Adding a dimension adapter

Dimension adapters read and write dimension data. The attributes of a dimension adapter describe where the dimension data is located (or will be saved to), its format, and various aspects of processing.

The adapter must have a unique name within the pipeline. A single input dimension adapter reads all the dimensions in a single dimension file so, if you have multiple dimension files, you must have a separate adapter for each file.

Output dimension adapters are generally only used for diagnostic purposes. Hence, this section focuses on input dimension adapters. See "Writing out dimension data" for more information on output dimension adapters.

To add an input dimension adapter:

In the Pipeline Diagram editor, click New.
Choose Dimension > Adapter . The Dimension Adapter editor appears.
In the General tab, do the following:
1. In the Direction frame, choose Input if the adapter will be loading dimensions.
2. In the URL text box, enter the input file location.
3. In the Format text box, select the format:
  XML- Internal: Recommended (unless you are importing taxonomies from a third-party tool).
  
  Binary
  
  XML - Externally managed: Used when importing dimensions created in a third-party tool. See "Working with an Externally Managed Taxonomy" in the Endeca Forge Guide for details.
  
  Stratify: Used when importing dimensions created with the Stratify taxonomy creation tools. See "Classifying Documents with Stratify" in the Endeca Forge Guide for details.
4. Check Require Data if you want an error to be generated if the URL (see step B, above) does not exist or is empty.
5. (Optional) Check Custom Compression Level if your input file is compressed to indicate to Forge that it must decompress data from this source.
  Note: The compression level slider setting is ignored for an input dimension adapter.
(Optional) In the Transformer tab, do the following to transform an external dimension hierarchy to Endeca dimensions:
1. Enter XSLT in the TYPE field. XSLT is the only valid value.
2. Enter the full path to the .xsl file.
(Optional) In the Comment tab, add a comment for the component.
Click OK.

Note: You can choose a dimension source on the sources tab. This feature is only used with output dimension adapters.