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Setting properties and metadata during the import process

  • 01/23/2017

When you run the Microsoft Azure Import/Export Tool to prepare your drives, you can specify properties and metadata to be set on the destination blobs. Follow these steps:

  1. To set blob properties, create a text file on your local computer that specifies property names and values.

  2. To set blob metadata, create a text file on your local computer that specifies metadata names and values.

  3. Pass the full path to one or both of these files to the Azure Import/Export Tool as part of the PrepImport operation.

Note

When you specify a properties or metadata file as part of a copy session, those properties or metadata are set for every blob that is imported as part of that copy session. If you want to specify a different set of properties or metadata for some of the blobs being imported, you'll need to create a separate copy session with different properties or metadata files.

Specify Blob Properties in a Text File

To specify blob properties, create a local text file, and include XML that specifies property names as elements, and property values as values. Here's an example that specifies some property values:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>  
<Properties>  
    <Content-Type>application/octet-stream</Content-Type>  
    <Content-MD5>Q2hlY2sgSW50ZWdyaXR5IQ==</Content-MD5>  
    <Cache-Control>no-cache</Cache-Control>  
</Properties>

Save the file to a local location like C:\WAImportExport\ImportProperties.txt.

Specify Blob Metadata in a Text File

Similarly, to specify blob metadata, create a local text file that specifies metadata names as elements, and metadata values as values. Here's an example that specifies some metadata values:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>  
<Metadata>  
    <UploadMethod>Windows Azure Import/Export service</UploadMethod>  
    <DataSetName>SampleData</DataSetName>  
    <CreationDate>10/1/2013</CreationDate>  
</Metadata>

Save the file to a local location like C:\WAImportExport\ImportMetadata.txt.

Create a Copy Session Including the Properties or Metadata Files

When you run the Azure Import/Export Tool to prepare the import job, specify the properties file on the command line using the PropertyFile parameter. Specify the metadata file on the command line using the /MetadataFile parameter. Here's an example that specifies both files:

WAImportExport.exe PrepImport /j:SecondDrive.jrn /id:BlueRayIso /srcfile:K:\Temp\BlueRay.ISO /dstblob:favorite/BlueRay.ISO /MetadataFile:c:\WAImportExport\SampleMetadata.txt /PropertyFile:c:\WAImportExport\SampleProperties.txt

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