The Import Setup allows for specifying date formats found in the data file and the data separator used, as well as options to reject calibrations performed with out-of-cal standards and enforcing all upper case character entries. Default user, type, and facility records must be selected as fallbacks for missing referential data in the data file. Determining the separator and date formats used in the data file can be automated by uploading the data file to be imported via the “Determine Separator and Date Formats from the Data File…” button. The New Import Setup screen is displayed.

·         Description – The description for this import setup.

·         Import Definition – The Import Definition to be used.

o   The Import Definition can be changed by selecting the “…” button.

o   The Import Definition can be viewed by selecting the Quick Link button.

·         Date Format 1, Date Format 2, Date Format 3, and Date Format 4 – Enter up to 4 different date formats.

o   Use M[M] for month, d[d] for day and yyyy for year.

 

For example, if the data file contains a date formatted as 2000-12-31, enter the following 4 formats:

yyyy-MM-dd

yyyy-MM-d

yyyy-M-dd

yyyy-M-d

 

which covers dates like the following:

2000-12-31

2000-12-1

2000-1-31

2000-1-1

o   If there are variations in the date formats other than month/day variations , for example a mixture of 2000-12-31 and 12/31/2000 in the same file, data cleanup should be performed before attempting to import the file.

·         Separator – The data separator used in the file, comma, semi-colon, pipe or tab.

o   For a tab delimited file, check the Use Tab check box.

o   Comma is not recommended as a separator, as the data itself may contain commas

o   To automatically detect date formats and separator from the data file, press the “Determine Separator and Date Formats from Data File…” button. If successful, the four date format fields are populated as well as the separator dropdown. If it cannot determine the formats and/or separator from the data in the file, the according entry field will remain empty.

·         Skip Header Rows – Rows to skip in data file.

o   If the data file to be imported contains one or more header rows, enter the number of leading rows to skip here.

·         Automated Order – Order in which to run automated imports.

o   Import Setups flagged as automated are run in the order specified here.

o   Must be unique.

·         File Extension – Data file extension associated with this automated Import Setup.

o   Each automated Import Setup is associated with a unique file extension.

o   All data files in the Import Data directory with this extension are processed (one import is run per file found), for this automated Import Setup.

·         Automated – Indicates this setup runs automated.

o   The automated import process checks the Import Data Directory set up in SystemDefaults every 5 minutes for new data files associated with this automated Import Setup. If files with the File Extension specified are found, one import is run per file.

o   Automated Import Setups must have a unique File Extension and a unique Automated Order, so that the automated import process knows which files to look for and in which order to process multiple automated Import Setups.

o   Each file imported is moved to the \Processed sub directory in the Import Data Directory, with a unique name that reflects the date and time it was processed.

·         Convert to UPPER CASE – Modifies strings imported by setting all characters to caps.

o   Check to convert all data to UPPER CASE. Note that this option is comprehensive and may lead to senseless and/or ambivalent unit prefixes (e.g. MV instead of mV).

·         Allow In Cal Standards Only – Checks if standards are in cal.

o   To not allow importing calibrations where the standard used was out of cal, check the Use In Cal Standards Only check box.

·         Update Existing Data – Determines whether this import will perform an update on or skip over existing records.

·         Data File Time Zone – Select the time zone the data originated in, for date/time adjustment to UTC

·         Default User – The user to be used for data elements requiring user information that is not explicitly provided in the data file.

o   The Default User can be changed by selecting the “…” button.

o   Recommendation: use a user specifically created for this purpose and name it appropriately, so imported records can be easily identified, e.g. Default Import User.

·         Default Type – The type to be used for data elements requiring type information that is not explicitly provided in the data file.

o   The Default Type can be changed by selecting the “…” button.

o   Recommendation: use a type specifically created for this purpose and name it appropriately, so imported records can be easily identified, e.g. Default Import Type.

·         Default Facility – The facility to be used for data elements requiring facility information that is not explicitly provided in the data file.

o   The Default Facility can be changed by selecting the “…” button.

o   Recommendation: use a facility specifically created for this purpose and name it appropriately, so imported records can be easily identified, e.g. Default Import Facility.