the intended use for the connector. Click Next.
b.) On the Address space page, click Add.
c.) In the SMTP Address Space dialog box, enter the domain of the email address the Laserfiche Email Archive service uses. Select Scoped send connector only if you need to limit this send connector to be used only by hub transport servers in the same Activity Directory site. Click OK, and then Next.
d.) On the Network settings page, select Route mail through the following smart hosts. Then, click Add.
e.) In the Add smart host dialog box, select IP Address and enter the IP address of your Laserfiche Email Archive server. Click OK, and then click Next.
f.) On the Configure smart house authentication settings page, select None and click Next
Creating a Transport Rule
1.) Click the Transport Rules tab in the middle Hub Transport pane.
2.) Select New Transport Rule in the right pane.
3.) On the Introduction page, provide a descriptive name for the rule and add any comments needed. Click Next.
4.) On the Condition page, configure conditions. Only emails matching these conditions will be routed to Laserfiche.
5.) On the Actions page, select Blind carbon copy (Bcc) the message to addresses. Then click the addresses hyperlink.
6.) In the Specify recipients dialog box, click the arrow next to Add and select External E-mail Address.
7.) Enter the email address associated with the Laserfiche Email Archive service. The email address preceding the @ symbol in the address should be the email address specified on the general tab in the profile creation wizard. This address must have the same domain as you configured in step 6c of the Creating a Send Connector section above. Click OK. Then click OK again and Next.
8.) On the Exception page, define any exceptions for when you don’t want the rule to run, and click Next.
9.) On the Create Rule page, review the configuration summary, and click New.
10.) On the Completion page, click Finish.
Creating a Connector to Route the Email to the Laserfiche Email Archive Service
1.) From the Exchange admin center, select mail flow in the left menu
2.) Select connectors, and click the plus button +.
3.) In the New Connector dialog box, configure the following:
a.) On the Select your mail flow scenario page, under From, select Office 365. Under To, select Partner organization. Click Next.
b.) On the New connector page, specify a name for the connector and select Turn it on. Click Next.
c.) When prompted for when you want to use the connector, select Only when I have a transport rule set up that redirects messages to this connector. Click Next.
d.) Under How do you want to route email messages, select Route email through these smart hosts.
e.) Click the plus button +, specify the fully qualified domain name or IP address of the Laserfiche Email Archive service and click Save.
f.) Click Next.
g.) Optional: Depending on your security needs, select to use Transport Layer Security (TLS) to secure the connection. Additionally, select Issued by a trusted certificate authority (CA).
h.) Click Next. Confirm your settings, and click Next again
i.) On the Validate this connector page, click the plus button + to add an email address. Office 365 will send a test email to this address to validate the connector. Click Validate.
j.) Click Save.
Additional Resources
Cities Digital Client Portal
This is our Cities Digital Client Portal. Here you can access Training Manuals, your Support Cases, your Contracts, and more!
*The site does require a login. A login invitation can be requested from your Consultant/Systems Architect, as well as by sending an email request to consulting@cdi.support.
Laserfiche Online Product Help File
This is a direct link to the Laserfiche Online Help system for Laserfiche Import Agent.
Laserfiche Product Information
This Link connects you to the Laserfiche Support Site’s product information page for Laserfiche Import Agent. You will need to have a Laserfiche Support site login to view the information here. To create an account, you will need your email address, company zip code, and Laserfiche Serial Number, which can be obtained from your System Administrator or from Cities Digital Support.
Laserfiche Video Gallery
This Video Library contains short 1-3 minute videos on the Laserfiche suite! It’s available free, but you do need a login to the Laserfiche Support Site. Sign up at www.support.laserfiche.com.
The Training Center for Laserfiche
This is a great comprehensive training video resource! This is a subscription service, so if you do not yet have an account, sign up for a free 30-day trial. Send a request to sales@cdi.support for more information on a free trial or setting up a subscription.
Cities Digital Tech Support – Instant screen share
Need tech support? This link will direct you to a Cities Digital tech support representative and get an immediate screen share so they can help right away! Tech support is included with your Laserfiche software purchase.
Cities Digital Consulting and Training Requests
Need some more training or help with configuring your software? This link will email our Consulting Project Coordinator so you can set up a time to work with a consultant who can help you. Note: This type of service is billed on an hourly basis.
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