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SharePoint 2010: Step by step configuring document archival

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This article explains step by step about configuring document archival process using Records Management functionality in SharePoint 2010.

  1. Create a new site collection of type Records Center. This is important thing! If you try to create the Records Center as a sub-site in your current site collection where your documents/forms are present (which are to be archived), then you may get error: An error occurred while sending the file to the Record Center site while sending the document to the target archived library in that site.
  2. Add the content type(s) in this Records Center site collection.
  3. Setup the Content Organizer rules in this Records Center site for EACH content type that the archiving documents are associated to.
  4. Once you setup the Content Organizer rules, go to Drop Off library settings and check that those content types have been associated here. They should automatically be associated here once the Content Organizer rules are setup. If not, make sure that those content types are here.
  5. Go to Content Organizer settings, and copy the Web service URL: http://server/site/_vti_bin/OfficialFile.asmx
  6. Go to Central Admin > General Application Settings > External Service Connections > Configure send to connections and create a new connection here. Provide a Display Name, the Web service URL which you copied in previous step and a Send To action. Hit Add Connection.
  7. Go to your source document/forms libraries whose items need to be archived.
  8. Go to library settings > Information management policy settings.
  9. Click on the content type for the documents which need to be archived.
  10. Add the policy for Records or non-Records. Note: If you want to 'Move' documents to the target library instead of 'Copy', then make sure that documents are non-Records, because 'Records' can't be deleted from their source library since they are checked-out to the System Account. If you still try to attempt it, you will get this error: This document must be checked in before it can be sent to the target.
  11. Once you add the policy for all required content types, you can try sending a document using manual Send To from document's context menu (Provided that you have selected the checkbox "Allow manual submission from the Send To menu" in your Send To connection).

Permission: The records are sent by the system account, so the person who is listed as "Created by" in the source document doesn't need to have 'Write' permission on the source or the target library, although, in the target library the "Created by" and "Modified by" are maintained as they were in the source document.

Regarding the SharePoint group "Records Center Web Service Submitters", if your Records Center site collection is in the same Web Application where your source document/forms library is present, then no need to add any other user in this group. This group can be empty in that case. However, if your Records Center site collection is in some other Web Application and that Web Application is using some other App Pool account than the current one, then make sure that your source Web Application's App Pool account is in Records Center site's SharePoint Group "Records Center Web Service Submitters"