Data Mapping Configuration

A Data Mapping Configuration file can refer to either the current active configuration in the DataMapper, or a file on disk containing the information necessary for data mapping. It contains the extraction workflow (steps), Delimiter and Boundary Settings, and any imported Data Samples.

Creating A New Data Mapping Configuration

You can create a new Data Mapping configuration from a data file by using a wizard or manually.

From a File

When creating a data mapping configuration from a file, you first select the file you want to extract the data from. As opposed to using a wizard, you will later need to configure the settings to extract the data. Please refer to Configuring Settings For The Data Source for more information.

To create a Data Mapping from a file, use the following steps:

From the Welcome screen
  1. Open the PlanetPress ConnectWelcome page by clicking the icon at the top right or select the Help menu and then Welcome.
  2. Click Create a New Configuration.
  3. From the From a file pane, select the file type (CSV, MS-Access, PDF/VT, Text or XML).
  4. Click the Browse button and open the file you want to work with (for a database, you may have to enter a password).
  5. Click Finish.
From the File menu
  1. Click the File menu and select New.
  2. Click the Data mapping Configuration drop-down and select Files and then the file (CSV, MS-Access, PDF/VT, Text or XML)..
  3. Click Next.
  4. Click the Browse button and open the file you want to work with.
  5. Click Finish.
PCL and PostScript (PS) files are automatically converted to PDF format before showing that PDF in the Data Viewer. This happens once when opening the file, but in the Workflow it happens for every file. Depending on the processing power available, this may influence the processing speed.

Using a Wizard

The DataMapper module wizards are basically shortcuts to help get started and quickly create a data mapping configuration. The data mapping wizards are only available for CSV and database tabular files as well as PDF/VT, because these files contain metadata that can be used to automatically set boundaries.

When using a wizard to create a new data mapping configuration, you select the file you want to extract the data from, and the wizard automatically selects the appropriate settings for extracting the data. All fields are automatically extracted.

For A CSV File

The DataMapper Wizard will guide you through setting the data mapping configuration in three steps. The first step, is to select the data file. The Data Mapper will allow you to verify that the right data file is being used by giving you a preview of the raw data inside the file. The second will then display the different settings it has detected and allow you to change them. A preview window of the extracted data helps you with choosing the settings. For the third step, click Finish to extract all the fields inside your file.

To create a Data Mapping from a CSV file using the wizard, use the following steps:

From the Welcome screen

  1. Open the PlanetPress ConnectWelcome page by clicking the icon at the top right or select the Help menu and then Welcome.
  2. Click Create a New Configuration.
  3. From the Using a wizard pane, select CSV.
  4. Click the Browse button and open the CSV file you want to work with.
    • Take a look at the Preview box content to ensure that the file is the right one and the encoding correctly reads the data.
    • Click Next.
  5. From the Select a CSV Configuration dialog, choose the proper settings:

    These settings are generally detected automatically.
    • Encoding: Choose the correct encoding to read the file.
    • Separator: Defines what character separates each fields in the file.
    • Comment Delimiter: Defines what character starts a comment line.
    • Text Delimiter: Defines what character surrounds text fields in the file, preventing the Field Delimiter from being interpreted within those text delimiters.
    • Ignore unparseable lines: Ignores any line that does not correspond to the settings above.
    • First row contains field names: Uses the first line of the CSV as headers, which automatically names all extracted fields.
  6. Verify that the data is read properly and click Finish.

From the File menu

  1. Click the File menu and select New.Click the Data mapping Data mapping Wizards drop-down and select From CSV File.
  2. Click Next.
  3. Click the Browse button and open the CSV file you want to work with.
    • Take a look at the Preview box content to ensure that the file is the right one and the encoding correctly reads the data.
    • Click Next.
  4. From the Select a CSV Configuration dialog, choose the proper settings:
    These settings are generally detected automatically.
    • Encoding: Choose the correct encoding to read the file.
    • Separator: Defines what character separates each fields in the file.
    • Comment Delimiter: Defines what character starts a comment line.
    • Text Delimiter: Defines what character surrounds text fields in the file, preventing the Field Delimiter from being interpreted within those text delimiters.
    • Ignore unparseable lines: Ignores any line that does not correspond to the settings above.
    • First row contains field names: Uses the first line of the CSV as headers, which automatically names all extracted fields.
  5. Verify that the data is read properly and click Finish.
For a Database File

To create a Data Mapping from a Database file using the wizard, use the following steps:

From the Welcome screen

  1. Open the PlanetPress ConnectWelcome page by clicking the icon at the top right or select the Help menu and then Welcome.
  2. Click Create a New Configuration.
  3. From the Using a wizard pane, select Database.
  4. Use the drop-down to select the Database type.
  5. Click Next.

From the File menu

  1. Click the File menu and select New.Click the Data mapping Data mapping Wizards drop-down and select From databases.
  2. Click Next.
  3. Use the drop-down to select the Database type.
  4. Click Next.

Now set the following properties according to the selected database:

MySQL

  • Server: Enter the server address for the MySQL database.
  • Port: Enter the port to communicate with the MySQL server. The default port is 3306.
  • Database name: Enter the exact name of the database from where the data should be extracted.
  • User name: Enter a user name that has access to the MySQL server and specified database. The user only requires Readaccess to the database.
  • Password: Enter the password that matches the user name above.
  • Table name: The selected database is a set of related tables composed of rows and columns corresponding respectively to source records and fields. Select a table from which you want to extract data.
  • Encoding: Choose the correct encoding to read the file.
  • Click Finish to close the dialog and open the actual Data Mapping configuration.

Microsoft Access

  • Click the Browse button and open the database file you want to work with. 
  • Password: Enter a password if one is required.
  • Click Next.
  • Table name: The selected database is a set of related tables composed of rows and columns corresponding respectively to source records and fields. Select a table from which you want to extract data.
  • Encoding: Choose the correct encoding to read the file.
  • Click Finish to close the dialog and open the actual Data Mapping configuration.

SQL Server

  • Server: Enter the server address for the SQL Server database.
  • Port: Enter the port to communicate with the SQL Server server. The default port is 3306.
  • Database name: Enter the exact name of the database from where the data should be extracted.
  • User name: Enter a user name that has access to the SQL Server server and specified database. The user only requires Readaccess to the database.
  • Password: Enter the password that matches the user name above.
  • Table name: The selected database is a set of related tables composed of rows and columns corresponding respectively to source records and fields. Select a table from which you want to extract data.
  • Encoding: Choose the correct encoding to read the file.
  • Click Finish to close the dialog and open the actual Data Mapping configuration.

ODBC DataSource

  • ODBC Source: Use the drop-down to select an ODBC System Data Source. This must be a data source that has been configured in the 64-bit ODBC Data Source Administrator, as PlanetPress Connect is a 64-bit application and thus cannot access 32-bit data sources.
  • This ODBC source is MSSQL: Check this option if the ODBC source is MSSQL (SQL Server). The options below appear under MSSQL-ODBC advanced configuration:
    • Windows authentication: Select to use the Windows User name and Password that are used by the Connect Service.
    • SQL Server authentication: Select to use the User name and Password set below to connect to the SQL Server:
      • User name: Enter the SQL Server user name.
      • Password: Enter the password for the above user name.
    • Click Next.
    • Click Finish to close the dialog and open the actual Data Mapping configuration.

JDBC

    Since JDBC can connect to multiple types of databases, a specific database driver and path to this driver's JAR file must be specified.
  • JDBC Driver: Use the drop-down to select which JDBC Driver to use for the database connection.
  • JAR file path: Enter a path to the JAR file that contains the appropriate driver for the database below.
  • Server: Enter the server address for the database server.
  • Database name: Enter the exact name of the database from where the data should be extracted.
  • User name: Enter a user name that has access to the server and specified database. The user only requires Readaccess to the database.
  • Password: Enter the password that matches the user name above.
  • Advanced mode: Check to enable the Connection String field to manually enter the database connection string.
  • Connection string: Type or copy in your connection string.
  • Click Next
  • Click Finish to close the dialog and open the actual Data Mapping configuration.

Oracle

  • Server: Enter the server address for the Oracle database.
  • Port: Enter the port to communicate with the Oracle server. The default port is 3306.
  • Database name: Enter the exact name of the database from where the data should be extracted.
  • User name: Enter a user name that has access to the Oracle server and specified database. The user only requires Readaccess to the database.
  • Password: Enter the password that matches the user name above.
  • Table name: The selected database is a set of related tables composed of rows and columns corresponding respectively to source records and fields. Select a table from which you want to extract data.
  • Encoding: Choose the correct encoding to read the file.
  • Click Finish to close the dialog and open the actual Data Mapping configuration.
For a PDF File

When you open a PDF/VT within the Wizard, it actually gives you the options to set the boundaries directly. Then you need to select the record or the level at which you have a new Source Record. We also need to select what we want to extract. What the PDF Wizard will do is extract the fields that were selected and set the boundaries automatically On metadata as we can see in the boundary settings. Of course as with any PDF data file, you do have the ability to extract more information afterwards.

To create a PDF/VT file data mapping configuration using the wizard, use the following steps:

From the Welcome screen

  1. Open the PlanetPress ConnectWelcome page by clicking the icon at the top right or select the Help menu and then Welcome.
  2. Click Create a New Configuration.
  3. From the Using a wizard pane, select PDF/VT.
  4. Click the Browse button and open the PDF/VT file you want to work with. Click Next.
  5. In the Metadata page, select the following options:
    • Metadata record levels: Use the drop-down to select what level in the metadata defines a Source Record.
    • Field List: This list displays all fields in all levels of the PDF/VT metadata.
      • Checkmark: Check any field to add it to the extraction.
      • Record Level: Displays the level on which the field is located.
      • Property name: Displays the field names to extract.
  1. Click Finish to close the dialog and open the actual Data Mapping configuration).

From the File menu

  1. Click the File menu and select New.
  2. Click the Data mapping Wizards drop-down and select From PDF/VT or AFP.
  3. Click Next.
  4. Click the Browse button and open the PDF/VT file you want to work with. Click Next.
  5. In the Metadata page, select the following options:
    • Metadata record levels: Use the drop-down to select what level in the metadata defines a Source Record.
    • Field List: This list displays all fields in all levels of the PDF/VT metadata.
      • Checkmark: Check any field to add it to the extraction.
      • Record Level: Displays the level on which the field is located.
      • Property name: Displays the field names to extract.
  1. Click Finish to close the dialog and open the actual Data Mapping configuration).
From a XML File

To create a XML file data mapping configuration, use the following steps:

From the Welcome screen

  1. Open the PlanetPress ConnectWelcome page by clicking the icon at the top right or select the Help menu and then Welcome.
  2. Click Create a New Configuration.
  3. From the Using a wizard pane, select XML.
  4. Click the Browse button and open the XML file you want to work with. Click Next.
  5. In the Select split level and trigger type page, select the following options:
    • XML Elements: A list of node elements that have children nodes. Select the level in the data that will define the Source Record (for example Invoice, Customer ID, Item...etc as opposed to Last name, Due date...etc).
    • Trigger: According to the node element path selected in the XML Elements field, select On element to create a record in the Data mapping for each occurrence of the element. Or you can select On change to create a record each time the element is different.
  1. Click Finish to close the dialog and open the Data Mapping configuration.

From the File menu

  1. Click the File menu and select New.Click the Data mapping Wizards drop-down and select From XML File.
  2. Click Next.
  3. Click the Browse button and open the XML file you want to work with. Click Next.
  4. In the Select split level and trigger type page, select the following options:
    • XML Elements: A list of node elements that have children nodes. Select the level in the data that will define the Source Record (for example Invoice, Customer ID, Item...etc as opposed to Last name, Due date...etc).
    • Trigger: According to the node element path selected in the XML Elements field, select On element to create a record in the Data mapping for each occurrence of the element. Or you can select On change to create a record each time the element is different.
  1. Click Finish to close the dialog and open the Data Mapping configuration.
To Generate Counter

Generate counters is basically a way to create a series of sequential numbers. If, for instance, you need to create sequential tickets or anything that has an ID that changes on each record, you can set all the parameters here. Enter the starting number, how it should be incremented, the amount required, a suffix, a prefix or if padding is needed.

You can’t join this configuration to another data file. It is just a counter to be applied on a static template.
  • Starting Value: The starting number for the counter. Defaults to 1.
  • Increment Value: The value by which to increment the counter for each record. For example, an increment value of 3 and starting value of 1 would give the counter values of 1, 4, 7, 10, [...]
  • Number of records: The total number of counter records to generate. This is not the end value but rather the total number of actual records to generate.
  • Padding character: Which character to add if the counter's value is smaller than the width.
  • Width: The number of digits the counter will have. If the width is larger than the current counter value, the padding character will be used on the left of the counter value, until the width is equal to the set value. For example for a counter value of "15", a width of "4" and padding character of "0", the value will become "0015".
  • Prefix: String to add before the counter, for example, adding # to get #00001. The prefix length is not counted in the width.
  • Suffix: String to add after the counter. The suffix length is not counted in the width.

Opening a Data Mapping Configuration

There are two ways you can open a data mapping configuration:

  • In the Menus, click on File, Open, ensure that the file type is either DataMapper files or Connect files. Browse to the configuration file to open, select it and click Open.
  • In the Menus, click onFile, Open Recent, and select one of the recently opened configuration files.

Saving a Data Mapping Configuration

To save a data mapping configuration:

  1. In the Menus, click on File, thenSave, orclick theSave button in theToolbars.
  2. If the data mapping configuration has never been saved, browse to the location where the data mapping configuration should be saved and type a name, then click Save.

To save a copy of a data mapping configuration under a different name:

  1. In the Menus, click on File, thenSave As.
  2. Browse to the location where the data mapping configuration should be saved and type a name, then click Save.
  
  • Last Topic Update: 24/01/2017 09:32
  • Last Published: 7/6/2017 : 9:48 AM