Understanding the Generic Data Import Process
GDI gives you the flexibility to import information from various sources into the system, including migrating data from other database tables. However, this module requires source data to be in ASCII-formatted files, with .txt or .csv file extensions.
If your source database files are not in ASCII format, it is recommended that you first convert them. Use a delimiter to separate field values in the source data files.
You can import two types of data in tables using GDI:
• External Data: Data received from external sources like vendors.
• Internal Data: Data originally intended to be part of the system database, but being uploaded at a later date.
Data Import Table Types
GDI supports data import into the following types of tables:
Tables Supported for Data Import
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Data Import Tables
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Purpose
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Users
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Maintains information about all system users.
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Prospect
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All the profile organizations registered with the system are stored in this table.
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Contact
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Details of all the contact persons of profiles are stored in this table.
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Product
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Details of all products registered with the system are stored here.
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Product Line
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Details of all product lines for products are stored here.
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Opportunity
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Maintains information about all opportunities.
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Opportunity Line
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All the opportunity lines related to an opportunity are stored in this table.
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Installed Base
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Details of all the installed bases are recorded in this table.
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Analysis
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Maintains details of analysis codes for various modules.
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Site Address
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Records site addresses of construction projects.
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Profile Hierarchy
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Details of profile organization hierarchy are stored here.
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Literature
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Records details of marketing literature.
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Quote Header
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Details of quotes sent to profile organizations are stored here.
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Order Header
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Details of all orders are stored here.
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Sic Code
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Details of Standard Industry Codes (SIC) that categorize various types of industries are stored in this table.
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You can choose Multiple as the import option when the data file you import from contains more than one table.
Import File Format
For successful file import through GDI, the content of a data file that is to be imported must be in a specific format. This is because the system identifies table names, field names, and data in the file by its format.
It is recommended that before starting the import process, you open the data file and check the format of its content. The file should have the following data format:
[Table Name]
Field Name 1, Field Name 2, Field Name 3
Data 1, Data 2, Data 3
Data 4, Data 5, Data 6
In this format:
• Table name can be enclosed in [ ]; for example, [prospect].
• Field name can be any text separated by a delimiter.
• Data delimiter is a specific character that delimits or separates the data to be imported in the tables. It can be a space, a comma, a semicolon, or any other special character. You must specify the delimiter used in the data file before you import the data. In the example, comma (,) is used as the delimiter.
• Data is the content that should be exported to system tables from the data file. These information units can be enclosed in quotes, especially when field values contain space characters. Empty quotes ("") represent an empty field value for its record.
• End of a record is marked by paragraph character. It is inserted using the Carriage Return, or the Enter key on the keyboard.
• End of table indicates the end of the data to be imported. It is marked by a full-stop.
Multiple Tables Import
Sometimes, a file may contain multiple tables. The system can import data from multiple tables with in data files, provided they are being imported in the specific tables that support this feature. Following is an example of a file with two tables—prospect and contact_crm.
[prospect]
sht, twn, nme, sort_name, ctry, grp, grp_sub, type, status, acnt_mngr, inside_rep, record_id
"0001030","London","Gardiner & Theobald","Gardiner & Theobald","England (U K)","","","Contractor,Customer,Supplier","balbeer","sandeep","000-3945-43109-0x0000a701"
"0001032","Oxfordw","Ridge Management","Ridge Management","England","","","","balbeer","sandeep","000-3945-43110-0x0000a70e"
"0001033","London","John Shreeves & Partners","","","","","","balbeer","sandeep","000-3945-43110-0x0000a720"
"0001036","Birmingham","Couch Perry & Wilkes","","","","","","balbeer","sandeep","000-3945-43110-0x0000a732"
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[contact_crm]
show_as, sht, middle_name, position, fore, twn
"Mr John Dudd","0001037","S", "Technical Director","John","London"
"Mr Eric Lindley","0001038","D","Consultant","Eric","Sheffield"
"Mr Alan J Young","0001057","J","Snr Manager","Alan","New York"
"Ms Jane Young","0001224","J","Business Analyst","Jane","London"
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In the above example:
• Since each record in the [prospect] table is long and cannot fit in a visible line, it is carried on to the next line. However, each record ends with a “paragraph end” character.
• In data files with multiple tables, the main or primary table should be placed before the dependant table. As in the above example, the Prospect table is placed before the Contact_crm table as the Prospect table is the primary table. Data in the Contact_crm table depends on the Prospect table as each contact record is typically linked to a prospect record.
Note: If the records that you want to import already exist in a system table, they will be overwritten by the import process.