Use the Archiving Tool

The Archiver Tool allows users to remove data from M3 and store it off to a file that can be viewed at a later time. The general process is to set up the type, age, and amount of data that should be removed before running a job to actually create the archive file. Job and Log data can be stored in a format that allows it to be re-loaded into M3 (QSA Format) or can be stored in an encrypted CSV format. Other data (ex: Keyed Payroll) cannot be re-loaded so the QSA Format option is not available. The example below shows how to archive and view Keyed Payroll data.

 

Add a New Data Item to the Data Retention Table (ex: Keyed Payroll):

  1. Go to M3 > System > Operations > Data Archiving.
  2. Click the yellow star button to add a new Data Group, a menu opens.
  3. Select KeyedPayroll from the menu; adjust the settings in the Details subtab if desired.

  1. Click Save to preserve your changes, the new record has been added to the Data Retention table.

 

Create the Archive File in the Directory set by System > Setup > Directories:

  1. Go to System > Operations > Job Queue.
  2. Click the yellow star button to create a new job.

  1. Select Archiver from the Job Class drop-down to create a new job for Archiver.

  1. Ignore Company setting, it does not matter for Archiver jobs.
  2. Select the State that the job should be queued in.
  3. Click Continue to proceed.

After the Archiver Job completes without error, go to the system archive folder on your computer (set in System > Setup >Directories) and confirm that the encrypted file has been produced.

 

 

Note: The location will not be the same as shown in the image.

View the Data:

  1. Copy the file path of the CSV file location.
  2. Go to System > Operations > View Archives.
  1. Select Archive File from the Type drop-down if not already selected.

  1. Paste the copied path into the address box. Be sure to include the full filename including the file extension (.zip).
  2. Click Load… to open the file. The data will be displayed in the area at the bottom of the page; Various tables that were saved can be viewed by selecting them from the Table drop-down.

The files that are created by the Archiver Tool are encrypted. The export button in the lower right of the View Archive screen will export the data to an unencrypted CSV file so that it can be opened in Excel.