Uploading Data Files

In Developer Studio, you can upload (import) external data files for use in WebFOCUS reporting tools. This functionality enables you to easily create a WebFOCUS file description and data file for use in your reporting application. The Upload Data File option is available from the Master Files folder while developing in the Projects or Data Servers areas.

Procedure: How to Upload a Data File

Right-click the Master Files and select Upload Data File from the New menu, as shown in the following image.

The first page of the Upload Data File dialog box opens displaying three sections that require you to make a selection:
- Select a file
- File Format
- Field Names
Click the Browse button to the right of the Select a file section.
A Choose file dialog box opens.
Navigate to the file location and select Open.
The following image shows the first page of the Upload Data File dialog box.
In the File Format section, select one of the following supported formats for the file you want to import:
- Excel® Spreadsheet (.xls, .xlsx)
- Comma-separated values (CSV)
- Tab-separated values
- Pipe-separated values
In the Field Names section, select one of the following options based on how the data file is created:
- Auto-generate field names (the default)
  Use this option if your data file does not contain field names in the first row. Each data column will be assigned a field name which can then be customized, as described below.
- First row contains field names
  Use this option if your data file contains field names in the first row. Please note in this case the first row will not be included in the uploaded data file. Instead, the Upload File Utility will extract the first row to assign as field names in the Master File created during the upload process. Field names can be customized, as described below.
Click Next at the bottom of the Upload Data File dialog box.
The second page of the Upload Data File dialog box, as shown in the following image, appears for you to review and customize the file conversion options.
For each field in the file you imported, you can select the field column heading and then edit the following attributes for that field:
- Field Name
- Alias
- (Data) Type
- Format
  The default format for numeric fields is Double D12.2. For all other fields, the default format is Alphanumeric A50. During reporting, to ensure that you see all records and in the correct format, adjust the field type and format based on your input data file. Base the maximum value for Format on the maximum length of the fields in your input file.
If you change any of the attributes for a field, click the Apply button to apply the changes and refresh the data.

As of 7703, a new data type supports Alpha Variable (AnV) data types. The maximum length is 4093 characters and the default display value is 256.

Note: When you are selecting a format for Alphanumeric data types, it may take a few seconds for the Format drop-down list to appear.
Once you have reviewed all fields, enter a valid name in the File Name input box (spaces are not allowed) and use the Application Directory menu to select the location where the file should be created. You must have write access to this location.
Click Next to upload the file.
Three files are created in the selected Reporting Server Application:
- Master File
- Access File
- Tab-delimited data file (.TXT)
  This file contains the data from the input file in a tab-delimited format.
Note: If a file with the same file name already exists, a dialog box is displayed prompting you to allow file replacement.

Reference: Upload Data File Considerations

The time required to complete the upload depends on the machine configuration (for example, type of processor, amount of memory, and speed). The Upload utility supports files up to five megabytes. It is recommended that for up to a five megabyte file, you set the max Java memory heap size to two gigabytes on the application server.
If your input file contains empty lines such as a carriage return or a line feed character at the end of the file, they will be preserved in the upload file.
If your input file contains any other empty lines, they will not get included in the uploaded file.
When uploading data from a supported text file, the file must have the same type of data in each field and the same number of fields in every row.
When uploading data from an Excel spreadsheet:
- The data must be arranged in an appropriate tabular format and the spreadsheet must have the same type of data in each column and the same number of fields in every row.
- The data must be stored in the first worksheet of the workbook.
- Cells with formulas and special characters are not supported. For example, if percentages are used the cells should be formatted using the percentage data type and should not have the percentage special character "%" in the cell.
- Excel files must be saved in a binary format. To ensure this, open an Excel file, select File, select Save As, use the Save as type drop-down list to select either Microsoft Office Excel Workbook (*.xls, *.xlsx) or CSV (Comma Delimited)(*.csv), then click Save.