DataMapper basics

Connect’s DataMapper lets you build a data mapping workflow to extract data from a variety of data sources. The data mapping workflow consists of multiple 'steps' which process and extract data from each record of a data source and store it in a new, extracted record set. The data mapping workflow is saved in a data mapping configuration.

1. Create a new data mapping configuration.

   Run the Designer and start creating a data mapping configuration by selecting a data source. See Data mapping configurations.

2. Configure settings for the data source.

   The data source can be a file (CSV, PDF, TXT, XML) or a particular database. Configure how the data source is read by the DataMapper and create a record structure. See Data source settings.

3. Build the data mapping workflow.

   A data mapping workflow always starts with the Preprocessor step and ends with the Postprocessor step. You can add as many steps as you like and edit the Data Model of the extracted data as required. See Data mapping workflow and The Data Model.

What's next?

Use the data mapping configuration in the Designer module to create templates for personalized customer communications. To learn more, see The Designer.

In Workflow, a data mapping configuration can be used to extract data. The extracted data can then be merged with a Designer template to generate output in the form of print, email or a web page. See Workflow and Connect tasks in Workflow.