Transferring Digital Records
- For University departments, please follow the records retention schedules to identify archival (“AR”) records for transfer.
- Complete the Digital Records Transfer Request form
- Due to the technical limitations of OneDrive, if any individual files in your requested transfer are larger than 15 GB, an archivist will follow up to arrange a site visit
- Queen's University Archives strongly encourages Departments to use the highest level of transfer possible to maintain the integrity of the records during transfer, but we also understand that some technical limitations may apply. Select from the following levels for instructions to prepare your transfer:
- Gold Level - Ensures the integrity of records is maintained from the source computer through transfer to the Archives
- Silver Level - Maintains some level of integrity of the records during transfer
- Bronze Level - Simply transfers the records from the source to the Archives, but omits integrity checks
For further instructions on how to transfer digital, you may also refer to the PowerPoint presentation (presented 10 December 2019) | Presentation (PDF) |
Queen's University Archives is committed to preserving digital records to the highest possible standards. Should you have any questions or encounter any difficulties with your transfer, please email us at archives@queensu.ca.
Gold Level
Packaging the Records
- Download Exactly (download the appropriate version for your computer – normally the Windows 64-bit)
- Exactly downloads as a .zip file. Uncompress/extract the .zip before trying to open
- Navigate to dist/bundles/ and click on exactly-1.0.exe to install the software. It will open immediately.
- An archivist will have sent you an XML file containing data fields to embed with the records transfer, and named with your Transfer Number (e.g. 2019-100.xml). Save the TransferNumber.xml file to your computer.
- Import TransferNumber.xml into Exactly
- Click Exactly > Import, then navigate to the location of the saved XML document
- Click Open
- Click “show” beside Metadata
- Click Save
- Add the Title as your Department name (without spaces, e.g. DepartmentName)
- Browse to select the Source folder to be transferred
- You will need to select the folder without clicking into it.
- Once you have selected the folder, click Open
- Browse to select the Destination as your Desktop or another location on your computer
- Follow the same instructions to set a Destination folder as with Source folder. Please note, when navigating from “Look In:”, if you are selecting a top-level folder to save to (like Desktop), click the up level button to highlight the folder without being in the folder
- Check “Zip files?” when possible
- Please note, large folders may take a lot of time to zip
- Click Transfer
Sending the Records
- From the email you received with the subject line “QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES shared the folder "folder name" with you”, click Open
- If Microsoft prompts to Request Verification Code, click Send Code
- NOTE: Most email services will flag the Verification code email from Microsoft as SPAM, so please check your spam folder for this.
- Enter the verification code, and click Verify
- If Microsoft prompts to Request Verification Code, click Send Code
- Drag the folder(s) or .zip file(s) created with Exactly into the browser window.
- Keep the window open until you receive a notification in the upper-right corner of the browser that the file was uploaded
- An archivist will follow up by email to verify that the transfer has been received
Silver Level
Packaging the Records
-
Zip folder(s) to be transferred using a zip utility (e.g. 7Zip)
-
Name each .zip file as TransferNumber-Contents, e.g. 2019-097-Minutes.zip
-
If the .zip file is larger than 15 GB, please contact the Archives to arrange an onsite pickup, or try re-zipping in smaller parts
-
Sending the Records
- From the email you received with the subject line “QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES shared the folder "folder name" with you”, click Open
- If Microsoft prompts to Request Verification Code, click Send Code
- NOTE: Most email services will flag the Verification code email from Microsoft as SPAM, so please check your spam folder for this.
-
Enter the verification code, and click Verify
- If Microsoft prompts to Request Verification Code, click Send Code
-
Drag the .zip file(s) into the browser window.
-
Keep the window open until you receive a notification in the upper-right corner of the browser that the file was uploaded
-
-
An archivist will follow up by email to verify that the transfer has been received
Bronze Level
Sending the Records
- From the email you received with the subject line “QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES shared the folder "folder name" with you”, click Open
- If Microsoft prompts to Request Verification Code, click Send Code
- NOTE: Most email services will flag the Verification code email from Microsoft as SPAM, so please check your spam folder for this.
- Enter the verification code, and click Verify
- If Microsoft prompts to Request Verification Code, click Send Code
-
Drag the folder(s) into the browser window.
-
Keep the window open until you receive a notification in the upper-right corner of the browser that the file was uploade
-
-
An archivist will follow up by email to verify that the transfer has been received