Importing Dimensions

You import data from external application dimensions into Oracle Enterprise Data Management Cloud which populates nodes, properties and hierarchical relationships in the dimension's registered bound data chain.

From the Applications list, import dimensions:

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Learn about importing and exporting dimensions.

video icon Importing and Exporting Application Data

Note:

All application types support importing and exporting from comma-delimited files.

For Planning and Financial Consolidation and Close applications, if you enter valid connection information to an external application during registration, you can import and export from the external application inbox by using a connection. You can then import that file into your Planning application.

For Oracle Financials Cloud General Ledger applications, if you enter valid connection information to an external application during registration, you can export to the external application server by using a connection. You can then import that file into your Oracle Financials Cloud General Ledger application.

Import Considerations

  • To import, you need at least the Data Manager permission on the application or the dimension that you are importing to.
  • You can import to dimensions with an Active status only.
  • You cannot import to unbound or lookup dimensions.
  • You must first register the dimension you want to import.
  • For all import modes, the import source file should contain the full data set for a viewpoint. If you want to perform an incremental update where the incoming source file contains only changes to a viewpoint, use the request file upload instead of import. See Making Changes Using a Load File.
  • For Planning, Planning Modules, and Financial Consolidation and Close applications, you can also import attribute dimensions. You must first register the attribute dimension. See Understanding Attributes.
  • When you import to an existing dimension, data in the dimension's bound data chain is affected. Unbound objects are not updated by the import process; however, they may be indirectly affected by changes to other objects in their data chain
  • For a hierarchy format, nodes and hierarchical relationships are imported and displayed based on the grouping and sorting options on the hierarchy set. You can adjust the sorting of parent and bottom nodes to match the external application by opening the hierarchy set and using the Use Custom Order, Group Parent Nodes First, and Sort Bottom Nodes By settings to determine the sort order for parent and bottom nodes before you run the import. See Creating Hierarchy Sets.

    Note:

    For Merge Imports, enable Process Reorders to set the order of the nodes in the viewpoint being imported into to the order in which they appear in the import source file. See Managing Import Options.
  • When you import to an existing dimension in Merge or Replace mode, the system checks the node type of the nodes that you are importing, as follows:
    • If the node already exists in the bound dimension, the system finds and uses the existing node and node type when it runs the import.
    • If the node does not already exist in the bound dimension, the system imports the node using the node type that was created during the initial registration.

    Note:

    There are additional considerations for node types with imports in Universal applications. See Importing a User Defined Dimension.

  • Import files should be encoded in UTF-8.

    Tip:

    To preserve Unicode characters, save your import file with the following option in Excel: CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited) (*.csv).

Import Modes

When you import data, there are three import modes that you can select. The following table describes the import modes.

Import Mode Hierarchy Viewpoint Updates List Viewpoint Updates
Merge
  • Adds nodes that are in the import source but not in the bound viewpoint

  • Updates node property values that have different values in the import source and the bound viewpoint.

  • For nodes that have different parents in the import source than the bound viewpoint:

    • If shared nodes are enabled, nodes are inserted.
    • If shared nodes are not enabled, nodes are moved.
  • Removes nodes that are in the bound viewpoint but not in the import source.

  • Depending on your merge import options, deletes nodes that are in the bound viewpoint but not in the import source. See Managing Import Options.
  • For relationship property values:

    • If the relationship property value exists in the import source but not the bound viewpoint, the relationship property value is updated.

    • If the relationship property values are the same in the import source and the bound viewpoint, no update takes place.

    • If the import source does not contain a relationship property value, no update takes place.

  • Select Process Reorders to reorder the nodes to the order in the import file. See Managing Import Options.

    Note:

    Reorder actions in Merge imports are supported only with inserts or adds.
  • Adds nodes that are in the import source but not in the bound viewpoint

  • Updates node property values that have different values in the import source and the bound viewpoint.

  • Nodes are displayed in descending order by the date that they were created or updated.

Replace
  • Nodes are imported and the hierarchy is recreated as follows:

    • Hierarchy relationships that are in the bound viewpoint and the import source are retained.
    • Hierarchy relationships that are in the bound viewpoint but not the import source are deleted.
  • For existing relationship properties:

    • If the import file contains both the relationship and the relationship property value, the existing value is overridden with the value from the import.
    • If the import file contains the relationship but not the relationship property value, the existing value is retained. This enables property values that were defined for these relationships directly in Oracle Enterprise Data Management Cloud to remain in the application.
    • If the import file does not contain the relationship, the relationship property is deleted.

Caution:

Ensure that your import file contains your full hierarchy set before you run the import.
  • Adds nodes that are in the import source but not in the bound viewpoint

  • Updates node property values that have different values in the import source and the bound viewpoint.

  • Nodes are displayed in descending order by the date that they were created or updated.

Reset
  • Clears all nodes in all bound node types in the dimension
  • Clears all relationships for all bound hierarchy sets in the dimension
  • Re-imports nodes and rebuilds relationships
  • Clears existing bound nodes and imports nodes

  • Nodes are imported and displayed in the order in which they are listed in the import file or external application.

Note:

The first time you import into a dimension, you must use the Reset import mode. You cannot use a Merge or Replace import in an empty dimension.

Reviewing Import History

On the import screen, review the History section to see the dates and times of the most recent imports that were run for this dimension. By default, the last five are displayed. You can adjust the number of imports to display (up to 50) in the Show most recent field. Click refresh to update the table.

The table displays how long it took to run each import, the status and mode of the import, the user who ran it, and the name of the connection that was used. Imports from a file will display "None" for the connection.

Click the expand arrow on a row to view the number of records that were imported or any errors that were encountered during the import process. For Merge imports, click the link in Import Mode column to inspect the request that was generated from the import.


import example showing history