Compare Export

Compare exports compare two hierarchies and output a record for each node that meets the comparison criteria. You can output this information to a file or a database table. This export can be used to provide incremental changes to target systems.

Tip:

To preserve the export order when exporting to a database table, you can add a record ID column to your output. This column provides an autogenerated numeric value, starting with 1, that increases sequentially for each row in the export.

To create a compare export:

On the Home page, select Export.
Click .
Select Compare as the export type.
Optional: To create substitution parameters for the export:
1. Click .
2. Click Add and add Key-Value pairs.
  
  Note:
  
  Key-Value pairs cannot use "<%" or "%>" sequentially or an equal sign.
3. Click OK.
On the Source tab, select versions, hierarchies, and top nodes to compare.

Note:

You must select a hierarchy and top nodes for both the current and previous versions.

You can select Normal, Baseline, or As-Of versions. The Version list defaults to the Normal versions. To select a Baseline or As-Of version, click Normal under the Version list.
On the Style tab, select options:
- Node Selection — Determines node types (All Nodes, Limb Nodes Only, Leaf Nodes Only) included in the export
- Join Property — By default, compares map nodes from each hierarchy that have the same name. You can also join nodes based on other properties. For example, if a property named SortCode has a unique key in the specified hierarchies, then this property is used to identify differences between nodes having the same SortCode in each hierarchy.
- Additions — Includes all nodes in the target (to) hierarchy that are not in the source (from) hierarchy.
- Deletions — Includes all nodes in the source (from) hierarchy that are not in the target (to) hierarchy.
- Merges — Includes merge information in the export (if the merge feature is enabled.)
- Moves — Includes all nodes that have different parent nodes in the compared hierarchies.
- Renames — Includes all nodes that have different names but the same internal NodeID in the compared hierarchies.
- Property Updates — Includes all nodes that have different values in the specified list of properties in the compared hierarchies. Select Edit to choose properties.
In the Batch Validations section, select the type of validations to run.
Note:

Batch validations are performed only for the hierarchies and nodes included in the export. Validations are run before the export. If errors occur, the export stops.
- None — No validations run.
- Assigned — All validations assigned to the version, hierarchies, and nodes for the export run.
- Selected — Click to select validations to run.
On the Filter tab, select from these options:
- From Validation, select a validation to apply to the export.
- From Query, select a query to apply to the export, or, to define a query, click .
  
  Note:
  
  The inclusion filter determines the set of nodes from each hierarchy to be compared. The exclusion filter excludes nodes from export results.
On the Columns tab, select the properties to display as columns in the export results and move them from Available to Selected.

For more information, see Export Specific Columns

Tip:

Use the Category list to select a property category to ease navigation. Use the up and down arrows to position the column in the Selected list. The first item in the list is the first column, the second item in the list is the second column, and so on.
On the Column Options tab, select from these options:
- Pivot — If the property contains a comma-delimited list of values, a separate record is exported for each value with all other export columns set to the same values. The Pivot option may be selected on only one column.
- Skip Defaults — To place a blank (empty string) or NULL (in output to database table) in the export if the field value equals the default value of the property
- Primary Key — To define a field (or fields) as the primary key to be used when determining if duplicates exist
- Dynamic Value––If you added a Dynamic Column, define the value for the column here. The value can be null or a combination of constant values and substitution variables.
On the Target tab, select the output type for the results:
- Client File –– Download results via the browser.
- Server File –– Use an external connection and save results to a network file system or an FTP directory.
- Database Table –– Save results to a database table.
Perform an action:
- If you selected to export to a Client File, choose options:
  - Column Headings — Includes column headings in the export
  - Quoted Strings — Puts quotation marks around each column value. Any existing quotation marks within the column value are doubled.
    
    For example,
```
=IF("ABC","XYZ",)
```
    changes to
```
"=IF(""ABC"",""XYZ"",)"
```
  - Fixed Width — Allows you to specify field widths, left or right justification for the column, and number of pad characters. You can enter column information in the Fixed Width Option section.
  - Character Encoding — Select one of the encoding options.
  - Replace options — Select up to three characters from the lists to be replaced. For example, commas can be replaced by tabs
  - Header/Footer — Add a line between the header/footer and the body or enter text to be printed on the header and footer of the export results. Enter lines of text into the text box or click to open a text editor.
    
    Note:
    
    You can insert customization tags to further enhance the readability of the export results. For more information, see Customization Tags.
  - Delimiter options — To select a field delimiter character and a record delimiter character
- If you selected to export to a Database Table, you must set your connection and select the database table. You must have already created a valid external connection to a database for it to show up in the drop-down list. You can also select from these options:
  - Clear Table options
    - Do Not Clear Table — Appends to existing data in the specified table.
    - Clear Based on Version ID(s) — deletes data in the table where the specified key field equals the current version ID of the data being exported. If this option is selected, a Key field must be specified in the Database Column Options section. When the export is run, all data in the table is first deleted where the Key field equals the current version ID of the data being exported. For the other Clear Table options, the Key field is ignored.
    - Clear All Rows — Deletes data from the table before writing the export output.
  - Use Transactions — The export is performed within a database transaction and allows the entire operation to be rolled back if an export error occurs.
  - Use Fast Appends — Performs a bulk insert operation into the target database table for improved export performance. Only available with a database-specific connection.
  - Use Fast Deletes –– Performs a bulk delete operation on the target database table for improved performance. Only available with a database-specific connection.
  - Database Column Options — Each column being exported must be mapped to a field in the external database table. Under Field Name, select the name of a field. If you selected Clear Based on Version ID(s), specify a Key field.
    
    Tip:
    
    The Length option can be left blank so that string lengths up to the database column declaration can be sent to the database.
    
    Note:
    
    The column must be the same data type as the database field to which it is mapped. For example, if a string property is mapped to a numeric database field, an error occurs.
- If you selected to export to a Server File, you must set your connection and enter a file name. You must have already set up a valid external connection to a UNC or FTP file. You can also select from these options:
  - Column Headings — Includes column headings
  - Quoted Strings — Puts quotation marks around each column value. Any existing quotation marks within the column value are doubled.
    
    For example,
```
=IF("ABC","XYZ",)
```
    changes to
```
"=IF(""ABC"",""XYZ"",)"
```
  - Fixed Width — Allows you to specify field widths, left or right justification for the column, and number of pad characters. You can enter column information in the Fixed Width Option section.
  - Character Encoding — Select one of the encoding options.
  - Replace options — Select up to three characters from the lists to be replaced. For example, commas can be replaced by tabs
  - Header/Footer — Add a line between the header/footer and the body or enter text to be printed on the header and footer of the export results. Enter lines of text into the text box or click to open a text editor.
    
    Note:
    
    You can insert customization tags to further enhance the readability of the export results. For more information, see Customization Tags.
  - Delimiter options — To select a field delimiter character and a record delimiter character
Do any of the following:
- To save the export, click .
  
  You are prompted to define a name, description, and an object access group for the export. Select a custom group or one of the following:
  - User — Personal objects that are available only to an individual user to view and run.
  - Standard — Public objects that are available to all users to view and run. Only Data Manager users can create and modify standard exports.
  - System — Restricted objects that are available only to Application Administrator role users to view and run.
- To validate the export, click .
  
  You can copy validation errors to the clipboard.
- To run the export, click .
  
  If you selected to run validations on the Style tab, clicking performs the validations and then, if no errors occur, runs the export. If validation errors occur, then the export stops, and an error is displayed. Click for a list of validation errors.