HiFinance
5
SECTION
2.5.5.1 - CREDITOR MASTER-FILE ASCII IMPORT
USAGE: To import a file
containing, all or a subset, of new or changed information to be posted to the
Creditor master-file. The input file is required to be in a very strictly
stylised format so that HiFinance can allocate data to the correct fields on
the correct Creditor records.
DISCUSSION: Make sure that you have a good backup of your data
and that no-one is using HiFinance during the update. HiFinance may not update
the files as you expected and the only completely safe way to correct the
mistake is to restore your data from backup.
The import file required must be called crmf.csv, although case is not important in Windows. This
file must reside in your data directory, eg \HF5DATA\COMP1. Also, the file must not be in use. This is
important because if you have created the file from a spreadsheet
and have saved it but not closed it, the file will still be locked by the spreadsheet program and HiFinance will not be able to open
it.
The input file must be in CSV format. This is a
comma-delimited file (without quotes) with one record per line.
Exporting from Excel, choosing the CVS format, will produce the correct format
automatically. Each alphanumeric field must be left justified. HiFinance will
make no attempt to remove leading spaces (for names, etc.). Numeric fields
should not have any dollar signs or commas. Do not use commas in any
alpha fields. These will be treated as a field break and HiFinance will
not import the row correctly. A blank cell will be treated as a valid entry,
thus a blank alpha cell will clear the corresponding field in the master-file
and a blank numeric cell will reset the corresponding field in the master-file
to zero. Thus if you do not wish to change a field, either delete the row,
delete the column or make sure that the cell contains the same information as
the field in the master-file currently has.
The first line of the input file must contain only
field names. These fields are mostly identical to those exported using CREDITOR
ASCII EXPORT (see SECTION 2.5.4.1). In fact
the easiest way to create the initial file is to export it first using this
program with the headings option turned on. This also has the advantage of
accurately exporting the current information. There are some fields available
in the Import program that are not created in the Export
program. The full list is detailed below. Note the use of the underscore
character instead of spaces. This format must be copied exactly.
CODE
RENAME_TO
COPY_TO
CODE
NAME
ADDRESS_LINE_1
ADDRESS_LINE_2
ADDRESS_LINE_3
POSTCODE
CONTACT
WORK_PHONE
HOME_PHONE
FAX_PHONE
MOBILE_PHONE
EMAIL
DISCOUNT_RATE
DAYS_CREDIT
DOLLAR_CREDIT
CREDITOR_GROUP
OTHER_KEY1
OTHER_KEY2
OTHER_KEY3
PAYMENT_WITHHELD
PAYMENT_PRIORITY
GST_TYPE
ABN
MINIMUM_ORDER
PRINT_INVOICES
PRINT_REMITTANCES
MINIMUM_ORDER
ACCOUNT_NUMBER
BSB
NOTES_P1
NOTES_P2
NOTES_P3
NOTES_P4
NOTES_P5
NOTES_P6
NOTES_P7
NOTES_P8
NOTES_P9
NOTES_P10
NOTES_P11
NOTES_P12
NOTES_P13
NOTES_P14
NOTES_P15
NOTES_P16
NOTES_P17
NOTES_P18
NOTES_P19
NOTES_P20
Several other fields are available for specific implementations
and have no meaning outside these parameters.
SPIRITS
DIESEL
TIME_ZONE
RED_FLAG_SALES
RED_FLAG_UNITS
RED_FLAG_VALUE
PRODUCT_ALLOWED
AUTO-SIGHT_TAXI
ACCEPT_TAXI
TAXI_REBATE (This actually consists of multiple fields
representing all the Taxi/Discount cards and their rebate to the sites, for
each fuel, eg AANT_REBATE_P10)
Notes:
1)
The order of the columns is not important but they must not appear more
than once.
2)
CODE must appear, as it is used to link the row
to the Creditor Code as it currently exists on the Creditor master-file.
3)
Apart from CODE, you must have at least one more column.
4)
RENAME_TO is only required if you wish HiFinance to change
the current Creditor code to another code. The new code must not exist and the old
code will not exist after the import program has run. If you wish to switch two
codes, it is possible to do this by entering three lines. The first row will
change one of the codes to a dummy value, the second row will rename the second
Creditor code to the first code and the third row will rename the first code to
the second, eg ONE ®
XXX; TWO ®
ONE; XXX ®
TWO.
5)
COPY_TO is used when you wish to duplicate Creditor items.
Sometimes you have a group of codes that you wish to enter again, eg for export. This option can have other fields changed at
the same time but it will change the original code’s fields, so normally this
option is only used by itself.
6)
RENAME_TO and COPY_TO can be used together, but
care should be taken to achieve the results you expect.
7)
OTHER_KEY’s are replaced by whatever you have defined it as
in SYSTEM DEFAULTS.
8)
Some fields are only relevant to specific installations.
9)
If you try to import the raw file form the ASCII EXPORT program,
it will not read in successfully unless you choose to export with comma
delimiters between fields and without quotes around fields (numeric and
alphanumeric). This can be set in the options part of the export program.
Normally this is not the way this function is used, the purpose of this
function being to manipulate the file in a spreadsheet
program and importing the result.
10)
Most fields are not verified on import. You must enter valid
information. For the field that are validated, invalid data will be ignored.
When the program starts, it will firstly check whether
the import file exists and is accessible. Having established this, HiFinance
will read the first line of the file and check for its correctness. If no
obvious errors are found, you will be asked to confirm that you have made a
backup and then you will be asked to confirm that you wish to proceed.
HiFinance will then read import lines one at a time
confirming firstly that the CODE field corresponds to a Creditor code and then
renaming, copying or just replacing the fields and records, as defined by the
columns you have chosen. If an invalid or blank row is encountered, it will be
skipped. HiFinance will continue processing until it reaches the end of the
import program. Finally the import file will be renamed to crmf.old (to stop you from accidentally rerunning the
program with used data) before returning you the MAIN MENU.
