Creating Local Providers: File as Source

Select File

1. Select a file to upload to the workspace. The system can process text-based files containing comma-separated values (CSV files) and Microsoft Excel files.

2. You can specify the header that contains the field names.

3. Enter the first data row if it deviates from the default setting (in the default setting, the first data row is in row two).

4. For CSV files: Make settings for how separators, decimals, date and field separators are displayed. The field separator sign can be used to set special characters in the date field. If the field separator is contained in the date itself, it has to be set twice in the date field.

   Note

   If you CSV file is very large, and no field separator signs are required, you should remove the ' " ' in order to improve load performance.

   For the date, the format that the dates in the file are in has to be taken. During uploading, the date for storage in the analytic index is converted to the external format.

   Note

   With Excel files, the formatting generally taken from the file. We therefore recommend formating the columns accordingly in Excel files.

5. By choosing Display Data, you can see where the first data row begins, and how many headers there are.

6. Enter a name and a description for the provider you want to create. The file name must begin with the prefix of the workspace.

7. Choose Continue.

Change Columns

1. The system has analyzed the data.

   For Excel files, the system has analyzed the formatting of the first data row and determined the data types from this. If a key figure has been formatted without decimal places in the Excel file, the system proposes INTEGER as the data type.

   For CSV files, see: Data Analysis for CSV Files

   Deselect the fields that will not be needed later on. If you have specified a header, the field names are taken from this row.

2. If you have not specified a header, the field names are generated by the system. You can overwrite these field names.

3. The system has generated proposals for the field types of the individual columns. It proposes type Characteristic with the following data types: Character string, date or time.

   You have to flag key figures yourself. The system then identifies the data types Integer, Decimal or Floating Point Number. The data type 'decimal' always has three decimal places. The data type 'floating point number' is suggested for local data with several decimal places. You can either accept this suggestion or switch to 'decimal' (note that selecting 'decimal' means that values are truncated after the third decimal place).

   You can also select Character String with Leading Zeros or InfoObject as the type. If you assign an InfoObject, the internal format of the key figure is used. You can then run the conversion routine for this InfoObject and compare the values in the file with the master data. To do this, set theUse Conversion Routine or Check Master Data flag under Details for the column in question.

   If you have created a local characteristic, you can select this characteristic instead of the original InfoObject. This means for example, you can define values for new key values of the local characteristic.

1. By choosing Simulate Upload, you can view the data cleansing statistics. You can also view details of any errors that have occurred.

2. For rows containing errors, you can then select various activities in Column Cleansing. To do this, select the row containing errors and choose Add.

   The following activities are then available under Activity:

   • Initialize values with conversion errors: As the value cannot be converted into the specified type for the column, the value is initialized
   • Delete rows with conversion errors: As an error occurred during conversion, the whole row is not uploaded
   • Replace value: The value is replaced in the column with a user-defined value.

3. If you have specified one or more activities and then choose Propose Type, your wishes are complied with under Column Cleansing. This allows you to correct an incorrectly proposed type.

   Example If one or more incorrect values are recognized as character strings, a column is classified as a characteristic column, even if it actually contains mainly numeric key figures. In this case, you cannot set the type of the column to Key Figure. You can then use Column Cleansing to replace incorrect values with zero for example. By choosing Propose Type, you can perform column cleansing and set the column type to Key Figure.
   Note The cleaning settings are saved for the provider and used again next time it is loaded.

4. Choose Continue.

1. If the Planning Applications Kit is activated, the For Planning flag is available for selection. By choosing For Planning, you can make the provider usable for BW Integrated Planning. When the file is uploaded, an input-enabled query is automatically created. More information: Using Providers for BW Integrated Planning

2. Choose Attach to reload a local provider and attach the new data to the old data.

3. By choosing Delete Duplicates, you can make the system delete all duplicate rows in the provider.

4. Choose Upload and Activate Provider.