Configuring an FTP Connector to Import Data from a CSV File

Use an FTP connector to retrieve data from a CSV file on an FTP server. The data is imported as an array. As a result, you can map the data set in the array to a subsequent orchestration step. See Passing a Data Set to a Subsequent Orchestration Step for more information.

1. Click the Connectors icon on the Orchestrator Studio Home page.

2. On the Connectors side panel, click the New drop-down menu and select FTP.

3. Create and name the connector service request as described in Creating a Component.

4. On the Connectors design page, click the FTP field and select a connection to the server from which you want to transfer a file.

   If no connections are available for an FTP connector, ask your system administrator to create one. See Creating a Soft Coding Record for an FTP Server Connection

5. Select the File option.

6. Click the Type drop-down list and select Receive.

7. Enable the Import CSV option.

   The Orchestrator Studio displays additional fields to configure the importing of data from a CSV file.

8. Enable the Import First Row Only option if you want to include only the first row (Release 9.2.5).

9. If the CSV file has a header row, enable the CSV Has Headers option to exclude the header row.

   This action ensures that at runtime, the Orchestrator will not import the column headers as data in the array.

10. Complete the following fields:

    • Delimiter. Enter the delimiter used in the CSV file to separate values.

    • Source File Name. Enter the name of the CSV file.

    • Path Extension. Enter the name of the sub-directory on the third-party FTP server that contains the CSV file. The FTP connection already contains information for the base folder.

    • Remove Source File. Enable or disable the Remove Source File toggle. This toggle is enabled by default. When enabled, this toggle removes the file from the temporary location on the AIS Server after the data is imported.

    • Data Set Variable Name. Enter a name to refer to the array created from the CSV data.

      Later, you can use this data set variable name as a reference to map data in the data set to a subsequent orchestration step.

      Note: This field is available only when the Import First Row Only option is not selected. The system will not create an array when the Import First Row Only option is selected.

    • Header Object (Release 9.2.4.4). Enter the name of the header object to indicate how you want to group the data. See Defining the Header Fields (Release 9.2.4.4).

    • Detail Object (Release 9.2.4.4). Enter the name of the detail object to indicate how you want to group the data. See Defining the Header Fields (Release 9.2.4.4).

11. Click the File button to select a model CSV file for defing the columns in the CSV file that you want to import.

    You can use a CSV file that is a copy of the CSV file from which the FTP connector will import data, or you can use a different CSV file if it has the same column names.

    If the CSV Has Headers check box is selected, the grid displays the column names from the CSV file in the Member Name and Variable Name columns. Otherwise, the grid displays column 1, column 2, and so forth.

    In the grid, you can change the member names or variable names, and you can use the X button at the end of the rows to remove any columns from the import.

    The variable names are used to represent the values that are imported into the array. If you map these values to a subsequent orchestration step, you will select these variable names for the mappings.

    Caution: When importing the CSV data into an array, the order of the columns, not the names of the columns, is respected. If the CSV has 10 columns and you only specify eight in this grid, the array will contain the first eight columns from the CSV. If column headers are present, the third column in the CSV file will be mapped to the third row of this table, regardless if the column and member names match.

12. Click Save.