Import (ttstpssiimp )

Use this session to specify the settings for import of data from Excel.

Ensure that both the Excel file and the session contain all the main table key fields. Also ensure that the Search dialog of the session contains all main table key fields to identify the row. For each row in the Excel sheet, Import from Excel uses the fields of the Search dialog to determine whether a row is already present. If the row is present, it is updated; otherwise it is inserted.

Note: When importing from Excel, we recommend that you use the primary table index / sort by order in the session. If you use another index, the desired record may not be found, so that it looks like the import does not work properly.

If you change the value of a key field in the Excel sheet, the changed row corresponds to a different record in the session.

Import from Excel typically occurs on the current session. However, for several LN tables, an overview session and a details session exist. For example, Countries (tcmcs0510m000) and Countries (tcmcs0110s000). In these situations, the import process can be instructed to use the details session to import the data. In that case, the import file must contain all required fields of the details session.

All fields that are imported must be visible in the session to which the data is imported.

Fields can be made visible on these sessions using Personalization --> Personalize Form.

The details session to which the data is imported when importing from the Overview is the same session that is started when opening (drill-down) a record in that Overview session. That is not necessarily the Details Session on which all fields are visible by default.

Note: 

When you import data from Excel, the same restrictions apply as when you add or update records directly in the session:

  • If you cannot change the value of a field interactively in the session, the import process also cannot change the value of that field.
  • If you cannot add records in the session, the import process also cannot add records.

If the import is started in an overview session that has a details session, these restrictions apply to the details session.

For each row in the Excel sheet, the import process uses the fields of the Search dialog box to determine whether the row is already present. If the row is already present, it is updated. If the row is not present, it is inserted.

An import can fail because of these reasons:

  • The Excel file is not created with Export to Excel.
  • The Excel file was created with Export to Excel, but altered incorrectly.

    Change only the header that contains cells. Specify values of the correct type. Do not specify a string if the value must be a number.

  • The Excel file was too large to process.

    You can split the rows over multiple Excel files and try again.

Header-lines sessions

For some sessions that consist of a header and a lines section, only the header section has an import option. For these sessions, you can import data across header data, also called views. To do so, clear the Import Only in This View check box.

For some other sessions that consist of a header and a lines section, both header and lines have an import option. For these sessions, the import process in the lines section can only import data for the current header data.

Importing data from MS Excel

  1. In Infor Ming.le, start the session in which to import the data. Select Actions > Export and Import > Import. The Import (ttstpssiimp) session starts.
  2. Specify the required settings and click Import. See the session help.
  3. In the import dialog box, you must specify the location of the Excel file. You can copy this location from the File tab in Excel.

Verifying the result of an import

The result of an import is stored in columns A through C in the Excel import file. To verify the result of the import, view the content of these columns. Column A contains the error condition. Column B and C contain the detailed import error. If there is no error, column A contains “OK”, and column B and C are empty.

Actions/Reference menu

These options are available:

Import
Starts the import process.
Save Defaults
To save the settings as defaults for the session where the export was initiated.
Get Defaults
When this session starts, saved defaults are retrieved automatically.
Browse
Starts a dialog box where you can select the folder on the client PC where the import file is stored.
Clear Defaults
Deletes all settings.

Related information

For details about the MS Excel integration, see the Infor LN UI User Guide.

Field Information

Import File

The folder on the client PC where the import file is stored.

Action to be Taken After an Error Occurs

This field specifies the behavior of the import process if an error is detected.

Allowed values

Stop Stop further processing.
Continue Mark the current imported row as ‘ERROR’ and continue with the next row.
Prompt Ask the user what action should be taken.
Open After Import

This field indicates whether the import file is opened after the import finishes. An additional column, containing the import results, is added in the import file.

Allowed values

Yes After the import, the import file is opened in Excel.
No After the import, the import file will not be opened in Excel.
Prompt After the import, a question is displayed whether the import file must be opened in Excel.
Replace or Append Text

This field indicates whether existing text in a row is replaced by, or extended with, text from the corresponding row in the import file.

Allowed values

Replace If the existing row contains text, this text is replaced by the text in the corresponding row in the import file.
Append If the existing row contains text, the text from the corresponding row in the import file is added directly after the existing text.

The above only applies if the Overwrite Existing Records check box is selected.

Overwrite existing records allowed

This field specifies the behavior of the import process when inserting a record which is already present.

If this check box is selected, the current record is overwritten with new values.

If this check box is cleared, the current record is skipped.

Add new records allowed

This check box indicates whether the import is allowed to add new records.

If this check box is selected, inserting records is allowed.

If this check box is cleared, inserting records is not allowed. Only updates of records are possible.

Import Only in This View

This check box indicates whether the import process, which inserts and updates records, only applies to the current view.

If this check box is selected, records are only inserted and updated in the current view. If the Excel file contains a record from another view, a message is displayed asking to import the data in the current view.

If this check box is cleared, records are inserted and updated in all views that are present in the Excel file.