Data providers (SM206015)
You use this window to create a provider for data import or data export; you can also use the form to view the details of existing providers. You can configure providers to work with files in CSV, Excel, and XML format and with different external systems.
If you have exported to XML a file data provider that has a file attached to the window (by using the Clipboard - Export to XML standard button on the form toolbar), when you import the data of the provider (by using Clipboard - Import from XML ), you need to attach the file to the data provider manually.
The window toolbar
| Button | Description |
|---|---|
| Get file link | Opens the Attached file link dialog box, where you can get a link to the file attached to the provider. |
The dialog box, called when you click Get file link on the toolbar, has the following elements:
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
| Link | The internal link to the file that is attached to the provider. |
| Close (button) | Closes the dialog box. |
The top part
You use this area to identify the provider. You can specify the name and details for a new provider, or you can select an existing provider and view its information.
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | The name of the provider, which usually describes the data you will transfer by using this provider. You can use an alphanumeric string of up to 100 characters. |
| Provider type | The type of provider, such as the following:
|
| Active | A check box that indicates (if selected) that this provider is active and will be available for selection in the Visma Net windows related to data import. |
The Parameters tab
The Parameters tab provides the list of parameters (in a tabular format) specific for the selected provider type. For a new provider, fill in the columns.
| Button | Description |
|---|---|
| Reload parameters | Reloads the default values of the parameters specific to the provider type. |
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | The name of the parameter, which is specific to the provider type. A CSV provider uses the following parameters:
An Excel provider uses the following parameters:
An XML provider uses the following parameters:
A Microsoft SQL provider uses the following parameters:
|
| Description | The description of the parameter. |
| Value | The value of the parameter to be used by the provider. |
The Schema tab
On this tab, you can view and manually correct, if needed, the schema of the data used in the specified external data source (file or application). For a new provider, you can extract the schema from the data source in accordance with the provider type.
If you uploaded a new version of the file for an existing provider, refresh the data schema by filling in schema lines again.
This tab includes two panes: The Source objects area contains the table with the list of objects of the data source, and the Source fields area contains the table with the list of fields for the object selected in the left area.
The Source objects area
| Button | Description |
|---|---|
| Fill schema objects | Fills in the objects from the data source in accordance with the provider type.
If you
don’t see this button on the toolbar, click the  icon, which displays actions
that do not fit on the toolbar. |
| Edit command | Opens the Object command editor dialog bo x, where you can type the commands for the selected table line. Click Close to save the command and close the dialog box. This button is used for only SQL data providers. |
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Active | A check box that indicates (if selected) that the object should be used for import or export. By default, the check box is not selected. |
| Object | The name of the object in the source, such as a worksheet in an Excel spreadsheet. |
| Command | The command to be executed for the object during data preparation. For example: You can apply SQL commands to source objects to apply restrictions on the imported records, select particular records from the source database table, or join data from several tables into one object in the data provider. This column is used for only SQL data providers. |
The Source fields area
| Button | Description |
|---|---|
| Fill schema fields | Fills in the fields from the selected data source object in accordance with the provider type. |
| Edit command | Opens the Object command editor dialog box, where you can type the commands for the selected table line. Click Close to save the command and close the dialog box. This button is used for only SQL data providers. |
| Toggle activation | Reverses the value in the Active column in the selected line and updates the rest of the lines with this value. |
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Active | A check box that indicates (if selected) that the field can be used in an import or export scenario. |
| Field | The name of the field of the object in the external data source. |
| Key | A check box that indicates (if selected) that the field contains the key to the data set of the object. Currently this column is not used by data providers. |
| Description | The description of the field. |
| Data type | The type of data in the field, which can be one of the following options: String, DateTime, Double, Decimal, Boolean, or Int32. For SQL data providers, the value of this field is filled in automatically from the corresponding property of the columns of SQL tables. For other provider types, you do not need to set the value in this column. |
| Data length | The length of the data in the field. For SQL data providers, the value of this field is filled in automatically from the corresponding property of the columns of SQL tables. For other provider types, you do not need to set the value in this column. |
| Command | The action to be performed on the field data during data preparation. For example: You can replace the value of a field with some calculated value, or change the value of a field depending on some condition. This column is only used for SQL data providers. |
Parent topic: Integration windows - overview