Under normal curcimstances Omnitracker enables import of data in easy and userfriendly way in following formats:

• csv
• Excel file/Access file
• LDAP
• DB connection via ODBC string
• data from another instance of Omnitracker
• data from MSExchange

Usually configuration of import of data takes about 15-30 minutes. Import of data takes 15-60minutes (in assumtion that nobody uses the server during this time);)

However there are special cases, which recently I have discovered at work, that even the quietest administrator may drive crazy, and these special cases will be described in this blogpost.

Here is the list of nontrivial cases with my solutions of them:

• Import of data, which is somehow „unclean”
  1. broken csv file (like EOF in the middle of line)
     • Solution: fix all broken lines in source file; in some cases it is better to convert this specific file to Excel and fix it in Excel.
  2. data in columns, which doesn’t exist in OT (i.e. Company names written once with German umlauts and once as cluster of letters)
     • Solution: Review all company names in OT and fix them with one convention; then fix Company names in source file ; add missing Companies
  3. invalid values in columns (ie. strings in place where date should be presented)
     • Solution: Review all source file and remove/replace suspicious strings with proper date
  4. invalid floating point values
     • Solution: replace in source file all invalid floating point values (sometimes it is only converting ’.’ to ’,’). If it doesn’t help – convert file to Excel and then try to import data
• Import of data to one folder with references to other folder with nonexisting data
  1. Solution: there are 2 possibilities:
     1. create import of data in folder with nonexisting data with adding nonexisting values from source file; then perform import of desired data
     2. create import of data in desired folder with option: 'Creation of objects’ and then choose 'create objects in different folder’
• Import of data to chosen folder with references to other folder with synchronization on referenced field
  1. Solution: disable synchronization of field and import data; after importing enable synchronization and resynchronize references.
• Import of worflow state (when imported state is not initial)
  • Solution: create temp field to which chosen state is imported and create 'before creation’ action, where proper status is set acc. to imported data to temp field.
• Scheduled import by Windows Taks Scheduler – my favourite type recently…It can happen that script, which uses Excel,csv files as source can work properly when running from command line or run on demand via Windows Task Scheduler, but when it runs on scheduled basis it doesn’t run at all (there’s Excel error – component not found)
  • Solution: make sure that Windows Task Scheduler Job is set up as below:

• 

Remark: Review all import errors and fix all of them. After importing data always review data which you imported and if needed correct it manually!!!