Starting External Data Transfer 

Prerequisites

Before starting external data transfer you must have selected the required data from your source system. Additionally, you must have defined the relevant system settings in Customizing of the respective component.

Ensure that no data record is updated by the external data transfer and simultaneously changed in online mode.

Check the status of the number assignment. Once the last number of a number range has been assigned, the system proceeds with the first number of the number range. This can lead to run-time errors and result in an inconsistent data status.

Number assignment is also performed during a test run, meaning that these numbers can no longer be assigned again during an update run.

Procedure

  1. Choose the respective Menu Path. This brings you to the screen External data transfer: Start transfer.
  2. Enter the name of the transfer program, which is identical to the name of the sender structure.
  3. Enter the physical or logical name (including path) of the (sequential) input file from which the data is to be imported.

    4. Assign a physical or logical name for the output file (including path), the length of which may not exceed 50 characters. We recommend you use the name of the input file, supplemented by the enhancement "err".

    For information on logical file names, see Platform-Independent File Name Assignment.

  4. Specify the file system in which the file to be imported is stored.

    5. If you are importing a UNIX file, choose Application server, for an Excel file from a diskette choose Presentation server.

    If you wish to transfer packed data (category P), you cannot import the file from the presentation server.

    Only files from the application server can be imported in background processing.

  5. Select your required options by choosing Edit.
  6. Decide to which of the listed file categories your data in the input file corresponds. When importing UNIX files, use file category text file, for Excel files, the CSV format.

    7. Note that in the case of TXT, CSV and MC format the system automatically converts category C fields (non-text fields) into capitals.

  7. Choose Number format and select the indicator if the length details apply to your data in the input file. Do not use this indicator if you created the file with the test data editor.

    8. Choose a type of decimal representation.

  8. Specify the date format (only for TXT, CSV, MC format) of the data.
  9. Choosing Settings for repetitive fields allows you to define data records that occur more than once.
  10. Choosing Other settings allows you to choose EBCDIC as data format (as standard, the program assumes the data is in ASCII) and also to make other settings.
  11. You need not make an entry in Check.
  12. To change the block size or the log output, choose Expert mode.

    13. Before performing external data transfer, we recommend you save your settings as variant. This will reduce the required effort if you have to repeat the transfer or if you wish to check whether any errors that possibly occur are the result of incorrect settings.

  13. Choose Execute.

Result

When external data transfer is carried out online (in the foreground), the system displays a message informing you that the data was successfully transferred or that the transfer process was terminated due to errors. Review the log in all cases, even if the data transfer is reported successful, since the detail log can contain warnings, for example.

When data transfer is carried out in the background, you can check the log to see whether the data was successfully transferred or whether the transfer process was terminated due to errors.