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Generating Simple Wizard-Based Data FlowsLocate this document in the navigation structure

Use

You can use the data flow generation wizard to model a simple data flow from a file, DataSource (all source system types are supported) or InfoProvider. By simply making a few entries, you can create the required objects and assignments in the data flow and then load the data into the InfoProvider.

The following InfoProviders are supported for data flow generation:

  • InfoCube (standard and semantically partitioned)

  • DataStore object (standard, write-optimized and semantically partitioned)

  • InfoObject (attributes and texts)

  • VirtualProvider based on the data transfer process

  • HybridProvider based on a DataStore object

  • InfoSource

Procedure

You are in the Data Warehousing Workbench in the Modeling functional area.

Creating a Data Flow Based on a File

In the context menu of the object, choose Generate Data Flow. The data flow generation wizard guides you through the necessary steps: choose a file, specify file attributes, define the InfoProvider and assign DataSource fields to the InfoObjects.

The wizard supports the CSV file type and the Microsoft Excel formats XLS and XLSX. Fixed-length-ASCII files, containing data arranged in fixed columns without separators, are not supported by the wizard. If this is the case, create the DataSource using either transaction RSDS or the object tree of the file source system in Data Warehousing Workbench. Next start the wizard with the DataSource (see below). Note that the CSV file type supports the use of tabs as separators.

Creating a Data Flow Based on an InfoProvider

In the context menu of the InfoProvider, choose Generate Data Flow. In this case, the InfoProvider is always the target of the data flow to be created. The data flow generation wizard guides you through the necessary steps: choose a file, specify file attributes, and assign DataSource fields to the InfoObjects.

Creating a Data Flow Based on a DataSource

In the context menu of the DataSource, choose Generate Data Flow. The data flow generation wizard guides you through the necessary steps: define the InfoProvider and assign DataSource fields to the InfoObjects.

If you start the wizard using a file source system or an InfoProvider, you can select an existing DataSource to generate the data flow, instead of selecting a file in the first wizard step (as described above). In this case, you can skip the step for specifying the file attributes.

Result

In the last step of the wizard, the system creates and activates the redefined objects in the wizard, a transformation with 1:1 assignments, a data transfer process and an InfoPackage (where required). If you have generated a data flow based on a file, a data transfer process is created for directly loading data into the InfoProvider (without PSA). If you have generated the data flow, based on an existing object, for an SAP source system, the data flow is usually created with an InfoPackage and PSA (if it does not already exist).

You can edit the data flow later on and use more complex transformations than 1:1 assignments, for example, or add an InfoPackage for PSA-based loading.