Working with Viewpoint Loads

Viewpoint loads enable you to load data into viewpoints that are unbound, bound, or partially bound. You can load both bound and unbound properties. You load data into viewpoints using comma separated (CSV) or Excel files, as well as ZIP files containing CSV or Excel files.

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Learn more about how to use Viewpoint Loads to load data into viewpoints.	Working with Viewpoint Loads

There are two main modes for viewpoint loads:

Merge: Used to merge in changes using the request system
Replace: Used to replace data in the viewpoint with data from the load file.

Caution:

When running viewpoint loads in either Merge and Replace mode, ensure that your load file contains:

The full set of data for the viewpoint being loaded.
The same top nodes as the viewpoint being loaded, with the following exceptions:
- For an initial load into an empty hierarchy set, the top nodes from the load file are added to the viewpoint.
- For a load into a viewpoint where the hierarchy set is referenced by a single node set, top nodes in the viewpoint are added and removed based on the top nodes in the load file.

You can also use viewpoint loads to import a subset of data by making a alternate viewpoint and loading it. The load will adjust the relationships in the alternate viewpoint and leave the relationships in the hierarchy set that are not part of the alternate viewpoint intact. Common relationships that are in both the alternate and main viewpoints may be affected.

Some possible use cases for using viewpoint loads include:

Updating only one of multiple top nodes in a hierarchy set by creating a maintenance viewpoint with just that top node and loading into it. For example, in an Employees by Department hierarchy with Analytics, Marketing, and Finance as top nodes you could create a maintenance viewpoint with Finance only as the top node and then load changes just for that department.
Updating a subset of a hierarchy from a branch down. For example, in a Geographic hierarchy you could create a maintenance viewpoint with Georgia as the top node and load changes from Georgia down.
Adding and updating nodes with unbound properties (that is, properties other than the ones included in the dimension bindings). See Understanding Bindings and Bound Data Objects.
Bulk updating of nodes in excess of the request item limit.

Note:
Ensure that the load file contains all of the relationships for all of the top nodes in the viewpoint being loaded to.

Viewpoint Load Example

Hierarchy set HS1 is used by the following viewpoints:

Viewpoint Name	Top Nodes	View Name
CC_VP	Legal Managerial Geographic	Cost Center (Default application view)
CC_MGR_VP	Managerial	Managerial (maintenance view)
CC_TX_VP	Texas (a node under Geographic)	Texas (maintenance view)

For this scenario:

You can load into the Managerial viewpoint without losing relationship information for the other top nodes in the Cost Center and Texas viewpoints. Ensure that the load file contains all of the relationship information for the Managerial top node.
You can load into the Texas viewpoint without losing relationship information for the top nodes in the Managerial and Cost Center viewpoints or the other Geographic branches in the Cost Center viewpoint. Ensure that the load file contains all of the relationship information for the Texas top node

Viewpoint Loads Versus Imports

Viewpoint loads are similar to imports in that both load data into dimensions. However, there are some key differences:

Viewpoint Load	Import
Can be run for any viewpoint or property regardless of binding status.	Limited to bound viewpoints and properties.
Can be used with bound, reference, and unbound dimensions.	Can be used with bound dimensions only.
Not all bound properties are required.	All bound properties are required.
Supports Replace and Merge modes.	Supports Replace, Reset, and Merge modes.
Can load from files only.	Can import from files or from external applications using a connection.
Cannot expand allowed values for a property.	Can (optionally) expand allowed values for a property.
For loads in merge mode, the following options are predefined and cannot be changed: Process Deletes: False Process Reorders: True Auto Submit: True Bypass Approvals and Commits: False	Merge import options are able to be configured by users. See Managing Import Options

Load Modes

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

Load Mode	Hierarchy Viewpoint Updates	List Viewpoint Updates
Merge	Adds nodes that are in the load source but not in the target viewpoint Updates node property values that have different values in the load source and the target viewpoint. For nodes that have different parents in the load source than the target viewpoint: If shared nodes are enabled, nodes are inserted. If shared nodes are not enabled, nodes are moved. Removes nodes that are in the target viewpoint but not in the load source. If the viewpoint supports a custom order, processes reorder actions. For relationship property values: If the relationship property value exists in the load source but not the target viewpoint, the relationship property value is updated. If the relationship property values are the same in the load source and the target viewpoint, no update takes place. If the load source does not contain a relationship property value, no update takes place.	Adds nodes that are in the load source but not in the target viewpoint Updates node property values that have different values in the load source and the target viewpoint. Nodes are displayed in descending order by the date that they were created or updated.
Replace	Replaces hierarchy relationships under the existing top nodes in the target viewpoint with the relationships in the load file Hierarchy relationships in the load file that are outside of the top nodes in the target viewpoint are ignored Retains relationship properties in the target viewpoint that are not in the load file. Retains hierarchy relationships in the same hierarchy set that are not in the target viewpoint	Adds nodes that are in the load source but not in the target viewpoint Updates node property values that have different values in the load source and the target viewpoint. Nodes are displayed in descending order by the date that they were created or updated.