1. HCM Data Loader
  2. Generate and Use Template Files

Generate and Use Template Files

HCM Data Loader provides a template file for each supported business-object hierarchy. The template contains:

  • A COMMENT line, which identifies the business object, its version, and the file-creation date.

  • A METADATA line for each component of the business-object hierarchy that you can load for the business object. The METADATA line includes every attribute of the component, including environment-specific configured flexfield attributes.

You can generate template files and use them as the basis of your own data files. The topic describes how to generate and use template files.

Generate a Single Template File

Follow these steps:

  1. Open the Data Exchange work area and select View Business Objects.

    By default, the View Business Objects page lists all business objects that HCM Data Loader supports. You can sort the list by product area, business object, or load order, for example. You can also retrieve a specific object by entering its name in the Business Object query-by-example field and pressing Enter.

  2. If a template already exists for the object, then you can click the icon in the File column to download it. The Last Refreshed column shows when the object definition was last updated and the template was last generated. Alternatively, you can update the object definition before you download the template, as follows:

    1. Select the object row in the business objects table.

    2. Click Refresh Object.

    3. In the Schedule Request dialog box, click Submit. Click OK to close the confirmation message.

      When you click Submit, you start the process that updates the object definition and generates the latest template file.

      Tip: To monitor progress, click View Process Results to open the View Process Results page.

  3. On the View Business Objects page, click the Refresh icon.

    Check the value in the Last Refreshed column to confirm that the template has been updated.

  4. Click the icon in the File column to download the template.

Tip: You can download the complete object definition for offline use. To download the object definition, click the icon in the Overview column. The spreadsheet that you download is documentation for the object, not a template file.

Generate Template Files for All Business Objects

Follow these steps to generate template files for all business objects in a product area or all business objects:

  1. Click the Refresh All Objects button on the View Business Objects page.

  2. In the Schedule Request dialog box, you can either select a product area or leave Product Area set to All.

  3. Click Submit.

  4. When the generation process completes, you can download templates individually. Click the icon in the File column for an object on the View Business Objects page. Alternatively, follow these steps to download a single .zip file of the generated templates:

    1. Click View Process Results.

    2. On the View Process Results page, click the icon in the File column for your process.

Use Template Files

Template files identify the names of all available attributes of a business object, including those of environment-specific attributes, such as flexfield segments. Don't simply copy the METADATA lines from the template file and use them in your own data files. Instead, include in your data files:

  • METADATA lines for the components that you want to load

  • Attribute names for the values you want to supply

You can improve the speed and efficiency of the import and load processes by including only the attributes for which you're supplying data. Remove METADATA lines and attribute names that you don't plan to use.

HCM Data Loader validates every attribute name on every METADATA line.