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To use the ePADD@Harvard email preservation workflow, you will need to install these software tools:  

  • ePADD 10.x client: See Installing ePADD section of the User Guide.
  • Emailchemy for ePADD license: See the Buying & installing Emailchemy for ePADD instructions.
  • Nextcloud staging account

And you will need to be a registered DRS depositor (if you aren’t already): See How to become a deposit agent for more information.

Download and install ePADD

This is a summary of the steps to install the ePADD desktop client. For additional details about installation, consult the User Manual section on Installing ePADD. 

ePADD has been optimized for Windows 10, Mac OS X 10.14, and Ubuntu 16.04 machines.

System Requirements: 

OS: 64-bit, Windows 7 SP1 / 10, Mac OS X 10.13 / 10.14, Ubuntu 16.04 
Memory:  > 8 GB RAM 
Browser:  Chrome 68 or later, Firefox 59 or later.
Java: Java Runtime Environment 64-bit, version 11 or later required for ePADD version 10.

Follow these steps to install: 

  1. Download the ePADD 10.x latest release from github: https://github.com/ePADD/epadd/releases/ (found under the heading ‘Assets’). 
  2. For Windows, only the file epadd.exe is needed. For Mac, only epadd.dmg is needed.
  3. Double-click the downloaded file (.exe or .dmg) to start ePADD. A startup window pops up first and then the ePADD module will open in a browser window.

If this is the first time you’ve started ePADD, it’s the Appraisal module that opens. 

To shut down ePADD, right-click on the application icon and select Quit ePADD.

Purchase and activate Emailchemy for ePADD

Emailchemy is an email conversion tool used by individuals, corporations and universities. From 2010 to 2022, Emailchemy was used to power the email conversion features inside Harvard Library’s legacy Electronic Archiving System (EAS). ePADD – our next generation email archiving tool – will also be powered by Emailchemy. 

Starting with version 10.x of ePADD, Emailchemy conversion options have been integrated as an optional add-on, so that ePADD can import and export a larger variety of email file formats. ePADD is free, but Emailchemy is not, so you will need to buy a license key from Weird Kid Software to enable these features in ePADD.

Purchase an Emailchemy License Key

The cost of a license key is $150 for the first year and $99 in each subsequent year. Each license enables you to create a single license dongle, which you can use to enable Emailchemy’s converters in ePADD. The license dongle is portable and can be shared across several computers (though only one at a time).

You can purchase a license key from the Weird Kid site: https://weirdkid.com/emailchemy-for-epadd/ but be aware that the purchase form there does not exclude sales tax. 

To avoid sales tax, you can purchase a license from the Weird Kid site above and then email the payment vendor (Fastspring) to request a tax refund. Or you can email Fastspring before the purchase to request a payment link that is free of taxes. Either approach you take, this is the information you must send to Fastspring (email to: orderscontact@fastspring.com): 

First and last name:
E-mail address:
Phone number:
Company name:
Address:
City:
State/Region:
Zip/ postal code:
Product name: Emailchemy for ePADD
Quantity (# of licenses):
Price: 
Link to product on the seller's website: https://sites.fastspring.com/weirdkid/product/emailchemyforepadd 
Massachusetts tax exempt certificate for Harvard University (include as email attachment)

Activate the Emailchemy License Key

To activate the license key, you need to use the Emailchemy Dongle for ePADD Creator app (EDEC, for short) to create a USB license dongle. And then insert the dongle into the computer when using ePADD. You’ll need to insert a USB thumb drive into your computer for this procedure.

  1. Point a browser at the Emailchemy for ePADD site: https://weirdkid.com/emailchemy-for-epadd/ 
  2. Scroll down to the Download the Emailchemy Dongle section. 
  3. Download and run the appropriate EDEC file (Windows, Mac, or Linux). 
  4. Enter this information in the EDEC tool:
    Name: [Your name]

Key: [The license key]

  1. Click the Activate button. 
  2. After confirming your license key, EDEC will walk you through the steps of installing your license key on a USB thumb drive to use as a license dongle. The computer used to create the license dongle must be connected to the Internet, and each key you purchase may only be installed on one dongle.
  3. Insert the dongle in the computer on which ePADD will be used. Then start ePADD.

Set up Nextcloud staging area

Nextcloud is a file staging service, maintained by LTS, that provides temporary cloud-based data storage. In the ePADD-to-DRS workflow, you export a preservation package from ePADD, copy it to the Nextcloud folder on your local computer and the package is automatically copied up to the server. From there, the package is processed by Batch Builder and deposited to DRS.

Guidelines for using Nextcloud storage:

  • Data can be stored for up to 6 months.
  • Nextcloud meets security requirements for Level 4 data. 
  • Nextcloud is not an archival-level data repository – it is a temporary staging area only.
  • Nextcloud is not a delivery service – files staged in Nextcloud are not available for public/general web access.

How to request a Nextcloud account

  1. Submit a request to LTS Support with the following information:
    1. Library/repository name
    2. User name 
    3. Business purpose: Nextcloud staging folder for ePADD
  2. LTS assesses the request and responds with any questions/comments.
  3. LTS creates the new Nextcloud storage folder and notifies the user.

How to install the Nextcloud desktop client

  1. Download the desktop client: https://nextcloud.com/install/#install-clients
  2. Double-click the downloaded file to launch the desktop app and then follow the installation wizard.
  3. When prompted for server address, enter https://filestaging.lib.harvard.edu/
  4. You will be prompted to log into a browser using your Harvard Key.

Using the Nextcloud desktop client

Once installed, the Nextcloud desktop client remains active in the background and is visible as an icon in your system tray (Windows, KDE), menu bar (Mac OS X), or notification area (Linux).  

The screenshot below shows the NextCloud desktop client open in Windows and highlights a few important features. For more information about the desktop client, see the Nextcloud Client Manual.


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