Datastore

Introduction

The DataStore screen is opened by clicking on the Dashboard button in the Admin Panel.

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DataStore is the central place in SSP 7 to keep simple data organized. The main goal is to group common lists, like 'countries', or 'languages'. These lists can then be used in forms and processes.

A Parameter is built out of different fields. The fields are set in DataStore, when defining the Parameter.

Datastore Parameters can also have a query as a source.

Existing Parameters

The Existing Parameters page shows a list of all current Parameters. Users will only see the Parameters to which they have the rights to edit, or manage the entries.

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The different columns of the table are - all columnheaders are clickable to sort upon.

• Name : the referral name for this Parameter

  • !! Changing the name of the Parameter will result in errors where it is connected to. Please avoid changing the name.

• Category : the Category ( sub-group) for this Parameter.

• Type : Defines the type of the Parameter ( see more below).

• Last modified date: Shows the last modification date and time.

• Last modified by: Shows the last user who modified the parameter

• Entries : the number of unique entries in the Parameter.

• Export Export the structure of a parameter to an XML file by clicking on this button. This option is useful when a parameter that is linked to a form is moved from test to production environment.

  • Please note that the data entries are also copied over.

• Edit : Change the details of the selected Parameter.

• Delete : Delete the selected Parameter.

  • !! Deleting the Parameter will result in deleting all Entries.

• Import Parameter: Add a new Parameter through importing an XML file. This option is useful when a parameter that is linked to a form that is moved between different environments, e.g. from test to production environment where the parameter must be moved too to the new environment. See more information in chapter Importing an XML file.

Properties

The Properties tab shows a list of all general settings of this Parameter.

The different options of this screen are:

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• ID : The internal system ID for this Parameter, generated by SSP 7. This ID can be used in support requests. • Name: The Name of the Parameter, as it will also appear in the Formbuilder. alert_1818 Changing the name of the Parameter will result in errors where it is connected to. Please avoid changing the name.

• Category: Enter or Edit the Category for this Parameter. The goal of Categories is to organize the Parameters. • Description : enter a description. This value is not shown to end-users, the goal is for administrators to mark the usage of the datastore. • Type: Options :

• Manual Parameter is created, filled & maintained completely in DataStore.

• Filtered Parameter (Client side) is a filter on an existing Parameter. This will result in a subset ( example : cities from country 'Belgium' only). The filtering happens on the user's browser, so keep in mind that the full set of data is sent to the user, before the filter is applied.

  • When 'Filtered Manual Parameter' is selected, a second drop down will show, allowing you to select the Parameter to base this new parameter on. Use the filter option in the Fields tab to set the filter.

• Filtered SM7/SD4.5 Parameter is set up using the SM7/SD4.5 Adapter. This type of Parameter loads content from SM7/SD4.5.

  • When 'Filtered SM7 Parameter' is selected, 2 additional drop down lists will show, allowing you to type the name of the SM7 list and what cache time you want to select.

• OmniTracker Parameter is set up using the OmniTracker Adapter. This type of Parameter loads content from OmniTracker.

• Filtered Person Parameter is a filter of the person's list, based on one or more Filters.

  • The filtered Person parameter can be used to retrieve persons from the internal SSP person list. There are no additional settings to be set on the properties tab. The Fields tab can be used to set additional filters on the list, by making use of the standard fields first name, last name or email address and by making use of the custom person fields that have been set in the adapter settings.

• External Query : Fill a Parameter using a query to an external source, like a SQL or Oracle Database.

  • A external query parameter is a query on an existing database. Any query is possible.

• SAP Parameter is set up using the SAP Adapter. This type of Parameter loads content from SAP.

• Web Service Call : use a defined Webservice to enter the data.

• XML file : use an XML file as source for the entries & fields.

Datastore Cache

The Datastore is used to centrally store parameters, that can be used in fields or processes. A typical example is a drop-down field in a form. The values of that drop-down field are coming from a Parameter in the Datastore. The Datastore is able to retrieve these values from external systems through adapters. For performance reasons, data from external systems is cached. When a parameter is updated in an external system, the new values are not reflected immediately in SSP 7. This is due to the caching mechanism. You can set the Datastore Cache time to maintain the cache for a specified duration of time in hours.

Setting the Cache Time for the Datastore:

1. In the General Settings of the Admin panel select find the section "Cache Duration (hours)."

2. Enter the required value in hours. In general, we advise a setting of 24 hours. When 0 is selected, no caching is done and the data is retrieved from the external system, every time the parameter is accessed in forms or processes.

3. Click SAVE or OK to save the settings.

Reloading the Cache

If necessary, the cache can be reloaded manually.

Click on to perform this action. This will update all values for the parameter without the need to wait for the standard Cache frequency.

Use the button to save the changes and remain on this screen, or use the button to save your changes and return to the Overview screen, or use the button to discard any changes.

Parameters: Fields

The Field tab shows a list of all current Fields of this Parameter.

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The Current Fields group lists all existing fields for this Parameter. No Fields are defined when setting up a Parameter. You can freely add Fields.

Click on to change the Field's details. The settings of each Field appear on the right and can be changed. Click to save the changes for this entry. Click on to remove the Field.

Click on to add a new Field to the list.

The different options of the Add New Field group are:

• Name : The label of the Field, that is used throughout SSP 7

• Type: Set the type of the field. The selected type serves as an input mask for the entries. Any entry that does not comply with the Type will not be accepted by the DataStore. The different options are:

  • Text Field ( 1 Row )

  • Text Area ( 5 Rows )

  • Date

  • Yes / No Radiobuttons

  • Number (Integer)

  • Number (Real)

• Required: specify if this field is required to provide a valid entry

• Default value: set the default value for this field. This is not a required field

• Max Length: set the maximum amount of characters that are accepted. 0 is the default value, and stands for unlimited.

• Description : Enter the description for this field. This entry is only for internal use.

• Storage Field: SSP allows any Parameter to contain up to 50 Fields. Each Field needs to be assigned to a position between 1 and 50). Take into account that each field should have a unique position. In case the position setting of a field is changes, the data will remain on it's old position and needs to be reloaded. All Fields can hold a maximum of 1000 characters. Only fields 26, 27, 28, 29 & 30 can hold a lot more data.

Use the button to save any changes.

When 'Filtered Manual Parameter' is selected, this page will only show a list of all fields of the base Parameter. You can set filters on every of those Fields.

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Options for this page are:

• Label : the name of the Field

• Filter : if a Filter is applied to this Field, it will be shown here.

• Actions : Click on edit to change the Filter's details. Click on delete to remove the Filter.

• Reload the list of Fields of the base Parameter. This is needed to verify if anything was changed to the base Parameter.

To edit a Filter, click on . The following screen appears:

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On the left, all fields of the base Parameter are shown, with the Filters ( if any) and the needed Actions ( Edit & Delete). To edit a Filter, click on .

To set the Field filter, the following options are available:

• Filter Operator: possible selections

  • No filter : use this setting to remove a filter definition

  • Equals : exact match required for a positive hit

  • Is different : only exact matches are not withheld.

  • Starts with

  • Ends with

  • Contains

  • Not Contains

• Filter value : Enter the text that is used to create the Filter, using the selected Operator

• Sequence : When multiple filters are inserted, use the Sequence field to sort the order on how they are applied.

Parameters: Entries

The Entries tab shows a list of all current Entries of this Parameter. By default, the first 3 fields are shown (depending on your version, it is possible only 1 is shown).

You can remove columns from the table by clicking on the delete ( ) icon next to the header's name.

Each column can be filtered by typing the filter into the text field below each columnheader.

The different options of the page are:

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• Add column to show: Select any field to add to the table below. Only un-shown fields are listed. Selections are not stored when re-opening the Parameter.

• Show hidden entries : When an entry is marked as hidden, it is by default not shown. Use this checkbox to add it to the list of entries.

• Current Entries: All existing entries for this Parameter are shown on-screen. Click on clip0443 to see all the data from that entry. Click on edit to change the entry's details. The contents of all fields appear on the right or in a popup (depending on your version of SSP) and can be changed. Click save to save the changes for this entry. Click on delete to remove the entry.

• Add New Entry : the Fields that were created for this Parameter are presented. Click on clip0233 , fill in the fields and click on save to add a new entry to the Parameter.

The field 'Is Hidden' is always present. The default value is 'No', allowing this entry to be shown in SSP 7 forms & processes. If the value is set to 'Yes', the entry will no longer appear in SSP 7. This functionality avoids the need to delete an entry, and thus avoiding the risk of loosing information.

Parameters: Import

The Import tab allows to update a Parameter using Excel uploads.

The different options are - the option needs to be selected before selecting the file.

When entries are compared, it is done against the field 'DATA_ID' and not any of the columns.

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• Delete all current entries, then add new and replace existing : the Parameter is emptied before adding the new entries. Entries that were present before, and are found back, are also edited. Entries that were in the Parameter, but no longer in the uploaded file, are removed.

• Remove entries : when the DataStore finds a match (using DATA_ID) between an existing Entry and the Excel sheet, the Entry will be deleted

• Add new & Replace existing: when the DataStore finds a match between an existing Entry and the Excel sheet, the Entry will be updated. When no match is found, the new Entry is added. Any other existing entry is not changed or removed.

• Add all as new (ignore "data_id" column) : all rows in the excel will be added as new. This can be used when a parameter is copied from one environment to another, then the exported file can be just uploaded and no editing is required. If you want to delete first the current entries, select the first option.

• Only update existing (no new entries are added): when DataStore finds a match (using DATA_ID), the existing Entry is updated. When no match is found, no changes are applied.

Parameters: Automated import

We described on the previous page a manual import. Importing can also be automated, where SSP will look for file(s) on a given location, and use them to maintain the entries of the datastore Parameter.

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The following fields need to be completed:

• Enable : when checked, SSP will look for the files and process them, on the set interval

• Folder : specify the location where the files are placed. Please make sure that the SSP IIS & DB servers have access to this folder if it is a network folder.

• When no files found : Specify what SSP needs to do when no files are present:

  • Skip import : do not perform any action

  • Continue import : perform the action, this will result in an empty Parameter!

• Import action: Specify which actions SSP needs to do when files are present:

  • Delete all current entries, then add new and replace existing : the Parameter is emptied before adding the new entries. Entries that were present before, and are found back, are also edited. Entries that were in the Parameter, but no longer in the uploaded file, are removed.

  • Remove entries : when the DataStore finds a match (using DATA_ID) between an existing Entry and the Excel sheet, the Entry will be deleted

  • Add new & Replace existing: when the DataStore finds a match between an existing Entry and the Excel sheet, the Entry will be updated. When no match is found, the new Entry is added. Any other existing entry is not changed or removed.

  • Add all as new (ignore "data_id" column) : all rows in the excel will be added as new. This can be used when a parameter is copied from one environment to another, then the exported file can be just uploaded and no editing is required. If you want to delete first the current entries, select the first option.

  • Only update existing (no new entries are added): when DataStore finds a match (using DATA_ID), the existing Entry is updated. When no match is found, no changes are applied.

• When import done : what to do after a succesful import:

  • Remove files : delete the imported files

  • Keep files : do not delete the imported files

  • Move files : specify the folder where SSP needs to copy the files after import (for example, a folder called 'successful imports')

• When import failed : what to do when the import of a file failed:

  • Remove files : delete the imported files

  • Keep files : do not delete the imported files

  • Move files : specify the folder where SSP needs to copy the files after import (for example, a folder called 'failed imports')

• Start date & time : Set the timestamp when the automated import needs to start working

• Interval : set the interval when SSP needs to perform the automated import. This can be set in : minutes, hours, days, weeks.

• Next import date & time : the next import date & time is displayed here

• Is importing : this field indicates if the import is currently running. Values are 'yes' or 'No'.

Bottom buttons:

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- Cancel : disregard any changes

- OK : save the changes and return to the Datastore homepage

- Save : save the changes and remain on the same screen

- Save & import on next scheduler run : save the changes, the automated import will run on the set interval, depending on the SSP scheduler (that runs by default every 5 minutes).

- Save & import now: save the changes and run the import immediately.

Parameters: Export

The Export tab allows to export a Parameter using Excel files.

The entries are exported to Excel.

The different options of the Export tab are:

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Click on the link to open the Excel file ('click here').

Depending on the amount of Entries, this page can take some time to load, as the Export is prepared when clicked on the Tab "Export".

You can also export the complete contents of a Parameter, including all settings, to be easily inserted in another environment. Use the Export icon () from the DataStore homepage to perform this action.

Importing an XML file

The Import Structure section allows you to add a new parameter through importing an XML file. In case you need help how to export a parameter to XML file please click here. This option is useful when a parameter that is linked to a form that is moved between different environments, e.g. from test to production environment where the parameter must be moved too to the new environment. When exporting, both the structure and the entries are included. Use the button to browse for the XML file and click the button.

• Select the option Create new parameter (add suffix) if the parameter name already existswhich will create a copy of the parameter name.

• Select the option Recreate if the parameter name already exists if you want to overwrite an existing parameter with the same name.

Datastore update from ticket