Using the Laserfiche API with Low-Code Tools

Applies to: Repository API v2.
See Repository API v1.

Use the Laserfiche API to access Laserfiche from low-code tools. This guide will demonstrate how to import a document into Laserfiche with Microsoft Power Automate. Other low-code tools may follow a similar model.

Authentication

HTTP Requests to the Laserfiche API will require an Access Token for authentication.

Laserfiche Cloud

Note: The following section only applies to Laserfiche Cloud.

The Laserfiche Cloud APIs follows the OAuth 2.0 authorization model. A low-code solution must first be registered in the Developer Console as an OAuth Service App.

  1. Follow this guide to register an OAuth service app in the Developer Console with a long-lasting Authorization Key.

  2. Create an HTTP action in your low-code solution to obtain an Access Token given a long-lasting {authorizationKey}obtained during the application registration.

     POST https://signin.laserfiche.com/oauth/token
 Authorization: Bearer {authorizationKey}
 Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded
 grant_type=client_credentials&scope=repository.ReadWrite

  3. The hostname in the request URI may need to be updated to signin.laserfiche.ca, signin.eu.laserfiche.com, etc., depending on the data center your Laserfiche Cloud repository resides in. For example in Microsoft Power Automate, the Get Laserfiche Access Token action will look like:

  4. A successful response will contain the Access Token needed to make Laserfiche API requests.

     HTTP 200 OK

     {
   "access_token": "...",
   "token_type": "bearer",
   "expires_in": 43200,
   "scope": "repository.Read repository.Write"
 }

  5. The Access Token obtained from the Get Laserfiche Access Token action can then be used by downstream HTTP actions that interact with the Laserfiche APIs. For example, import a document using a low-code tool.

Note: Authorization Keys and Access Tokens should be securely stored.

Use Case: Importing a Document from Microsoft OneDrive into Laserfiche using Microsoft Power Automate

Prerequisite: obtain an Access Token. See Authentication.

See the this guide for more details on the Laserfiche import APIs.

  1. In Microsoft Power Automate, create a OneDrive Get file metadata action and select a document to import into Laserfiche.

  2. Link a OneDrive Get file content using path action and set the file path to the Path from the Get file metadata action.

  3. Link an HTTP action to import the document into Laserfiche and assign a template and two fields.

    • The request URI is https://api.laserfiche.com/repository/v2/Repositories/{repositoryId}/Entries/{parentFolderId}/Folder/Import. The hostname may need to be updated to api.laserfiche.ca, api.eu.laserfiche.com, etc., depending on the data center your Laserfiche Cloud repository resides in, where:
      • {repositoryId} is your Laserfiche repository ID.
      • {parentFolderId} is the Laserfiche entry ID of the folder the document will be imported to.
    • The Access Token from the Get Laserfiche Access Token action must be added to the Authorization header. Format the Authorization header value as follows Bearer @{body('Get_Laserfiche_Access_Token')['access_token']}.
    • The request body is a multipart/form-data with two parts:

      1. File content from the Get file content using path action.

        Note: The Content-Type header, or the extension in the filename in the Content-Disposition header, is used to determine the file type for the document imported to Laserfiche.

        Note: To import a PDF as an electronic document, the Content-Transfer-Encoding header must be specified and have a value of binary.

        JSON content specifying details about the document to be created (e.g., name, metadata, etc.) - In the following example, the document would be:

        1. Named {documentName}
        2. Automatically renamed if an entry already exists with the given name in the folder (by default, the autoRename property is false).
        3. Assigned the Email template
        4. Have its Sender and Recipients fields populated 
           {
   "$content-type": "multipart/form-data",
   "$multipart": [
 {
   "headers": {
     "Content-Disposition": "form-data; name=\"electronicDocument\"; filename=@{outputs('Get_file_metadata')?['body/Name']}",
     "Content-Transfer-Encoding": "binary"
   },
   "body": @{body('Get_file_content_using_path')}
 },
 {
   "headers": {
     "Content-Disposition": "form-data; name=\"request\"",
     "Content-Transfer-Encoding": "binary"
   },
   "body": {
     "name": "{documentName}",
     "autoRename": true,
     "metadata": {
       "templateName": "Email",
       "fields": [
         {
           "name": "Sender",
           "values": [
             "sender@laserfiche.com"
           ]
         },
         {
           "name": "Recipients",
           "values": [
             "recipient@laserfiche.com"
           ]
         }
       ]
     }
   }
 }
   ]
 }

A successful call will return a 201 HTTP response status code with the details of the created entry in the response body. In addition, the URI for the created entry is returned in the location HTTP response header. In the following example response, {documentName} has been set to “LFAPI created document”.

HTTP 201 Created

{
  "@odata.context": "https://api.laserfiche.com/repository/v2/$metadata#Entries/Laserfiche.Repository.Document/$entity",
  "@odata.type": "#Laserfiche.Repository.Document",
  "id": 2161949,
  "isContainer": false,
  "isLeaf": true,
  "name": "LFAPI created document",
  "parentId": 557841,
  "fullPath": "\\LFAPI created document",
  "folderPath": "\\",
  "creator": "Guide User",
  "creationTime": "2023-09-06T14:52:18Z",
  "lastModifiedTime": "2023-09-06T14:52:23Z",
  "entryType": "Document",
  "templateName": "Email",
  "templateId": 9865,
  "templateFieldNames": [
    "Sender",
    "Recipients"
  ],
  "volumeName": "CLOUD",
  "electronicDocumentSize": 63369,
  "extension": "pdf",
  "isElectronicDocument": true,
  "isRecord": false,
  "mimeType": "application/pdf",
  "pageCount": 7,
  "isCheckedOut": false,
  "isUnderVersionControl": false
}

Next Steps

  • Check out additional Guides for more walk-throughs and tutorials about the Laserfiche API.