How do I create a custom Excel Import template?

I want to utilize the Excel Import in my Web Client and create a custom template, which corresponds to the specific needs of my import. 

The customized template first needs to be configured and then can be imported in the Administration Toolkit.

Important:

The details on how to create an Excel import configuration are not covered here. This article only shows an overview of the configuration. If you need to create your own configurations, please contact your consultant.

Structure of template

The structure of the Excel spreadsheet is described by an XML configuration file, which contains the mapping of objects from the Excel file to the metamodel of the concerning BOC product.
 

Please note:

• An Excel file can contain any number of sheets
• Each sheet contains only objects of one type
• Each row in the sheet contains one object
• Each column holds an attribute or a relation to another object
• At least one unique identifier (name, ID, etc.) is necessary

Excel sheet

In the following picture an example is shown on how a sheet in the Excel template is structured:

1. Name of the sheet: "Application Component"
2. Row: "Credit Card Management System (CRE)"
3. Column: ID (simple), Specialisation, etc.

XML configuration of sheet name:
<sheet name="Applications" class_name="C_APPLICATION" id="2" data_row="4">

Attributes

Following the Excel sheet setup, you need to set up the XML configuration of the attributes.

The following attribute types can be imported: simple, date, enum, treeenumlist, enum_list, bool, relation and file_pointer.

<attribute name="A_DESCRIPTION" type="simple" context="en" column="5"/>

• <attribute name> is the language independent name of the attribute
• <type> is the attribute type
• <context> defines the language of the objects that are imported
• <column> is the column number

Once you have your Excel template and XML file set up, you can proceed to implement the configuration.
 

Configuration

The configuration by default is set up in the Administration Toolkit of your BOC product, specifically in Library Management -> Component Settings. There you will find the sub-item Excel Import. Depending on your product, you will find different standard templates, which are configured by default.

ADONIS/ADOGRC	ADOIT

With a right click on Excel import you can choose Create new configuration and a new window will appear.

To set up the new template, define a Configuration name (1), upload the Excel file under Import template (2) and the XML file under Import (3).