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Agile Product Lifecycle Management Import/Export Guide Release 9.3.3 E39290-01 |
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# 10 Recommended Tasks After Importing Data

Tasks recommended after importing data, include checking the status import operations, cancelling imports, reading log files and troubleshooting import-related issues.

## 10.1 Checking the Status of Your Import Session

If you are importing a large amount of data, the Import wizard may take a while to process the data. As it processes records, it keeps a running count of records that were imported or rejected. It also displays messages related to each object that it processes.

When all the data for an import session has been processed, the Import wizard formats the warning and error messages into a log that you can read onscreen or save to a file.

## 10.2 Canceling an Import Operation

When you click Import in the Import Wizard, the Wizard begins to import the data. You can cancel the import operation at any time.

To cancel a running import operation:

1. From the Import Status page, click Cancel.

2. A message box appears that reads "Cancel running import operation? All unsaved data will be lost."

3. Click OK. The Import Summary Report page appears.

When you cancel an import operation, any data that was already imported by the time you clicked Cancel remains in the database. Also, data is imported in batches, and the Import Wizard finishes importing the current batch before the import operation stops as a result of cancellation. The Records Processed section of the Import Summary Report page shows how many objects are accepted.

## 10.3 Reading the Import Log

When you click Import in the Import Wizard, the Import Server starts to process the data. When it finishes processing the data, it displays a log, which includes the following sections:

- Time Information - Shows the duration of the import session.

- Records Processed - Shows how many records are imported to the PLM system and how many are rejected.

- Message Summary - Shows messages generated for each object.

To save the import log to an XML file:

1. In the Import log page, click Save Log. The File Download dialog box appears.

2. Select Save This File to Disk. Click OK. Type the filename, or use the default filename: LogFile.xml. Click Save.

- LogFile.xml is an XML file, which is not ideal for viewing in most applications.

- You can use your own XML templates to create custom reports from the log file. You can also import another file by using the Import another file button in this step.

To save the import log to an HTML file:

1. Right-click the Import Summary Report page, and choose View Source. The HTML source for the page appears in Notepad.

2. Choose File > Save As to save the HTML file.

3. To return to the Web Client or Java Client, Click Done.

## 10.4 Troubleshooting

If the application system response becomes slow, check the following:

- Check CPU usage and memory usage of the process at that point in time (in case of UNIX systems use the following commands: prstat and memstat, and mpstat.

- Using the application server console, check queue length and memory utilization in the performance monitoring tab.

- Check the CPU usage and memory usage of the database process (Oracle processes) at the same time on the database server.

- Check the network to see if the connectivity between the application server, the database and the Web server is established.

### 10.4.1 Common Error Messages

The following table provides additional information about common error messages you may encounter when you try to import data into PLM.

Problem Area | Error Message | Cause
--- | --- | ---
General | Could not import record because key fields within the import data are blank. | This error can occur for a couple reasons: The mapping file is wrong. Key fields must be mapped. The source file is tab delimited, but the Import Wizard field delimiter is set to comma.
General | Could not convert value 'text' into the appropriate datatype (java.lang.Double). | You tried to import a text value into a numeric field.
Text values | [Character Set Name(s)] character sets are valid for [AttributeName] field. | A text value you are trying to import contains one or more characters that are invalid for the field's character set(s).
Date values | Could not convert value '12.10.2003' into the appropriate datatype (java.util.Date). | The format for date values in your source file does not match the preferred date format specified in the user's profile.
Numeric values | Datatype mismatch while performing Scale validation on value ''. Expected datatype was java.lang.Number; actual datatype was java.lang.String. | You tried to import a row with a blank value in a Numeric field.
Money values | Could not convert value into the appropriate datatype (Money). | You tried to import a row with a blank value in a Money field.
Excel files | An error occurred: The selected file is not a valid Delimited Text File. A valid DTF must contain exactly one header row and at least one data row. | The message refers to delimited text files because the Import Wizard converts Excel files into delimited text files before importing data. The first row in the selected Excel source file cannot be blank. Make sure you specify the correct location of the header row.
Mapping | The markup in the document preceding the root element must be well-formed. | This error appears if you select a mapping file that is not properly formed XML (such as a delimited text file). You must select a mapping file previously saved by the Import Wizard.
Supplier | Continent|country|region is invalid. | You selected an invalid geographical location represented by the combination of Continent, Country, and Region values.
Supplier | Offerings you are trying to create are already covered by a broader Manufacturer offering. | You cannot import a new supplier offering for a Ship To location that is already covered by a broader offering.
Mapping | Object properties are mapped, but the key is not fully mapped. | Some objects, like price, supplier, and customer, have several key fields that must be mapped. The current mapping does not map all required key fields.
Price Lines | Effective From Date cannot be greater than the Effective To Date. | You tried to import price lines with an effective from date greater than the effective to date.
Price Lines | [Price Line] is a duplicate price line and cannot be processed when quantity break is disallowed on the price object. | The Allow Qty Breaks field for the Price object has been set to No. Therefore, only one price line can be imported for each set of different Ship To, Ship From, Effective To, and Effective From values.

### 10.4.2 Importing Blank Fields

When you use the Import Wizard, it cannot perform a destructive operation. Existing Agile data is always preserved, never destroyed. Therefore, you can't import a blank value to a non-empty Agile field. The Import Wizard ignores blank source fields.

### 10.4.3 Mapping All Required Fields

To import data for an object, you must always map all required fields, even if you are importing data to an existing object. This includes required fields on Page Two and Page Three. If you are trying to update a BOM table for an item, you may not want to update required fields that have already been entered on Page Two and Page Three. In such a case, you can map the Page Two and Page Three required fields to blank columns in your source data. As mentioned above, the Import wizard ignores blank source fields.

### 10.4.4 Configuring Parent/Child Fields

Several fields have a child relationship with other parent fields. Child fields derive their values from parent fields. The administrator of the Agile PLM system must ensure that parent/child fields are configured identically for the system to work properly.

An item's Title Block.Rev field and a change order's Affected Item.New Rev field are perfect examples of parent-child fields. The Agile PLM administrator must ensure that both these fields are configured identically. Otherwise, problems could occur when you import data. For example, if you set the Title Block.Rev field to include all characters, you cannot set the Affected Items.New Rev field to include only "Alpha Upper Case" characters. Otherwise, problems will occur when you import items in Redline mode.

Another example of parent/child fields are the Title Block.Number field for an item and the Affected Items.Item Number field for a change. If these fields are configured differently, you may experience problems importing items.

### 10.4.5 Importing Supplier Offerings

When you import supplier offerings, the Import wizard determines if a rating exists based on either the Ship-To location or the geographical values. It does this by checking the status of the supplier before importing the source file. If the source file has conflicting offerings, you may see unexpected results. Here's an example:

Suppose an existing supplier named ACME has no commodity offerings. On the Agile PLM server, the defined Ship-To locations include San Jose and Milpitas. Let's say you attempt to import a source file with two offerings:

Figure 10-1 Example of supplier offerings based on Ship-to location or geographical values

The Import wizard creates the first offering based on its geographical values. The second offering is rejected because the Ship-To location, San Jose, is covered by the first offering's region, California. Remember, you cannot create an offering with a location already covered by a broader offering. The end result is that one broad offering and two ratings are created. The ratings for San Jose and Milpitas, which are located in the California region defined by the offering, both have a value of "Approved."

Workaround: To import different ratings for offerings located in the same geographical region, import the offerings and their ratings in two separate import operations.

### 10.4.6 Managing SmartRules

The Agile PLM server checks for SmartRule violations after each row of a table is updated, not after the entire table is updated. This can cause problems if you are importing BOM, Manufacturers, or Price Lines tables in Redline mode and have set the Multi Row Update Mode preference to "Complete Replace." In such situations, you want to update the entire table before validating it.

Workaround: To avoid SmartRule problems in import, the Agile PLM administrator should use the Agile Java Client to set the following SmartRules from "Disallow" to "Warning":

- DuplicateFindNumbers

- DuplicateItemNumbers

- DuplicateRefDes

- MultipleItemsPerManufPart

- Overlap Price Line Effectivity Periods

In the Import wizard, set the Smart Rules Warning Violation Behavior preference to "Accept Objects." That setting allows you to import objects that would otherwise trigger a SmartRules warning.

### 10.4.7 Updating Pending or Released Items and Prices

If you are importing pending or released items and prices in Authoring mode (instead of Redline mode), don't specify a change order (ECO or PCO) if you are importing only items or prices AND you are not updating any fields related to change control. If you are updating any fields related to change control, such as Title Block.Lifecycle Phase, you must specify a change order to import the object.

### 10.4.8 How Import Handles Duplicate Records

For performance reasons, the Import wizard groups records into batches of 100 that it sends to the server for processing. When the server finishes processing a batch, the client sends the next batch of 100 records to the server. The Import wizard does not reject duplicate records, whether they are contained within one batch or in different batches. If a duplicate record is encountered within the same batch, it is combined with the earlier matching record and counted as only one object. If a duplicate record is encountered in two different batches, the count of imported records is incremented by one.