Data import

Importing files and folders

To import one or more assets, right-click a group or the root node of the Network tree and click Import / Import files, then select the data files to import. This will place the specified assets into the group that you initially right-clicked.

To import the contents of a folder, including subfolders, do the same, but click Import / Import folder instead. After you specify the source folder, you will be prompted to choose whether to import the folder structure. If you choose to do so, groups will be created in your Storage to match the contents of the source folder. Otherwise, all the assets found in the source folder and its subfolders will be placed in the group you initially right-clicked.

These commands are also available from the main menu Storage / Import when the Storage is opened.

Automatic import

You can set up TNI to automatically import asset files from a specified folder at regular intervals. This can be done on the Scheduler tab.

When importing an asset that is already present in the Storage, configuration snapshots from the new file will be transferred to the existing file. If the new file was manually placed in the Storage, it will be deleted. This ensures that each asset in TNI always has a single corresponding file. This is true for imports of any kind.

Importing by moving data files

Alternatively, you can import files by dragging them from the Explorer window to your TNI window (to the network tree on the left). Note that this method will not work if TNI and Explorer have different privileges (for example, if TNI was started with elevated privileges).

To find the storage folder, right-click the root storage group in the network tree and select Show in Explorer.

It is not recommended to import INV files to the shared Storage when two or more copies of TNI are running at the same time. This can cause data corruption, device merging issues, errors in the Network Map, and errors in the Software and License Accounting module. It is also not recommended to manually replace .inv files in the Storage. This will overwrite existing data and cause information to be lost.

If you need to import directly into the Storage, it is recommended to create a separate import group and copy files to the specified directory (manually or automatically). After opening TNI, the new files will be correctly merged with the corresponding existing assets, and the remaining new files in the folder can be manually moved to their groups.

Converting the Storage from TNI 1.x

To convert the entire Storage from the old format, use the Storage / Open option from the main menu and select the root folder of the target Storage. The Storage contents will first be packaged into a ZIP archive and then converted to the new format. This process also preserves your group structure.

Converting an asset file from TNI 1.x to the new format reduces its size from ~1.5 MB to ~35 KB. Thus, converting the entire old Storage reduces its size by about 40 times without losing any useful data.