1. Using Advanced Controls
  2. Edit an Import File

Edit an Import File

Once you've imported a file to create objects, you can modify the file and import it again to refresh those objects. Rather than refresh an object, you can replace it. In either case, there are limits to the changes you can make, and those limits depend on which action you take.

To refresh an object, you must begin with an import file that specifies the BO Group Name, BO Name, attributes, and relationships that are current for the object. It's strongly recommended that you export the object you want to refresh from the application, so you can be certain its file initially contains no changes that would cause an import to fail.

Here's what you can and can't do for a refresh:

  • BO Group Definitions sheet: Don't delete existing groups or change their names. You can modify BO Group Type values.

  • BO Definitions sheet: Don't delete the row for an existing object. Don't change the name, the group, or the BO Key1 value for an existing object. You may modify BO Category values. You may add keys, and you may modify or delete keys other than BO Key1. You may add rows to create new objects.

  • Attribute Definitions sheet: Don't delete the row for an existing attribute. Don't change the name of an existing attribute, or change the business object it belongs to. If the data type of an attribute was originally Integer, Long, or Double, you can change from the original value to either of the other two. But if the data type was String or Time stamp, you can't change it. You may add rows that define new attributes; for each, you must also add columns to the appropriate Data-[Object Name] sheet to provide values for the new attribute.

  • Data-[Object Name] sheet: You may add, edit, or delete rows of values. You may add columns to the object, providing you define the column headings as attributes in the Attribute Definitions sheet. Don't delete columns or update attribute names in existing columns.

  • A file may define more than one object, or more than one group. When you select an object to export, you actually export the file that created that object and potentially any number of other objects. You must retain the data that applies to objects and groups you don't want to modify.

You may want to replace an object because one or more of its attributes are no longer appropriate. You have two options:

  • You can import a new object and allow the older object to remain. In the file for the new object, you must provide unique BO Group Name and BO Name values. Beyond that, the basic rules for creating a file apply, regardless of whether you're creating a new file or editing a copy of the old one that serves as a template.

  • If you want to replace an object that belongs to an import file that contains no other objects, you can delete the original, then import a new object as a replacement. Follow standard procedure to create the new object. If you delete the old object before importing the new one, you can reuse the BO Group Name and BO Name values.