Interfacing valid attribute values to Attribute Matrix

Use this procedure to interface a non-Lawson file of valid attribute value ranges and attach them to attributes in Attribute Matrix. This procedure lets you replace or add to the existing value ranges.

The attributes for which you are interfacing values must already be defined in the Attribute Matrix (MX) application. You must run Attribute, Element Load (MX100) to load all the Lawson predefined attributes with their associated elements and object types. If you are interfacing values for user-defined attributes, you must define the attributes using Attribute (MX00.1).

Interface valid attribute values

  1. Prepare the non-Lawson attribute file. The file must be in an importable format such as a comma-separated value (CSV) file, and the file fields must match the order, size, and data type of the fields in the MXVALREL, DBIFMVR interface file. The file layout for MXVALREL, DBIFMVR is available on the Web. See your Lawson representative for more information.
  2. Transfer the non-Lawson file to the Lawson server.

    You can use a standard transfer utility such as ftp or the Lawson program winptxfr. You might have to rename the file to match your machine's requirements. For example, to transfer file MX-Interface.csv on your c: drive to a Unix machine and rename it mxinterf, use this command:

    winptxfr -u mxinterf c:\\ pathname \\MX-Interface.csv

  3. Load the transferred file into the MXVALREL, DBIFMVR file, using this command from the Lawson server prompt:

    importdb productline MXVALREL mxfilename

    where mxfilename is the name of the non-Lawson attribute value file transferred to your machine in step 2.

  4. View and edit the records in MXVALREL, DBIFMVR, using Attribute Valid Value Maintenance (MX60.1). You can add, change, or delete any records.

    Specify this information:

    Run Group

    This field is required to identify the group of records being interfaced.

    Sequence

    This field uniquely identifies a record within the run group.

    Attribute

    This field identifies the attribute for which values ranges are being loaded.

    Note: The attribute must exist in Attribute Matrix before you run the interface program.
    From Value, Through Value

    Depending on the options you select in step 5, the value ranges you specify in this field will replace or be added to the existing value ranges for the attribute.

    Note: You can specify more than one value range for the same attribute.
    Description

    You can specify a description for the value range.

  5. Run Attribute Valid Value Interface (MX160) to load valid attribute value ranges to Attribute Matrix. Specify this information:
    Run Group

    You can run the interface program for one run group . If you leave this field blank, the program interfaces all run groups.

    Attribute

    You can run the interface program for one attribute. If you leave this field blank, the program interfaces all attributes for the run group you selected.

    Update Option

    • Lawson recommends that you first run MX160 with this field set to R (Report Only) to get a report of what records would be interfaced and what records are in error before you update the records.

    • Select L (Load) to do a complete reload of all existing values and a load of new values.

    • Select A (Append) to append the values to existing values.

    • Select U (Update) to ignore existing values that do not overlap with values in the interfaced file, to override values that do overlap, and to add new values.

    Update Type

    • If you select the default value N (No) and some records are in error, none of the records are interfaced. If all the records are valid, all of the records are interfaced. The report prints both the valid and invalid records.

    • If you select Y (Yes), all the valid records are interfaced and deleted from the interface file. Records with errors are not interfaced and can be corrected. The report lists incorrect records.

      Note: This field is not used if the Update Option field is set to R (Report Only).
  6. View the report generated by MX160. If it contains errors:
    1. Correct the records, using MX60.1.
    2. Run MX160 again.
    3. Repeat this step until the report shows no errors.
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