1. Working with Applications, Models, and Dimensions for Narrative Reporting
  2. Loading and Extracting Dimension Members
  3. Loading Dimension Members from an External File

Loading Dimension Members from an External File

You can use metadata from an existing data source in the new application to quickly build your application. One import is performed on each dimension from the Dimensions and Models tab of the Application Overview screen. Only one dimension can be imported at a time.

The dimensions and members are loaded using a flat file. As a prerequisite, you must format the existing files according to the Narrative Reporting template as CSV or TXT documents, and then save the formatted files to your file system. See Formatting Load Files.

To perform the load operation, users must have the Administer permission for the dimension to which they are importing. See Grant Access.

Caution:

If you have an existing application, as a best practice, Oracle recommends that you create an extract as a backup before loading new or modified dimensions and members.

To load metadata from an external file:

  1. Prepare the load file for the selected dimension on your local file system, as outlined in Formatting Load Files.
  2. From the Home page, select an option:

    • Library, and then Application

    • Application

  3. Open the application, and go to the Dimensions and Models tab .
  4. For the dimension for which you want to add the members from the external data source, select the right arrow beside the dimension name, and then select Load Members.

    On the Load Members dialog box, Browse to the location of the load file, and select the Load Options for File Delimiter Character, Text Qualifier and Ordering upon load. You can also select Enable Detailed Member Auditing so you can see all details of the load when you create and Audit Log.
  5. On the Load Members dialog box, click Browse to navigate to the formatted CSV or TXT load file for the selected dimension on your local file system.

    When the preformatted file is selected, the Browse button changes to read Update. Select Update to choose a different file.


    Browse to the load file and then select the load options.
  6. Select the File Delimiter Character that you are using in the preformatted file to identify the separate fields:

    • Tab

    • Space

    • Comma

    • Colon (:)

    • Semicolon (;)

    Note:

    If a value in any of the columns contains the same character that was used as the delimiter, such as comma for a .csv file, then the value must be quoted with the specified Text Qualifier character which is usually double quotation marks.

  7. Select the Text Qualifier that is to be used to enclose text in the preformatted file, for example, "Product", or "California" or "Bicycle Parts", using one of the following characters:

    • Double Quotation Marks (" ")

    • Single Quotation Marks (‘)

    Note:

    If you use an apostrophe in a member name (for example, Members Equity), use double quotation marks as the text qualifier (for example, "Members Equity").

  8. Select the Ordering sequence to manage the load of the members for the selected dimension:

    • Order Existing as per Source Member Order—Default order. Use the default order option, "Order Existing as per Source Member Order," when loading members from a flat file that contains shared members (for example, the Entities dimension in the Sample Application). Important: Other sort options may cause load errors when the shared members are added before the related base member during import.

    • Merge to Bottom of Existing Hierarchy—Add the new members after existing members.

    • Merge to Top of Existing Hierarchy—Add the new members above existing members.

    • Sort Ascending after Import—When the load is complete, sort the entire list of members in ascending order.

    • Sort Descending after Import—When the load is complete, sort the entire list of members in descending order.

  9. Optional: Select Enable Detailed Member Auditing to track the details of the load. If this option is selected, you can perform an audit extract after the load is complete to view the details for the selected dimension in the Audit Logs folder in the Library.

    Caution:

    Enabling "Detailed Member Auditing" may significantly affect the load performance.

  10. Click Load Members to begin the operation. A Load Confirmation dialog box shows that the import is in progress. When the load is complete, a success message is displayed. Any errors encountered during the load are displayed at the bottom of the dialog box.

    The confirmation message advises that the load is complete.
  11. Navigate to your application, and view the hierarchy for the selected dimension on the Dimension Hierarchy tab

    The loaded hierarchy is displayed.