General points of interest

Various actions are performed during a Configuration Data management run, such as filling or updating fields. The most important of these actions are outlined in this list:

  • Text fields

    Texts are imported and created in the destination environment, provided that the destination company's text windows and text groups are present.

  • Dependencies between configuration object sets determine the order of import and export

    Most configuration object sets have dependencies on other configuration object sets. These dependencies determine the order in which configuration object sets and configuration objects are to be imported or exported.

  • Order of configuration objects within a configuration object set

    Equally, the order in which configuration objects within a configuration object set are imported or exported is either mandatory or recommended. The order is mandatory if references between the configuration objects exist.

  • Errors encountered during import

    If an entry or an update fails during the data import, the failed row transaction is canceled, and the error, including the reference to the erroneous row, is reported. This may occur in case of corrupted source data. The import process continues regardless of any failed row transactions.

  • Data Access Layer (DAL) enabled during import

    The DAL is enabled when the data import is performed. Complex creation logic, such as the co-creation of rows in multiple tables, is handled by the DAL logic, thus ensuring that the data integrity is preserved.

  • Generated identifiers

    Rows with primary keys that consist of automatically generated IDs, such as first free numbers, or GUIDs, retain the exported ID during the import. In this way, referential integrity is preserved for imported data, but it is crucially important to create an SOR to prevent data corruption. See Data integrity for details about defining an SOR.

  • Automatically updated dates

    Typically, creation dates and last modification dates are automatically updated when creating or updating data. In general, these dates retain the exported values, thus bypassing automatic updating during the import.

  • Automatically defaulted field values

    Similarly, when new rows are inserted, fields such as status fields obtain initial values. In general, this defaulting behavior is bypassed when rows are imported in a Configuration Data Management run. The Registration Status field, which displays the status of a tax registration, is an example of a status field.

  • Initial destination company setup

    If the destination environment does not yet contain any data, you must import a basic set of configuration object sets to create an initial company setup. If required, you can select one or more individual instances.

    To preserve referential integrity, the order in which the configuration objects are exported or imported is crucial. The table shows the configuration object sets of the basic set and the order in which they must be imported:

    Order Configuration Object Set Includes
    1 Common – Basic Master Data and Classifications (tc0010) Time zones, currencies, units, rate types
    2 Common – Countries and States (tc0020)
    3 Common – Address Components (tc0030) Cities
    4 Common – Addresses (tc0035) The company addresses. This is a minimum requirement.
    5 Common – Parameter Level Classifications (tc0040) Reason codes, availability types, masks
    6 Common – Number Groups (tc0045)
    7 Common – Company Independent Parameters (tc0050) Various basic common parameter tables such as tcccp000, tccom999, and tcmcs000.
    8 Common – Companies (tc0060) Companies (tcemm170), Company Data / Implemented Software Components (tccom000)
    9 Common – Company Dependent Parameters (tc0070) See Specific configuration object and object set details.

  • Parameters

    Configuration objects that relate to LN parameters only include the actual parameter data. History rows are excluded from the export.

  • Fields containing user logins

    Although references to some source-environment user logins may not exist in the destination environment, in general these fields will be imported as such. In this way, the source of the data remains visible.

  • Instance selection

    Instance selection settings are synchronized between configuration objects and related reference retrieval configuration objects.

    The settings used to select one or more instances are automatically reused to select the related reference retrieval instances. Instances are selected using the Configuration Export Overview (ttdcm0563m100) session. See the online help of the Configuration Export Overview (ttdcm0563m100) session on how to select instances.

  • References Retrieval configuration objects sets

    During the import of configuration objects that belong to a References Retrieval configuration object set, empty references from the export file are updated in the destination company. This will also occur if the import is performed in not-overwrite mode. When updating other fields that are not directly related to the referenced fields, the not-overwrite mode is respected. As always, inserts during the import will be performed anyway, irrespective of the overwrite option.