Exporting Files from DDR

Owned by Molly Bragg
Last updated: May 04, 2023 by Farrell
4 min read

The DDR export feature enables staff to retrieve a small or large number of files from DDR through the administrative interface (DDR-Admin). Once exported, the files are accessible on a CIFs server, which can be mounted and browsed similarly to how staff navigate the Dark Archives.

Table of Contents

When to use the Export Feature

  • Use the export feature when you need high resolution files from an item with a large number of components (a Section A item for example), or a large number of items from a collection.

    • If you only need a few files from DDR, please download them through public or staff applications.

  • Use the export feature if you need to export all files from a collection.

  • Use the export feature if you need to export especially large files from DDR and do not want to wait for them to download through your browser window.

  • CIFS for accessing exported files: the export cifs path will be included in an email confirmation you receive once your export is complete.

Step by Step instructions

Identify the identifier(s) for the item(s) or collection(s) you want to export.

  1. The export feature will accept resource IDs, local IDs, ARKs (permanent IDs), or values in the generic identifier field

  2. Item IDs are accessible in the public interface on item pages in the identifier field and in the administrative interface.

    1. ARK IDs begin with “ark:/”

    2. Resource IDs generally contain 32 characters (numbers and letters) separated by several dashes.

    3. Local IDs are located in the URL for an item as well as the identifier field, and not all items in DDR have local IDs.

    4. The generic identifier field will contain SET IDs for born-digital materials (e.g., UA31-31-0003-SET-0001, and in some cases RL item IDs (e.g., from the Gedney collection: RL10032-P-1255-3417-21)

  3. Collection IDs can only be found in the administrative interface on the “admin metadata” tab of the collection level metadata.

  4. Recommendation: copy/paste the IDs into a note or word document so you have them at the ready for step 2.

Export the files

  1. Login to the DDR Admin interface: https://ddr-admin.lib.duke.edu/

  2. Click your user netid@duke.edu in the upper right corner of the screen. Then click “export files” on the menu that appears.

  3. Fill out the form prompts

    1. Base Name: this is how you will identify your export when you access the CIFS server post export. Follow RLAS naming practices if you are exporting files for a patron.

    2. Identifiers: enter the identifiers for the collection(s), items(s) you want to export.

    3. Select the file types you want to export. You can select all to get all files available for the items you exported or click the file types you need.

    4. Click export

    5. You will see a screen verifying the number of files and amount of data you want to export. Assuming it looks correct, click “yes, export”. If the numbers look wrong, browse back to the export form and try again (you may have entered the wrong ID or selected a file type not present in the item or collection you are exporting).

    6. When your export is complete you will receive an email notification.

  4. Access the exported files

    1. Once you have received an email notification it is time to retrieve your files.

    2. Mount the CIFS volume (if you are off campus, connect to VPN first) using the appropriate path listed in your confirmation email. Contact Molly Bragg, Maggie Dickson, and/or farrell if you have trouble accessing the CIFS volume.

    3. Click on the “data” folder. Your export will appear as a folder named for what you specified as the “base name” in the export form.

    4. Export folders generally have a “data” folder and content files are within the “objects” subfolder. This may seem like a lot of folders and clicks, but we are using LOC’s BagIt standard for exporting files.

    5. You can download files to your local machine, and share them with patrons.

Important notes

  • Please contact Molly Bragg, Maggie Dickson and/or farrell if you want to export more than 25gb of data.

  • Files on the CIFS volume expire after 30 days.

  • If you do not have access to the CIFS volume, contact Molly Bragg.

  • If you have any issues with the export feature, please contact Molly Bragg, Maggie Dickson and/or farrell.