Example imports

In this example the records to be imported are specified in an XML file (parties_import.xml), and are imported into the Parties module using the Typical import settings. Each step in the process is described in greater detail in How to use the Import tool.

1. In the Parties module, select Tools>Import from the Menu bar to display the Select File To Import box.

   Note: If the Import option is greyed out, you do not have the necessary permissions to use it.

2. Navigate to the file that contains the data to be imported, select it and click Open:

   

   The Import Wizard displays:

   

   The default option is Typical. Accept this option to import data using the default import settings (described here).

3. Click Next to continue.

   The Import Identifier screen displays.

4. In this example an Import identifier is added to more easily identify who imported the records in this batch:

   

5. Click Next to continue.

   The Settings screen displays with a summary of the settings to be used for this import. Scroll through the list to confirm the settings are correct:

   

   In this case we note that the Import Identifier has been misspelled (Gerard Woood).

6. Click Back to return to a prior step and correct the details:

   

7. Click Next to return to the Settings screen.
8. On the Settings screen click Next to begin processing the import.

   The Importing Screen displays and processing commences:

   

   If attachments are specified in the data file a search is performed using the details provided. If more than one match is found for the attachment record, the default action is for processing to stop and the matching records to be displayed in the appropriate module, allowing you to select the correct match:

   

   In this case a record being imported seeks to attach to another Parties record; as there is more than one record that matches the Party name specified for the attachment it is necessary to identify which is the correct attachment record:

   1. Click OK to view the matching records in the Parties module:

   

   Note: The number of matching records is specified in the Status bar at the bottom of the module window. Because records being imported could reference any of these matching Parties records, it will probably be necessary to open the import data file, locate the record that is seeking to make this attachment and confirm that you have identified the correct attachment relationship. To simplify this, the record number and line number of the record in the import data file are displayed in the Attachment Selection box.

   1. Identify the correct record in the attachment module and click Attach Current Record in the Tool bar.

      Note: This process will repeat until all attachments are resolved. See Importing Screen for more details.

   When the import process is complete, details about the import are shown, including how many records were created, how many attachments were made and the number of errors:

   

9. Click Finished.

   The Import Complete screen displays:

   

10. Click Close to exit the Import Wizard and display the Import Report log:

    

About the auto-generated log and error file

A report will be generated during the import process. In the event of any errors, a data file will also be generated (filename_error.xml for example) in the same format as the file used in the data import. Typically these files are saved in the same location as the original import data file.

By default the report contains:

1. A log of the settings and the success of the import.
2. A description of any errors generated during the import.

The error file is a copy of the data file used for the import but containing only erroneous records. It can be used for iterative debugging. If there are any errors:

1. Locate the error in the error file and fix it.
2. Try the import again using the modified error file.

   If there are still errors, another version of this file will be generated, and so on.

In this example the records to be imported are specified in an XML file (parties_import.xml), and are imported into the Parties module using the Custom Import settings.

Note: Select this option to change any of the default settings used to import data into EMu. The default settings are listed here.

Each step is described in detail in How to use the Import tool.

1. In the Parties module, select Tools>Import from the Menu bar to display the Select File To Import box.

   Note: If the Import option is greyed out, you do not have the necessary permissions to use it.

2. Navigate to the file that contains the data to be imported, select it and click Open :

   

   The Import Wizard displays.

3. Select the Custom radio button:

   

4. Click Nextto continue.

   The Validate Data screen displays. In this example we'll first check that the format and data in the import data file are valid.

5. Select the Validate Data option:

   

6. Click Next to continue.

   The Records screen displays:

   

7. We want to validate all records in the import data file, so accept the default settings and click Next to continue.

   The Logging screen displays.

8. Select the Detailed option:

   

9. Click Next to continue.

   The Settings screen displays:

   

10. Scroll through the list of settings to ensure that they are correct.
11. Click Next to proceed with the import.

    The validation is processed and the Importing Screen displays with a summary of the validation results:

    

    The Records processed count is the number of complete records processed in the import data file (a complete record can contain references to one or more attachment records). Notice that the total number of records listed for the module is greater. This count includes any attachment records processed in EMu as a consequence of the import.

    Note that one record is found to be invalid.

12. Click Finished.

    The Import Complete screen displays:

    

13. Click Close to exit the Import Wizard and display the Import Report log. The error is clearly indicated:

    

14. Locate and open the import data file (parties_import.xml.in this example) and correct the error (in this case a typo in the column name NamFirst).

    Note: Another file, called parties_import-error.xml is auto-generated by EMu and placed in the same directory as the original import data file. If you had been importing records rather than validating them, all of the valid records would have been imported and the erroneous records would have been placed in this error file. You could then correct the errors in the error file and perform a data import using it.
    In this case, no records have been imported, so we need to correct the original data file.

15. You could repeat this process to double check that the corrected file is valid

    -OR-

    You could proceed with the import:

16. Repeat steps 1 to 4.
17. When the Validate Data screen displays, accept the default option to Import data:

    

18. Click Next to continue.

    This time the Attachments screen displays.

19. Accept the default settings and click Next to continue.

    The Records screen displays.

20. Accept the default settings (to import all records) and click Next to continue.

    The Logging screen displays.

21. Accept the default settings (to log errors) and click Next to continue.

    The Import Identifier screen displays.

22. Add an Import identifier to facilitate locating these imported records:

    

23. Click Next to continue.

    The Settings screen displays.

24. Ensure the settings are correct and click Next to proceed with the import.

    The Importing screen displays and processing commences.

    If there are references in the data file to other records (attachments) a search is performed using the details provided. If more than one match is found for the attachment record, the default action is for processing to stop and the matching records to be displayed in the appropriate module, allowing you to select the correct match:

    

    In this case a record being imported seeks to attach to another Parties record; as there is more than one record that matches the Party name specified for the attachment it is necessary to identify which is the correct attachment record.

25. Click OK to view the matching records in the Parties module:

    

    Note: The number of matching records is specified in the Status bar at the bottom of the module window. Because records being imported could reference any of these matching Parties records, it will probably be necessary to open the import data file, locate the record that is seeking to make this attachment and confirm that you have identified the correct attachment relationship. To simplify this, the record number and line number of the record in the import data file are displayed in the Attachment Selection box.

26. Identify the correct record in the attachment module and click Attach Current Record in the Tool bar.

    Note: This process will repeat until all attachments are resolved. See Importing Screen for more details.

    When the import process is complete, details about the import are shown, including how many records were created, how many attachments were made and the number of errors.

27. Click Finished.

    The Import Complete screen displays.

28. Click Close to exit the Import Wizard and display the Import Report log.