Configuring the import task for the Employee Import process

The import task imports the Employee Import CSV file from a file location on the application server into the application import staging table (WBINT_IMPORT). The CSV file is imported and validated if the input validation registry is set to “true”, which is the default setting. Fields are processed into the fields of the import staging table in the order that they appear.

Note: The import task should be scheduled to run before the interface task has been run.

To configure an import task for the Employee Import process:

  1. Select Maintenance > System Administration > Job Scheduler
  2. Click Add Schedule.
  3. Specify this information in the Task section:
    Task Description
    Specify a short description of the task. The name must be unique and descriptive to help users identify the task.
    Task Type
    Select the Java Task option and select Import Task Multi Row from the drop-down list.
    Task Affinity

    Select a scheduler to which this task is assigned. By assigning tasks to various schedulers, the system can distribute the running of tasks across different schedulers, which may be running on different computers.

    A scheduler is the process that runs tasks. Schedulers can be unique and individually named; the Task Affinity names are the names of the schedulers. Schedulers are run separately from the application server; you can have 50 schedulers running for 1 application server. By default, the scheduler is unnamed and runs all tasks without a Task Affinity. If you leave your task's Task Affinity as the default, your task is run on the unnamed default scheduler.

  4. Specify this information in the Scheduled Time section:
    Run at
    Specify the time of day to run the task. Specify this time as AM or PM by entering a or p at the end of the time value, for example, 12:55p.
    Timezone
    Select the time zone from the lookup, if required. By default, this field is populated with your local time zone. If you leave the default in this field, the local time is used.

    For example, if a user in Mumbai, India schedules a task to run at 6:00PM Asia/India time zone (default), the task is run at 6:00PM their local time (GMT+5). If a user in Mumbai, India schedules a task to run at 6:00PM American/New York time zone, the task is run at 6:00PM EST (GMT-5).

  5. Select one of these options in the Scheduling Time section:
    • Once: Schedules only one run on this task.
    • Daily: Schedules runs in intervals of days or seconds. Specify one of these fields:
      • Every … Day(s): Specify the number of days between runs.
      • Interval … Second(s): Specify the number of seconds between runs. The application allows for a minimum of 5 seconds between runs. A value of -1 indicates that the field is not used.
    • Weekly: Schedules runs by day of week. Select the check boxes to indicate on which days of the week the task is run.
    • Monthly: Schedules runs by month and by day of month. Select one of these options:
      • Day ... Of: Specify the day of month to indicate on which date the task will be run on.
      • Of: Select the week of the month and the day of week to indicate which day the task will be run on. For example, you can select second and Thursday to run the task every second Thursday of the month.

      Then select the check boxes for the months of the year the task will be run on.

  6. Specify this information in the Scheduling Range section:
    Start On
    Select the initial date when the task is first run.
    End By
    Select the date when the task is run for the last time. If the task should run indefinitely, leave the field blank.
  7. Click Submit. If the task was successfully scheduled, a confirmation message is displayed.
  8. Click OK. The new import task is displayed in the list on the Job Scheduler Task Schedules page.
  9. Click the Parameters button that corresponds to the import task you added. The Import Task page is displayed.
  10. Specify this information:
    Layout Name
    Select the interface layout to be imported using the lookup. See Defining the interface layout.
    File Name
    Specify the file name, including the absolute path, to the employee data CSV import file. The file must be on the server with the application.
    UTF-8 Encoded
    Select this option if the incoming file is UTF-8 encoded.
    Performs Difference
    Select this option if you want the import task to compare the selected CSV file with the CSV file of the previous run and import only the information that is different into the staging table.

    Two directories (/compare and /new) are created in the same location as the import file.

    When you run an import task, the /old directory is created in the same directory where the CSV file resides. The CSV file is moved into the /old directory with the date and timestamp appended to CSV file name after the import task is executed. This copy of the CSV file is compared to the future CSV file during the next run of the import rask.

  11. Click Submit.
  12. Click OK.