Create and configure a Flat File job

Create a Flat File job

To create a new job using a flat file, such as a CSV or TXT file, as a data source:

1. Select Assets in the top navigation bar.

2. Under the Asset and configuration management title, select Data Manager.

3. Select Adapters in the left menu bar. This will open a new tab to the Adapters screen.

4. Select Create a job in the left menu bar.

5. Under General, select Flat Files.

Once you have created a new job, you must complete all of the Required (*) fields before the job can be successfully saved.

Configure a Flat File job

In the Flat File Configuration screen, configure details about the data source:

1. In the Name field, enter a name for your job. This name will be used to identify your job when you run the Adapters client.

2. Ensure the Enabled toggle is set to Enabled (dark blue). Disabled jobs cannot be run.

3. In the Object Class field, select the Object Class destination for this data. Object Classes currently available in Data Manager.

4. In the Data Source Type field, select an existing Data source type or create a new data source type, below.

5. In the Data Source Name field, enter a name for the Data Source that will be created when this job is run. This is typically the same as the Name, above.

6. In the File Path field, enter a file path where the flat file can be found. You must use the correct file path, including the filename and the filename extension. Here’s an example of a file path that you might see in a MacOS system:

   1 /data-manager-files/CMDBComputers.csv

   And here’s an example of a file path you might see in a Windows PC system:

   1 C:\data-manager-files\CMDBComputers.csv

7. In the Skip line field, enter an integer value if the headers of your data file are not on the first line of the file. By default this field is set to 0.

8. In the Delimiter field, you can enter the delimiter character that separates the values when viewed within a text file. The default is the comma ,.

9. In the Qualifier field, you can enter a unicode character that wraps a string and marks it as a single value. The most common qualifier is the double-quote character ".

10. The End with delimiter toggle should be enabled only if each line in your flat file file ends with a delimiter as well.

11. The Wildcard toggle should be enabled if multiple flat files are grouped together with the same column structure. For example, data-file-*.csv will consume data-file-1.csv, data-file-2.csv, etc. If using a Wildcard, this Field Path field will exclude the file name and extension.

12. The Column Mappings section allows you to configure Column Mappings for each column in our file. Each column mapping can be further configured:

    1. The Source Column Name field is the name of the source column in the data file.

    2. The Source Column Type allows you to select the data type to use for the data in that column.

    3. When the Source Column Type is a date, the Date Format field displays and allows you to select a date format to mask date and time information. If this field doesn’t contain date or time information, it can be left empty.

    4. The Destination Column Name field is the name assigned to this field in Data Manager.

Create a new data source type when creating a new job

A data source type contains information about a group of data sources, and you are required to select a data source type when creating a job.

If you don’t have any data source types created:

• Go to Flat File Configuration

• Select the Data Source Type and enter the name for the new type

• Select Add item in the dropdown box that appears

Create column mappings automatically

The Auto Generate button allows you to automatically generate column mappings. Copy and paste the flat file headers (separated with your chosen delimiter, such as commas) from your data source into the field and select Auto Generate.

Create column mappings manually

The Column Mappings section allows you to configure Column Mappings for each column in our file. Each column mapping can be further configured:

1. Select Add Mapping for each column you want to add.

2. The Source Column Name field is the name of the source column in the data file.

3. The Source Column Type allows you to select the data type to use for the data in that column.

4. When the Source Column Type is a date, the Date Format field displays and allows you to select a date format to mask date and time information. If this field doesn’t contain date or time information, it can be left empty. If your data date format is not in the list, you can create it in the settings.

5. The Destination Column Name field is the name assigned to this field in Data Manager.

Save a job

Once all required fields have been filled and all columns in the data source have been mapped, you can Save this job. Your new job should be visible in the All Jobs screen.