Prepare for use of Integration Manager (IM) template load of Product Master data
Our goal is to use the IM Route template to load our Product Master table. To accomplish this goal, we intend to use a simple CSV file with Product Master data.
We must ensure that the column name/label structure of the CSV file properly represents our Product Master table.
For the purposes of our lab, we shall assume that the structure of our Product Master table ( Column Name, Column Types ) is correct. Any desired changes to the Product Master table, in an actual production scenario, would be accomplished using the Unity Rename and Customize feature. Any changes to the CSV file to accommodate the Product Master table structure would, ideally, require negotiation with the customer to ensure that a properly prepared CSV file was provided.
To ensure that the CSV file that we shall use matches the current Product Master table, we shall export a copy of the current Product Master table in our partition and convert the exported file to CSV format.
Once we have created the exported CSV file, we shall use this CSV file to perform an initial test load of a few records using the Template based Route.
The steps below outline the process to generate this CSV file and to modify the file to change a few of the records key values ( to avoid duplicate records when the data is uploaded ).
Remember that in an actual production environment, the CSV file that is used for input must properly match the Pricefx Master Data table structure. Your job would be to ensure that either the Pricefx Master Data stable structure was modified to accommodate the customer’s requirements or that the CSV file was adjusted to conform to the Pricefx Master Data table structure.
Steps to generate the CSV file to test our Template based Route
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Export a copy of the current Product master data table
2. Convert the exported file
The exported file, which is in .xlsx format, needs to be converted to a standard CSV format. You may use the standard features of Microsoft Excel or any one of a number of free online tools to accomplish this step ( Google convert xlsx to csv ) . In our example below, we shall use standard Microsoft Excel features.
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Open file .xlsx file in Excel and resave as a .csv file. Be sure to rename the file to include the letters CSV to better allow you to distinguish between the original .xlsx file and the new .csv format.
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Open the new .csv file with a simple text editor and ensure the file is indeed in the desired .csv format.
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Note that the first line of the .csv file contains the column header names.
3. Prepare the exported CSV file
The exported .csv needs to be prepared to be used as a sample input source for the Template Route that we will be creating. Since the existing data in the .csv file represents records that are currently in the Product Master table, we will remove all but a few records and change the those few remaining records key field to avoid duplicates with existing Product table records.
Sample CSV file …your data may look different !
a. Remove all but the first 3 lines of the file. This will leave the header record and 2 data records.
b. Change the key field ( Product ID ) to a value other than the one that is there to avoid duplicate records when we import the data. In the example above, I could change the key of the first record from
RAM-IM_3004 to Sample_RAM-IM_3004
c. Save your changes to the .csv file.