1.        They are very easy file types to obtain

2.        They are familiar to the user, looking exactly the same as the usual printed report taken from the system

3.        The user does not normally have to obtain specialist assistance to obtain them

 Data within IDEA has to conform to two basic rules:

1.        The data must be tabular

2.        All elements that constitute a complete record must be on the same line

 Print files rarely meet the layout that IDEA requires, transactions are usually grouped, there may be subtotals and grand totals added, there will be field headers and other information that must be removed.  Print files therefore can be the most time consuming files to import with a lot of work necessary on the part of the user.

 The rest of this article is split into three sections:

 Section 1: This deals with the basic methodology to be employed in order to successfully import a print file.

 Section2:  Shows how DataImport (the print report import utility for versions of IDEA up to v2002) is used.

 Section 3:  Shows how Report Reader (the print report import utility for IDEA v2004) is used.

 Section 1 – Print Import Methodology

 Consider the following example:

 Step 1 – Examine the file

The file needs to be examined to determine its characteristics - you need to do two things at this point

 Step 2 – Determine what you want the file to look like on importation to IDEA

This is the key to building the import template, the most important thing to bear in mind is IDEA requires all information that makes up the record, is all together on the same line.  For the example above the first three records would look like this:

 Step 3 – Identify and define ‘Detail’ Lines

A detail line is the last line in the print file that constitutes a complete record.  Usually it contains the most amount of information. In the example a detail line would be a line that contains the invoice number, date, Sales rep no etc.

To Identify the detail line you must look for something that appears on all of these types of line, only appears on these lines and is always the same.  It also helps if it is always in the same position.  Usually the content of a detail line will change from record to record so picking something that is always the same can be difficult.  However it is possible to pick up formats so dates are a good option as they usually will have a fixed format throughout the file.  Once the line has been identified each of the fields must be defined.

 Step 4 – Identify and define ‘Header’ lines that contain information required

A header line is a line above the detail line that contains information required (it is possible to have more than one).  In the example above a header line would be the line that contains the customer details: name and number.

To identify and define the fields on the line you basically repeat the process of identifying a detail line.

 Step 5 – save the definition and import to IDEA

It is vital to save the definition prior to importing this is so you don’t have to start from scratch if the import does not work as intended.

 Section 2 – Using DataImport

In this section we will look at importing the example print file using the basic methodology with DataImport.

 Step 1 – Examine the file

The best tool to examine the file with is DataImport itself.  Open the import assistant, select  the file and the Import a Print File Option.  Upon clicking on Next and then Finish DataImport will open.

We have already decided what the file looks like in the basic methodology.

 Step 2 – Determine what the file should look like

Again we have outlined this in the basic methodology.

 Step 3 – Identify and define ‘Detail’ lines

In this case the Detail line is a line that contains the invoice number, date, Sales rep no etc.

To indicate the Detail line to DataImport you need to define it as a line to include, we tell it how to recognise the type of line by using the format of the date.  This is done by highlighting any detail line date and selecting Include…..Lines…..Define from the menu.  This will open the Define Include Line dialog and we can then define a pattern match of two numbers followed by a forward slash followed by two numbers followed by a forward slash followed by four numbers :

Once this has been done we can define the fields.  Each one has to be done individually by highlighting the field and then selecting Column…..Define from the menu.  For each field you will have to give it a name and type before moving onto the next one.  On completion of defining the fields you can scan the file visually to see if it appears to be correct as DataImport will colour code each field:

Magenta – Text

Blue – Numeric

Green – Date

Any item that does not match the field type will be coded magenta and stands out as being different.

 Step 4 Identify and define Header lines

This is basically a repeat of step 3 but this time picking up the line that contains the customer details.  To identify a header line to DataImport select Tag…..Define Match String Reference point from the menu.  To define the fields from the header line select Tag…..Line tag define from the menu.  DataImport will display header lines with the fields having a grey highlight.  A completed DataImport screen will look like this:

 Step 5 – Save definition and import to IDEA

Selecting File…..Import to IDEA will cause the mask just created to be saved and import the file to IDEA.

 Section 3 – Using Report Reader

In this section we will look at importing the example print file using the basic methodology with the Report Reader.

 Step 1 – Examine the file

The best tool to examine the file with is Report Reader itself.  Open the import assistant, select the Print Report option and select the file.  Upon clicking on next Report Reader will open.

We have already decided what the file looks like in the basic methodology.

 Step 2 – Determine what the file should look like

Again we have outlined this in the basic methodology.

 Step 3 – Identify and define ‘detail’ lines

In this case the detail line is a line that contains the invoice number, date, Sales rep no etc. Report Reader uses the concept of ‘Layers’ and the detail line is called the Base Layer, this is the layer that everything is anchored on.

It is important that the line you use in Report Reader is the first detail line in the file.  In this cased we click and drag on the first detail line (it contains Invoice number 1000058) and we will be asked if we want to create a new layer.  Selecting Yes will open the Field and Anchor editor:

The first thing to do is to create the Anchor for the layer by defining the format of the date in the anchor editor.  To do this we use the Trap buttons on the toolbar.

On completion the anchor editor will look like this:

Now the fields need to be defined.  Highlight each field in turn on the Field Editor, on completion it will look like this:

Once this has been done you then save the layer by clicking on the green tick on the toolbar and you will be presented with the layer properties dialog:

this is where you allocate field names and types to each field.

Once this has been completed you can check the entire file to ensure that the fields are both wide enough and of the same type by selecting Scan For Errors, Offsets, widths and types can be adjusted as necessary.

 Step 4 Identify and define Header lines

This is basically a repeat of step 3 but this time picking up the line that contains the customer details.  On completion the field and anchor editor will look like this:

As this is a header layer and we want the fields on this line to be written down to the detail line(s) below, it is necessary to select the radio button Fill Empty Cells with value from previous record for each of the two fields on this layer.  This is found in the Layer Properties dialog.

 Step 5 – Save definition and import to IDEA

Clicking on the IDEA icon on the toolbar will cause the Template just created to be saved and take you back to the Import Assistant where you can complete the import.

 Summary of Print File Method 

Using the above methodology just about all print files can be imported.  The next article will concentrate upon the more advanced features of DataImport and Report Reader and dealing with more complicated print files.