General

The following table describes the fields that appear on the General tab in the Input window when viewing an input filter.

Definitions

  • Field delimiter: A character that is used to separate the fields in a file.
  • Row delimiter: A character that is used to separate the records in a file.

 

FieldDescription
DescriptionEnter a description of the filter.
Header in fileIf the input file you want to import contains a heading, select this checkbox. When selected, the first line in the file is ignored when the file is imported to LVP.
Filename Pattern

This field appears if the value in the Target field is Transaction.

Enter the pattern of the name of the file you want to import. Ensure that the pattern is unique and that the name of the file contains the same pattern.

  • An asterisk ( * ) in the pattern indicates a wildcard at the beginning or end of the pattern. For example, the pattern *account indicates that the file name ends with account.
  • A question mark ( ? ) in the pattern indicates a character placeholder, regardless of the type of character and its casing (that is, lowercase or uppercase). For example, the pattern ????_* indicates that the file name begins with four characters that are followed by an underscore ( _ ).
  • A pipe ( | ) in the pattern indicates an OR logical separator. For example, the pattern maximum*|minimum*|*NYC indicates one of the following:
    • The file name begins with maximum.
    • The file name begins with minimum.
    • The file name ends with NYC.

 

File Format

Select one of the following options:

  • CSV: Used for importing a comma-separated values (CSV) file.
  • Custom: Used for importing a customized file. When you select this option, the following fields appear:
    • Field Delimiter: If a character is used to separate the fields in the file, enter that character. For example, if the fields in the file are separated by a comma, enter the following character: ,
    • Row Delimiter: If a character is used to separate the records in the file, enter that character. For example, if the records in the file are separated by a line break, enter the following character: \n

    • Quote: If each field in the file is enclosed in quotation marks, enter the following characters: """"

      Suppose that the file contains three records presented in the following manner.

      ""1001""bugs""bunny""""1002""daffy""duck""""1003""minnie""mouse""

      In the file:

      • Each field is enclosed in quotation marks ("1001").
      • Each record is enclosed in quotation marks (""1001""bugs""bunny"").

      In the Quote field, you must therefore enter """"

       

    • Fixed Row Length: If field and row delimiters are not used in the file, enter the fixed length of characters for the record.

      Suppose that the file contains three records presented as follows. 

      1001bugs  bunny1002daffy duck 1003minniemouse

      where:

      • 1001, 1002, and 1003 represent accounts.
      • bugs, daffy, and minnie represent first names.
      • bunny, duck, and mouse represent last names.

      In the file:

      • Field and row delimiters are not used.
      • Account: 1001, 1002, and 1003 contain the same number of characters. The fixed character length of the Account field is 4. 
      • First Name: minnie contains 6 characters; daffy contains 5 characters; and bugs contains 4 characters. To ensure that all the values in the First Name field have the same character length, 1 space is inserted after daffy, and 2 spaces are inserted after bugs. The fixed character length of the First Name field is 6 (maximum character length of the field).
      • Last Name: bunny and mouse contain 5 characters, and duck contains 4 characters. To ensure that all the values in the Last Name field have the same character length, 1 space is inserted after duck. The fixed character length of the Last Name field is 5 (maximum character length of the field).
      • Because spaces are inserted into the field values where necessary, all three records have the same character length, which is 15 (that is, 4 + 6 +5).

      In the Fixed Row Length field, you must therefore enter 15.

  • Fixed Fields with Row Delimiters: Used for importing a CSV file that uses a row delimiter and does not use a field delimiter. If you select this option, the Length column appears in the Mapping section to enable you to enter the total character length for each field.

  • Pipe: Used for importing a .pipe file. This option appears if the value in the Target field is Contact, Account, or Ticketing.
  • TAB Delimited: Used for importing a tab-separated values (TSV) file.
Allow Empty

This field, which is a checkbox, appears if the value in the Target field is Contact, Account, or Ticketing.

If you want the null values in the file to also be imported to LVP, select the Allow Empty checkbox.

Suppose that for a certain account, the Last Name field in the file is blank, whereas the Last Name field for the same account on LVP contains the value, Doe. If the Allow Empty checkbox is selected, when the file is imported, the Last Name field for the account on LVP is updated with the null value. If, however, the Allow Empty checkbox is cleared, when the file is imported, the Last Name field for the account on LVP retains its value, Doe.

Truncate

This field, which is a checkbox, appears if the value in the Target field is Contact, Account, or Ticketing.

If you want the values in the fields in the file to be shortened if the length of the values exceeds the predefined size limit of those fields, select the Truncate checkbox.

Mapping

The following table describes the fields that appear in the Add Mapping or Edit Mapping window when creating or modifying a mapping in an input filter.

FieldDescription
Columns

Select the LVP field that represents a field in the input file.

Suppose that the file contains three records presented as follows. 

account,first name,last name
1001,emily,dickinson
1002,virginia,woolf
1003,mary,shelley

To create a mapping for the first name field, in the Columns field, you must select First Name. Similarly, to add a mapping for the last name field, in the Columns field, you must select Last Name.

Position

Enter the position of the field selected in the Columns field.

Suppose that the file contains three records presented as follows. 

account,first name,last name
1001,emily,bronte
1002,virginia,woolf
1003,mary,shelley

In the Position field:

  • For the Account mapping, you must enter 1.
  • For the First Name mapping, you must enter 2.
  • For the Last Name mapping, you must enter 3.

If the value in the File Format field is Fixed Fields with Row Delimiters, enter the position of the first character of any field value.

Suppose that the file contains two records presented as follows. 

AccountFirstNameLastNamePhone 1
1004 CharlotteBronte 4255550150
10010Mary     Shelley3175550123

The spaces inserted in some field values ensure that all the values in a field have the same number of characters (that is, the character length of the field is fixed).

In the Position field:

  • For the Account field mapping, you must enter 1.
  • For the First Name field mapping, you must enter 6.
  • For the Last Name field mapping, you must enter 15.
  • For the Phone 1 field mapping, you must enter 22.
Total Length

This field appears if the value in the File Format field is Fixed Fields with Row Delimiters.

Enter the fixed length of characters of the field selected in the Columns field.

Suppose that the file contains two records presented as follows.

AccountFirstNameLastNamePhone1
1004 CharlotteBronte 4255550150
10010Mary     Shelley3175550123

 In the file:

  • Account: 1004 contains 4 characters, and 10010 contains 5 characters. To ensure that all the values in the Account field have the same number of characters, 1 space is inserted after 1004. The fixed character length of the Account field is 5 (maximum character length of the field).
  • First Name: Charlotte contains 9 characters, and Mary contains 4 characters. To ensure that all the values in the First Name field have the same number of characters, 5 spaces are inserted after Mary. The fixed character length of the First Name field is 9 (maximum character length of the field).
  • Last Name: Bronte contains 6 characters, and Shelley contains 7 characters. To ensure that all the values in the Last Name field have the same number of characters, 1 space is inserted after Bronte. The fixed character length of the Last Name field is 7 (maximum character length of the field).
  • Because spaces are inserted into the field values where necessary, the two values in each field have the same number of characters.

In the Total Length field:

  • For the Account mapping, you must enter 5.
  • For the First Name mapping, you must enter 9.
  • For the Last Name mapping, you must enter 7.
Transformations

Select the data type of the field selected in the Columns field.

Important

  • When the Target of your input filter is Transaction, Columns, such as Extra_16, Custom_16, Custom_8 do not support the following characters in the text:
    • Apostrophe ( ' )
    • Less than (<)
    • Greater than (>)
    • Ampersand (&)
    • Quotation marks (")

We recommend not to use the above characters in the Input Filter text. For more information about input filters, see Managing an Input Filter.

  • The options that appear in this field depend on the value in the Columns field.
  • The default data type for a given field is specified in the Fields window. For more information, see  Adding and Modifying Custom Fields.
Description

This field is optional.

Enter the description of the field selected in the Columns field.

Default Value

If the field selected in the Columns field is always required in the business workflow, specify the property (for example, Enabled or Disabled) or value that must be displayed in that field if it does not contain a property or value in the file.

If the field selected in the Columns field is a date, and if the value Date is selected in the Default Value field, a calendar appears in the Default Value field to enable you to select a date.