AX1284

Executing imports in development mode

You can execute an import in development mode, in order to test import settings or troubleshoot an import issue. In development mode, all import steps are performed except for the last step that saves the temp table data to the destination table.

When executing in development mode, additional options are available:

  • You can pause the import after certain transformation steps are performed, and view the data in the temp table as it exists after performing the step. Reviewing this data can help you determine if a particular transform is working as you expect.

  • For delimited file imports, you can limit development mode processing to a certain number of rows, for more efficient testing and troubleshooting.

IMPORTANT: When an import is run in development mode, all of the steps in the Transforms tab are performed, including any steps that modify tables other than the temp table. If you do not want these steps to occur during testing, then you should disable the step on the Transforms tab before executing the import in development mode.

To run an import in development mode:

  1. Do one of the following to open the import for execution, depending on whether you need to access the full import settings:

    • Open the full Import Wizard: On the Axiom tab, in the Administration group, click Imports > ImportName > Edit. Then in the Import Wizard, go to the Execute tab.

      Using the Import Wizard, you can switch between the Execute tab and other tabs to view and edit the import settings as needed, and then run the import again.

    • Open in execute-only mode: On the Axiom tab, in the Administration group, click Imports > ImportName > Execute.

      This opens a special Execute Import dialog that only displays the import execution options and controls. Use this mode if you only need to execute the import and you don't need to review or edit any import settings. This is the only mode available to users who have execute-only permissions to the import.

    NOTE: In systems with installed products, these features may be located on the Admin tab.

    TIP: You can also open imports for execution using Axiom Explorer or the Explorer task pane. If you have read/write or read-only access to the import, the full Import Wizard opens. If you have execute-only permission to the import, then the Execute Import dialog automatically opens when you access the import from the Imports Library.

  2. In the Execute Import dialog (or the Execute tab of the Import Wizard), select Execute in development mode.

    Once development mode is enabled, the Development Mode Options section becomes available.

  3. Select the Development Mode Options as needed:

    Option

    Description

    Limit the number of rows imported to

    Limits the development mode processing to a specified number of rows. When testing the import, you may only need to process a handful of rows in order to verify that the import is working as expected. Using a smaller number of rows speeds import processing.

    After selecting this option, enter a number of rows from 1 to 1000 into the box. By default, the row limit is 1000.

    NOTE: This option is only available when the import source is a delimited file. If the import source is a database, you can limit the number of rows by setting a temporary WHERE clause in the SQL Select Statement.

    Pause after specified transforms and display current temp table data

    Specifies whether pauses are honored during development mode processing.

    • If enabled, then Axiom Software honors the pause settings on the Transforms tab. If a step has Pause enabled, then the import pauses after performing the step, and displays the temp table in the View Data dialog. When the dialog is closed, the import continues to the next step. See Troubleshooting transforms using pause.

    • If disabled (the default setting), then the import continues without pausing, regardless of whether any steps are flagged with Pause.

    NOTE: This option is only available in the Execute tab of the full Import Wizard, and only if you have read/write access to the import.

    NOTE: Development mode and its options only apply to the current import session—these options are not saved in the import settings.

  4. Click Execute to run the import in development mode.

The import is executed and status messages display in the Execution log as normal. If pauses are enabled, the import pauses at the designated steps to display the View Data dialog. After closing the dialog, click Continue to continue processing. Once all transform steps have been executed, the import stops before saving data to the destination table.

Troubleshooting transforms using pause

When running an import in development mode, you can configure the import to pause after performing certain transform steps, and view the data in the temp table.

To configure an import to pause after a transform:

  • On the Transforms tab, select the Pause check box for the transform.

  • On the Execute tab, select Execute in development mode and then select Pause after specified transforms and display current temp table data.

When the import is executed in development mode with pauses enabled, it continues until it reaches a transform step that is configured to pause. After completing that step, the import pauses and shows the current temp table data within the View Data dialog.

Example View Data dialog

Using this dialog, you can view and filter the data to help determine whether the transform is working as expected. When you are done viewing the data, click Close to return to the import. At this point the import is still paused. You can click Continue to continue the import, or Stop to stop it.

By default, the View Data dialog shows the first 500 rows of data in the temp table. This row limit is controlled by the ETLMaxRows system configuration setting. If desired, you can filter the data to make it easier to find specific records you might be looking for. To do this, click Show Filter in the top right corner of the View Data dialog. This enables the following filter options for the dialog:

Item Description

Filter

Type a filter to limit the data shown in the dialog. The filter must use column-only syntax, using a column name in the temp table. For example:

Dept=45000

Where Dept is a column in the temp table.

Row count

Type a number to limit the data to a certain number of rows. The maximum number of rows that can be shown is 5000.

Columns

Select or clear columns to limit the temp table columns that display in the dialog. You can use the All or None options to select or clear all columns at once.

If you clear a column, then that column cannot be used in the filter.

NOTE: At least one column must be selected to display. If no columns are selected, then all columns will display.

After modifying the filter options, click Refresh to filter the data in the dialog using your selections. To clear your filter options and return to the default dialog, click Hide Filter.

Example View Data dialog with filter options

See also