Rebuild folder and file names retroactively
A one-time workflow recipe that re-applies folder and file building to documents already on the shelf — how it works, the version-history cost per document, and when the support-assisted Refile is the better tool.
Before you begin
- Folder and file building configured the way you now want it
- A recent backup — this touches every matched document
At the end of this recipe, documents filed under the old naming pattern move themselves under the new one — using a property of workflow worth knowing in general: any workflow action that updates a field re-runs folder and file building on that document, and moves it if the result changed.
That's the whole trick. Folder and file building normally applies only at capture; a workflow field update makes the engine look again.
Know the cost before you run it
This recipe touches every document it matches. Per document: a minor version entry (Properties Updated) in its history, a re-index, and — the point — a possible move and rename. Which means:
- Back up first. Database and documents.
- Test on a handful before the catalog-wide pass.
- Off-hours. Moving and re-indexing thousands of documents is real server work.
- If the field update could trip other rules (field-change triggers), disable those for the duration or scope your rule tightly.
The recipe
Set the pattern you want on the document type's Folder & File Building page — the recipe re-applies whatever's configured, so configure first.
Create the trigger (Administration > Workflow > Triggers): a Content Query-family trigger scoped to the documents to refile — the catalog or document type, narrowed further by field values if only part of the shelf moves.
Create the action: Content - Update Field, writing to a field the pattern doesn't use — a spare text field works; set it to a marker value like
refiled-2026-09. The write is what re-runs building; using a non-pattern field keeps the update from changing the outcome it triggers. (Bonus: the marker tells you which documents the pass has processed.)
Create the rule joining them, Enabled — and let the Workflow Service work through the matches. Documents whose built path or name differs from where they sit get moved and renamed; documents already in the right place are left in place.
When the pass completes, disable the rule. This is a one-time migration wearing workflow's clothes — a rule like this left enabled keeps firing on whatever matches next.
Success check: spot-check moved documents — new path, new name, a Properties Updated and Moved trail in Version History — and confirm your marker field reads back on them. A document that didn't move either already complied or didn't match the trigger; the marker field tells you which.
When to use the other tool instead
Content Central also has a purpose-built Refile operation — run from Catalog Manager with the system stopped, backups taken, and an authorization code from Ademero support. Reach for it instead when the job is everything in the catalog, when you can't afford per-document history entries, or when you'd rather have support in the loop for a high-stakes reorganization. This recipe's niche is the scoped, self-service case: one document type, one pattern change, no downtime.