1. General

Importing data allows you to bring information from external sources, such as files from other systems, into Workplace Management. This process involves:

1. Preparing the data to meet application requirements.

2. Uploading the data.

3. Validating for errors.

Once imported, the data is consolidated into a single platform and becomes available for various tasks like managing processes, generating reports, or conducting analyses. This ensures your information is organized and ready for use.

2. Technical background information

Workplace Management provides default import options for all relevant (master) data objects. These imports, technically referred to as ‘FtpConnector’, allow bulk data to be imported or exported, either manually or periodically. This article focuses specifically on manually importing (master) data using the default import options. Other methods, such as periodic imports from an SFTP location, are not covered here.

An import consists of one or more mappings, technically referred to as ‘FieldMap’. Each mapping defines:

1. The object to be imported.

2. The relationship between the column headers in the import file and the corresponding fields in Workplace Management.

Importantly, each mapping is related to only one object.

Example:

The following objects are relevant for the ‘own employees and users’ import:

• Object: Person

  • Personal information such as first name and last name.

• Object: Contact

  • Contact information such as phone number and email address.

• Object: SystemUser

  • System user details such as the username.

• Object: SystemGroupContact

  • Authorization details such as specific access rights assigned to the system user.

In this example, the default import ‘own employees and users’ will consist of 4 mappings, one for each object:

Open

Own employees and users import

Open

Mappings linked to the 'own employees and users' import

Depending on the import, there could be 1 mapping or 10 mappings linked to the import. Each mapping imports a part of the applicable object(s).

More information about the settings of the import and linked mappings will be applicable when customizing, see: Creating imports.

3. Available default imports

In Workplace Management, the default available imports can be used to import (master) data in bulk. This data can be used in all relevant modules, used by the customer. For example, the building and area data is used in modules like ‘Reservations’ and ‘Requests’.

Module-Based Availability

Default imports are automatically enabled based on the activated modules. When a module is activated, its associated default imports are displayed directly within the module activation interface. All (generated) default imports can also be found via the administrators startboard:

From the 'Default imports' menu on the administrators startboard all activated default imports can be found. From this overview, the imports can be deleted and regenerated. When regenerating a default import, it will always fetch the latest version of the import.

Via the 'Email import templates for selected items' the applicable template files can be send to the user. More on the templates explained below.

When opening an import, more information is directly shown on the ‘General’ page. The ‘Details' tab is only visible for level 3 administrators. On this tab, more details of the import and more technical settings are visible. The 'Log’ tab shows when the import has been executed.

4. Templates

Via the button 'Download template', the applicable template is directly downloaded to your computer. This file is an Excel file with multiple sheets. The import template includes a sheet with instructions, one or more sheets to fill in the data to be imported and possibly more sheets to enter client specific details e.g. custom area categories.

Via the 'Default imports' overview on the administrators startboard, it is possible to directly email the import templates of the selected imports to yourself. This email can then be forwarded to the customer, if desired.

More information on how to fil in the template, see: How to use the import templates.

5. Importing data

The import templates are .XLSX files, which are send to the customer to fill in all relevant (master) data. Once the customer is done filling in the import file(s), the customer sends back the files to the implementation consultant to import the data.

Before the data can be imported, the implementation consultant:

• Opens the file(s) and confirmed all required data filled in (e.g. name of the building)

• Opens the file(s) and confirmed all data filled in is according to the instructions (e.g. selected the correct option from a drop-down list)

• Verifies that no relevant columns have been deleted

• Saves the sheet with data to be imported as a .CSV file (for all sheets that contain data to be imported)

• Verifies the field delimiter in the CSV file corresponds with the field delimiter of the user importing the data

If the file is filled in correctly by the customer, the process can continue. Via the 'Upload import file' button, the import can be executed.

More information about the file to be uploaded, is shown on the top of the screen:

The .CSV file to be imported, can be dragged and dropped in the dedicated location (grey block), or the file can be searched via the 'Selected files' option.

As soon as the file is dropped, the message is shown that the import is executed in the background. A background task is executed (as it states) in the background, while the user can continue with other things in the meantime.

Via the icon next to the username in the top right corner of the screen, any yet to start, ongoing and finished imports (background tasks) can be found:

Once the import is finished, the log files are generated and shown in the include 'Generated import documents (last 24 hours)'. This include shows log files which show the correctly imported data and possibly errors that might occurred. More information about these log files in the next chapter.

6. Log files for validation and debugging

By default the imports log files, generated after importing data, are shown via the include 'Generated import documents (last 24 hours)'. As described, the documents shown here are not older than 24 hours.

After the import is completed, one or more log files are shown:

• The file which was uploaded

• A log file which indicates per line what has been imported

• A log file with all errors

If only the first 2 files are shown, that means that no errors occurred and the data was imported correctly, or there was nothing to update in already imported data.

If the error file is also shown, then the import was (partly) unsuccessful. With this file, the debugging process can begin to see what is the reason the errors occurred. Below an overview of the most common error/warning messages.

6.1 Most common error messages

Example error log 1:

• There is no language with the identifier 'ent', so it could not be linked to the imported organization

• There is no address with the combined identifier address: Groningensingel, nr: 11, addressLetter: C, postalReference: 6836 EA, so it could not be linked to the imported organization

• There is no organization with the identifier ‘ORGANIZATION-7’ to be linked as the parent organization of the imported department

The above errors are considered warnings. The object itself is imported, but specific fields (e.g. language, address and parent organization) could not be set.

Example error log 2:

• The area import is executed before the building import. When importing the areas, the corresponding building (which is part of the key to import areas) cannot be found.

This is considered an error, which results in the areas not being imported.