The Import engine allows administrators to collect data from various data sources and then map this data into relevant tables.

The SimpleOne import engine supports:

• different data source types
• different file formats (if you choose File as the data source)

You can choose the data source, place the data from it to the temporary table (also can be called "an import set"), and after that, with the transform maps and the field maps, you can map the data from the source to the target table.

You can find a graphical procedure view of the import process in the diagram below. A more detailed description is provided further in this article.

Key concepts

Import sources

Creating an import source is necessary to load raw data into the system for further processing and transformation. You can set up an import source with different data source types and file formats.

1. Navigate to Import → Import Sources.
2. Click New and fill in the fields.

3. If the File type is selected, click the attachment icon   and attach the file you need.

   You can attach JSON, XML, or Excel files.

   
   

4. Click Save or Save and Exit to apply the changes.

Import Source form fields

[
  {
    "property": "value"
  },
  {
    "property": "value"
  }
]

After saving, the following UI actions appear on the import source form. They are responsible for further import processing.

After loading data into the import source, saving the record and calling one of the data loading actions, a new record appears in the Import Sets related list. 

Using JSON format

You can use files containing data formatted in JSON as an import source. In this case, make sure that the files follow the criteria below:

1. JSON files should be valid. Use the RFC 8259 document as the guideline.
2. Data types available to use in JSON structure are listed below. Dot-walking is not supported.

  {
    "top500": 1,
    "name": "More",
    "sector": "Oil and gas"
  }

Result: one element. The table has top500, name, sector fields and contains one record.

[ 
 {
    "top500": 1,
    "name": "More",
    "sector": "Oil and gas"
  },
  {
    "top500": 2,
    "name": "Nevermore",
    "sector": "Oil and gas"
  }
]

Result: an import set with the related table is created. The table has top500, name, sector fields and contains two records.

// Path for Each Row == exportField
{
   "exportField":[
      {
         "top500":1,
         "name":"More",
         "sector":"Oil and gas"
      },
      {
         "top500":2,
         "name":"Nevermore",
         "sector":"Oil and gas"
      },
	  {
		"top500": 4,
		"name": "Givememore",
		"sector": "Oil and gas",
		"more_info": "https://instance.example.com/company/34"
	  }
   ]
}

Result: an import set with the related table is created. The table has top500, name, sector fields and contains three records.

Table and column name transformation in the source of import

When converting data for import, some changes occur to the system names of columns and tables that appear in the Import Set Table Name field of the Import Sources (sys_import) table. Namely, the names are transliterated and converted according to the following rules:

1. The system changes all Cyrillic letters to the Latin ones according to their ordinal number in the list of the Latin symbols. See below how the transliteration is done:
   Cyrillic symbols [
           'а', 'б', 'в', 'г', 'д', 'е', 'ё', 'ж', 'з', 'и', 'й', 'к', 'л', 'м', 'н', 'о', 'п',
           'р', 'с', 'т', 'у', 'ф', 'х', 'ц', 'ч', 'ш', 'щ', 'ъ', 'ы', 'ь', 'э', 'ю', 'я',
           'А', 'Б', 'В', 'Г', 'Д', 'Е', 'Ё', 'Ж', 'З', 'И', 'Й', 'К', 'Л', 'М', 'Н', 'О', 'П',
           'Р', 'С', 'Т', 'У', 'Ф', 'Х', 'Ц', 'Ч', 'Ш', 'Щ', 'Ъ', 'Ы', 'Ь', 'Э', 'Ю', 'Я'
       ];
   Latin symbols [
           'a', 'b', 'v', 'g', 'd', 'e', 'io', 'zh', 'z', 'i', 'j', 'k', 'l', 'm', 'n', 'o', 'p',
           'r', 's', 't', 'u', 'f', 'h', 'ts', 'ch', 'sh', 'shch', '\'', 'y', '\'', 'e', 'yu', 'ya',
           'A', 'B', 'V', 'G', 'D', 'E', 'Io', 'Zh', 'Z', 'I', 'J', 'K', 'L', 'M', 'N', 'O', 'P',
           'R', 'S', 'T', 'U', 'F', 'h', 'Ts', 'Ch', 'Sh', 'Shch', '\'', 'Y', '\'', 'e', 'Yu', 'Ya'
   ];
   
   
2. All symbols that are relevant to the regular expression /[^A-Za-z0-9_]+/u are substituted with an underscore _  symbol. That is, all symbols except capital and lowercase letters, digits, and the underscore are substituted with _ .
3. A system column name is split into parts by an underscore _. Then, the parts are connected with an underscore _ . For example, the name _DOC_____1 is transformed to doc_1 as a result.

4. The current system name of the column is transformed to lowercase.

   If a column name is empty, then, when converting, the system sets the following name imp_invalid_column + column number. The column number is determined by its order in the table. The numbering starts from 0. For example, imp_invalid_column0.

   
   

5. The imp prefix is added to the name, for example, imp_client_list.

Import sets

Generally, an import set should be created automatically based on the raw data uploaded into the import source. Import sets are intended to be a staging area for records imported from the data sources.

Import Set form fields

Table structure: (top500 | name | sector)

Import Set records are in the parent-child relationship with the Import Set Rows table records.

Transform maps

A transform map is a set of field maps. In this set of field maps, correlations between fields of the import set table and fields of the target table are specified.

Each import operation requires at least one transform map that specifies the relationship between the import set table and the target table.

After creating the first import set, create a related transform map. To do this, complete the steps below:

1. Click View Transform Map on the import source form you are configuring.
2. In the message that appears, follow the link Create Transform Map.
3. Fill in the fields in the form that appears.
4. Click Save or Save and Exit to apply the changes.

Transform Map form fields

Field Maps

Field maps are used to define the correlation between fields of the import set table and fields of the target table. For this, you need to determine the values from the source table that will be added to the target table.

To create a field map, complete the steps below:

1. Navigate to Import → Transform Maps.
2. Open the transform map you need to configure.
3. Click Create field map.
   • The Field Mapping widget appears. See the screenshot in the table below.
4. Configure field mapping within the current transformation process.
5. Click Set to save the changes or Cancel to discard the changes.

Field Map form fields

Run a transform

1. Navigate to Import → Import Sets.
2. Open an import set you need to transform. Make sure that the state is Loaded.
3. Click Transform.

As a result, the message Import is completed appears. Imported data will be transferred into the target table.