Data Import

Before importing data you must configure the import. First, you need to create mappings for lookup tables.

New Lookup Mapping

This form is used to create a new lookup mapping.

In the Name of the new lookup mapping field, enter a name that uniquely identifies this setting, as this name is the only thing shown in the settings dropdown.

The Lookup mapping description field is just a short note that is displayed only in the lookup mapping detail.

In the Select lookup section, first choose the lookup from the dropdown and only then fill out the Fill in the corresponding values for lookup mapping section, because changing the lookup will clear that section.

In the Fill in the corresponding values for lookup mapping section, enter the individual values from the input file and their corresponding meaning.

Lookup Mapping List

This form contains a list of all created lookup mappings for the lookup selected in Select lookup. It allows you to edit them (by clicking Edit) or delete them (by clicking Delete).

Lookup Mapping Detail

You access this form from the lookup mapping list. It displays the lookup mapping and allows you to edit it. Edited mappings can be saved by clicking Save. Click Back to return to the lookup mapping list without saving changes. For more about the fields in this form, see the New Lookup Mapping form help.

Lookup Mapping Settings

A lookup mapping contains information about what the values in the input file mean. Mappings are created for the lookups: shipment types, currencies, countries, and delivery time ranges. Mapping is not needed if it matches the predefined mapping. The predefined shipment type mapping is named “-Shipment Type-” and contains these values:

The predefined currency mapping is named “-Currency Code-” and contains these values:

The predefined country mapping is named “-Country Code-” and contains these values:

The predefined delivery time range mapping is named “-Time Range Name-” and contains:

The predefined Age Check mapping contains:

The predefined weight mapping (only for shipments to Germany):

If the values in your imported file match the “Value in imported file” column and their meaning matches the “Meaning in lookup” column, you do not need to create any lookup mapping. Otherwise, see the help for creating and editing lookup mappings. Once configured, a lookup mapping can be used in any import setting.

Import Configuration

The next step is to configure the import itself. This is done separately for customers and shipments and in both cases is divided into two parts: configuring the input data format and mapping which input file column corresponds to which customer or shipment field. Below I discuss the common properties of the customer and shipment import configuration forms.

Enter a name in Configuration name that uniquely identifies this setting, as it is the only thing shown in the settings dropdown.

In Type of imported file, first select the file type from the dropdown and only then fill in the other fields, because changing the file type will display different configuration options.

If you check Import records with errors, records that encounter the following errors will still be imported:

• A column was not found in the input file,
• A column value could not be converted to the correct type.

You will be informed of these errors, but you will have to delete or update the erroneous records manually, which can be time-consuming for large batches.

Fixed-Width File Import Settings

Fixed-width file import expects a text file where rows are separated by a row delimiter and columns occupy a fixed number of characters.

• Encoding: choose the input file’s encoding.
• Default column width: enter the most common column width; this value will be applied to any columns not explicitly specified in the Fixed-Width File Parameters table.
• Default spacer width: similar to column width but defines the width of the spacer between columns that should not count as content (often zero).
• Allow end-of-line within column: if unchecked, any row ending in the middle of a column will be rejected.
• Row delimiter: select or specify the character that separates rows.
• Trim whitespace: if checked, leading and trailing whitespace (spaces, tabs) will be removed from each column’s text.
• Skip first row: if checked, the first row (often header row) will be ignored.
• In the table below, specify overrides for column widths or spacers that differ from the defaults.

Delimited File Import Settings

Delimited file import expects a text file where one delimiter separates columns and another separates rows.

• Encoding: choose the input file’s encoding.
• Column delimiter: select or specify the character that separates columns.
• Row delimiter: select or specify the character that separates rows.
• Escape character: specify a character that nullifies the special meaning of the following character.
• Quote character: specify a character used to enclose string values.
• Two quotes as one: if checked, two consecutive quote characters output as one.
• Trim whitespace: removes leading/trailing whitespace in each column if checked.
• Skip first row: ignores the first row if checked (header row).

XML File Import Settings

To configure XML import you need basic knowledge of XML structure. If you are unfamiliar with XML, see here. XPath is used to identify attributes and elements. You generally only need the subset covered in Minimum XPath. For more, see here.

An XML helper in the app suggests possible continuations of your XPath. To use it, select a test file containing all elements/attributes you need, then click Apply next to the file field. If successful, you will see “Test file loaded.”

In Select elements representing rows, enter an absolute XPath (starting at the document node) that selects all elements to be treated as individual shipments or customers (default /*/* selects all direct children of the root).

Unlike tabular imports, XML import mapping cannot use column indexes. Instead, use XPath starting from each row element to reach the element or attribute for each field. This XPath supports the operators + (concatenate with space) and ; (first non-empty) like tabular imports—escape them as \+ and \; if used literally, and escape \ as \\. For example:

ulice + cislo_domu ; ulice_a_cislo_domu

This concatenates <ulice> and <cislo_domu> with a space, or if both are empty, uses <ulice_a_cislo_domu>. If an XPath returns multiple nodes, their values are joined with spaces. If an element has children, all text content is included.

Common Settings for All File Types

Below the file-type–specific settings, configure column numbers (except for XML), default values if a column is missing or conversion fails, and lookup mappings. A column number field can contain multiple column indexes separated by + and ; (with -s prefix to suppress spaces). For example:

1+2;3 -s 1+2;3

A column index can also be literal text in quotes:
10;"CZK"

This imports column 10 or, if missing, the text CZK. To include quotes in text, double them:

"Faktura ""321654"""

Data Import

Once the import configuration is set up, you can reuse it to import data repeatedly. After import, all data is inserted into the database and a form showing imported records and any errors appears. You can delete or edit records here. For more, see the customer and shipment import form help.