Contents of the Import Purchase Orders Screen

Identification

Use the fields in this block to create a new parameter ID or to retrieve a previously saved parameter ID. A parameter ID represents a set of screen selection parameters. After you have saved a parameter ID and its related parameters, you can retrieve them using Query.

You can use the retrieved parameters to produce reports and run processes more efficiently and with greater consistency. The saved parameters are also useful and necessary when you want to run the process as part of a batch job. Many users save a unique set of parameters for each different way they run a report or process. When you select a previously saved parameter ID or parameter description, the associated saved screen selection parameters automatically display as selection defaults. The page setup and print options, if there are any, are also included in the saved parameter ID. You can change any of the associated selection defaults as necessary.

Field	Description
Parameter ID	Enter, or click to select, a parameter ID of up to 15 alphanumeric characters. Choose characters for your parameter ID that help identify the type of selections you made on the screen, such as PERIOD or QUARTERLY. When you save your record, all the selections made on the screen are stored with the parameter ID. Later, you can retrieve the parameter using Query. You can use the parameter to run the process more efficiently because you can select the parameter ID with its previously defined screen selections. After the default selections display on the screen, you can override the defaults.
Description	Enter, or click to select, a parameter description of up to 30 alphanumeric characters.

Field

Description

Parameter ID

Enter, or click to select, a parameter ID of up to 15 alphanumeric characters. Choose characters for your parameter ID that help identify the type of selections you made on the screen, such as PERIOD or QUARTERLY.

When you save your record, all the selections made on the screen are stored with the parameter ID. Later, you can retrieve the parameter using Query.

You can use the parameter to run the process more efficiently because you can select the parameter ID with its previously defined screen selections. After the default selections display on the screen, you can override the defaults.

Description

Enter, or click to select, a parameter description of up to 30 alphanumeric characters.

Options

Note: The input file layout may contain fields that are available only in Costpoint Advanced. If you are using Costpoint Essentials, these fields are excluded from the import process and may be left blank or null when you create the input file.

Input File

Field	Description
File Location	Enter the location of the input file you are importing. There are two ways to do this: In the File Location field, enter, or click to select, the alternate file location where the input file is located. Alternate file locations are set up in the Manage Alternate File Locations screen. or From the Global Menu, click Process > File Upload. On the File Upload Manager dialog box, click Browse and use the dialog box to select the file you want to import. If you select the Overwrite? check box, Costpoint will overwrite any file of the same name that already exists in the Costpoint database. Click Upload when you are finished. If you use this method, leave the File Location field blank. For more information about the File Upload Manager, see the File Upload Manager topic in the Getting Started Guide. Note: International users: The data can contain non-English characters if they are in the ASCII character set. Before creating an ASCII text (.TXT) file, be sure that your keyboard language is set to "EN" (United States English) to prevent the application from generating errors. The file must be an ASCII fixed-length file.
File Name	Enter, or click to select, the name of the file to be processed.
File Format	Select the File Format from the drop-down list. The valid options are: Delimited: Select this if each field in the input file is separated by a comma or other user-defined symbol, as indicated in the File Delimiter field. You do not need to include a comma (or user-defined symbol) after the last field entry in the input file. Fixed Length: Select this if each field in the input file is of fixed-length and must be filled with either an appropriate character or a space to the specified width.
File Delimiter	If the input file is Delimited, you must choose the delimiter. The default is Comma. To use another delimiter, select Other from the drop-down list and enter a single character in the Other Delimiter field on the right. Note: Do not embed the delimiter in any of the input fields. When the application encounters the declared delimiter, it is interpreted as the end of the input field.

Performance Analysis

The fields in this group are non-editable and display information about the import process.

Field	Description
Start Load	This field displays the date and time this process started.
End Load/Start Validation	This field displays the date and time when the loading process ended and the validation process started.
End Validation/Start Print	This field displays the date and time when the validation process ended and the error report started to print.
End Print	This field displays the date and time when the error report stopped printing.
Total Records Loaded	This field displays the total number of records read by the application.
Total Error	This field displays the total number of records found with errors during the process.

Process Import Purchase Orders

Click drop-down and select Import Purchase Orders to initiate the file upload process. A batch mode option is also available. Costpoint validates the records, stores the usable records in a temporary input table, writes any records with errors to an output file, and updates the Costpoint database.

Process and print the report

Click drop-down and select Print/Import Purchase Orders to initiate the file upload process. A batch mode option is also available. This command is similar to Import Purchase Orders with the addition that the error report is sent to the printer.

Print Default Report

Click and select the Import Purchase Orders Error Report to print the report. A batch mode option is also available.

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