Attachment handling

You can configure Case Exchange to transfer attachments in exchanging records from one system to the other system. When the attachment handling functionality is enabled, Case Exchange handles attachments differently in different integration mechanisms.

Service Manager and Service Anywhere integration

When a Service Manager (SM) system is integrated with a Service Anywhere (SAW) system, the Pull mechanism is used. If the attachment handling functionality is enabled in the SM system, Case Exchange handles the attachments as follows:

  • Attachments added in SM are transferred to the corresponding records in SAW.
  • SM retrieves attachments from SAW when it handles the next Case Exchange task that is initialized by SAW.

For more information about the Pull mechanism for SM/SAW integration, see The Pull mechanism.

Service Manager and Service Manager integration

When an SM system is integrated with another SM system, either the Pull mechanism or the Push mechanism is used.

When the Pull mechanism is used, Case Exchange works in the same way as SM/SAW integration. That is, the SM system that has the attachment handling functionality enabled transfers attachments to the other SM system and retrieves attachments from that system when it handles the next Case Exchange task.

However, when the Push mechanism is used, the system that has the attachment handling functionality enabled only transfers attachments to the other system. It does not retrieve attachments from that system. When the functionality is enabled in both system, attachments are transferred in both directions.

For more information about the Pull mechanism for SM/SM integration, see The Pull mechanism. For more information about the Push mechanism in this case, see The Push mechanism.

Additional considerations for attachment handling

In addtion to the attachment handling functionality described for different SM/SAW or SM/SM integration scenarios, you also need to note the following when you use the functionality:

  • No attachments are transferred if the attachment handling functionality is disabled in both systems.
  • Even if the attachment handling functionality is enabled, Case Exchange does not remove attachments from ones system when you remove corresponding attachments from the other system.
  • A system administrator can specify the type and maximum size of the attachment files that Case Exchange can transfer. In case the file type of an attachment does not match the listed file types or in case the file size of attachment exceeds the configured limit, Service Manager does not transfer the attachment.

For more information about how to configure the attachment handling feature, see Integration Instance Parameters – Attachment Handling.