Implementation Guide › Case Study Examples › Case Study 19: Adapter Wizard for File-based Data Source › Adapter Creation › Data Source Interface Step

Data Source Interface Step

In the Data Source Interface step of the Adapter Wizard enter the following fields:

• Data Source Name: A name for this particular source file (you can have multiple source files in one adapter)
• File Path: The path on the Application server (or other server) that contains the source data files. For a server other than the application server, use a UNC notation (i.e. //server01/sourcefolder)
• Name Pattern: Use with wildcard character to filter the files located at the “File Path” that are loaded by the adapter.

The Parsing Definition tab also helps to define the structure of the file being imported. The fields can be used as follows:

• Title: Boolean values check box to specify whether there is a “title” row in the data file, or not (i.e. the first row in the CSV is a title name, followed by the values on subsequent rows)
• Delimiters: Specify the delimiter in the file which separates the individual fields.

Note: There are also two other Advanced buttons here which provide additional configuration options. One button is on the Details tab, and the other is on the Parsing Definition tab. The Advanced button on the Details tab provides access to the following parameters:

Is Active Data Source: Boolean check box that allows you to turn on/off this particular source section of the adapter

After Processing: Allows you to specify whether the file is deleted or kept after processing

Initial File Name: Sets the initial file name to start processing from (in case you do not want to load all files in a particular directory)

Check Data Every: Defines the time interval between checking for new files when the adapter is set to run continuously

The Advanced button on the Parsing Definition tab provides access to define record termination options such as multi-line records etc.

Once the details and parsing definitions are set, it is possible to load a sample of the source file into the Wizard to test the configuration options, and preview the file contents.

By clicking on the Browse button a sample file can be loaded into the preview window below. Navigate to the sample file, and then press the Test File button. This is an optional step.

Note: The Browse function opens from the local machine that you are working on. If this is not the Application server, you must have a copy of the source files that are on the server for this to work. You cannot Browse on the server directly using this function.

Once the file is loaded you should see the contents displayed in the preview window as per below.

Note: The 'Field' name is shown in the header, along with the detected field type (integer, string, time etc) You should check that these were detected correctly and per your requirements before proceeding. Definitely ensure the following:

• Your timestamp was detected as “time” – this is done according to the “Time Format” specified on the first step of the Wizard
• Your resource is detected as a “string”

Once happy with the file preview, click Next. The Mapping step is displayed.