elf imports into custom files katie morgan datatel programmer/analyst
TRANSCRIPT
ELF Imports into Custom Files
Katie MorganDatatel Programmer/Analyst
About Linfield
• Four year, co-ed, comprehensive, undergraduate, private
• Enrollment: ~2600• 3 “campuses”– Traditional 4 year liberal arts & sciences plus
business and education in McMinnville– Nursing (transfer-only) in Portland– Adult Degree/Continuing Education in
McMinnville, Portland, and online
About Our ELF Imports
• Approximately 20 ELF specs in regular use– ACT (highly customized)– SAT (highly customized)– CommonApp– NursingCAS– NRCCUA– Peterson’s– And a bunch of others
About Our Custom Files
• Currently using APP.USER fields in the APPLICANTS file.– Many are customized to multi-value and some to
linked entities (aka associations aka sub-files).• Migrating to SQL Server– For metadata customizations that will impact table
structures in SQL Server, we were encouraged to migrate data to custom entities.
The Import Challenge
• We import to these fields on a regular basis.• Options:– Create a custom batch process to run after import
to populate just these fields.– Find a way to make ELF talk to our custom entity.
Disclaimer
This is a work in progress for us, and so is not yet in production at Linfield!
Create Custom Import
1. Create your custom Colleague file (if it doesn’t already exist)
2. Create a custom intermediate file3. Create custom ELF spec mapping the custom
intermediate file to the custom Colleague file
Create Custom Intermediate File
• See Answernet Doc 6678 – however– I don’t know why it says to put the intermediate
file in CORE– It says to put the release status to developing, but
doesn’t tell you to change it to releasable when you’re done
Intermediate File Attributes
• Attributes (aka fields aka columns) must be in a particular order:1. prefix.BATCH2. prefix.TRANSXN3. filename.ADDOPR (create under Attributes)4. filename.ADDDATE (create under Attributes)5. filename.CHGOPR (create under Attributes)6. filename.CHGDATE (create under Attributes)7. prefix.RESULTS
prefix.BATCH
• Create under Attributes• Type = Foreign Key (1-1)• Internal Size = 20• Points to Attribute (under Linkages) =
ELF.BATCH.CONTROL.ID
prefix.TRANSXN
• Create under Attributes• Type = Data• Internal Size = 10
Record “Add” Fields
• filename.ADDOPR– Create under Attributes– Type = Data– Internal Size = 20
• filename.ADDDATE– Create under Attributes– Type = Data– Internal Size = 10– Conversion = D4/
Record “Change” Fields
• filename.CHGOPR– Create under Attributes– Type = Data– Internal Size = 20
• filename.CHGDATE– Create under Attributes– Type = Data– Internal Size = 10– Conversion = D4/
prefix.RESULTS
• Create under Lists• Type = Foreign Key (M-M)• Internal Size = 10• Points to Attribute (under Linkages) =
ELF.TGT.RESULTS.ID
Your Fields
• Add your fields in locations 8 and higher
Define as Intermediate File
• Use RKEY in UI– Set Intermediate File to Yes– Enter your prefix (optional)
• Reimport your entity into Colleague Studio– Close the entity from your editor (if it’s open)– Right-click the entity in the process explorer and
choose Import from the context menu– If you do not do this, your RKEY settings will be
lost when you package this up!
Set up Dependencies• File = ELF.INTER.FILE.DEPS• Record = your custom intermediate file name
– Attribute 1 (ELFINTER.FIELDS) = field name(s) for your foreign key pointer(s) to its related file(s)
– Attribute 2 (ELFINTER.RELATED.FIELDS) = field name(s) for the related file field(s) to which your foreign key(s) point(s)
– Attribute 3 (ELFINTER.CARDINALITIES) = relationship between the foreign key in your custom intermediate file and the field to which it points in the related file• 1 – one and only one• A – at least one• M – zero, one, or many• Z – zero or one
• Special Note: You will need to create a declaration on CDEC to include this item in your package.– Alternative is to create this manually in each environment after installing the rest
Sample Intermediate File:INTER.L25.APPLICANT
Field Names Linked Entity Name
Data Type Loc
INTER.L25.APPLICANT.ID Key 0:1
XIAPP.BATCH Foreign Key (1-1) 1
XIAPP.TRANSXN Data 2
INTER.L25.APPLICANT.ADDOPR Data 3
INTER.L25.APPLICANT.ADDDATE Data 4
INTER.L25.APPLICANT.CHGOPR Data 5
INTER.L25.APPLICANT.CHGDATE Data 6
XIAPP.RESULTS Foreign Key (M-M) 7
XIAPP.APPLICANT.ID Data 8
XIAPP.SOURCE.CODES L25.IAPP.SOURCES List 9
XIAPP.SOURCE.DATES L25.IAPP.SOURCES List 10
XIAPP.OTHER.COLLEGES List 11
XIAPP.TRAVEL.ABROAD.CTRY List 12
Create Custom ELF Spec
• Create it on ELFS• Name it the same name as your intermediate
file.• Now add your target file– If you enter your custom file, you will get an error
message
The Troll on the Bridge
What the elf?
• See Answernet Doc 31796.22– The error message popped by the UI form has
never been delivered by Ellucian.• This message pops when you add a target file
that is not defined as an intermediate file.
How to Get Past the Error:Change the Question
• Enter an intermediate file as target, instead• Choose one with as few required fields as possible• Map the minimum number of fields possible• Save the spec
Clean up the Target File Records
• File = ELF.SPEC.TGT• Record = [your ELF spec name]*[your fake
target file name]• Copy this into a new record = [your ELF spec
name]*[your real target file name]• Delete the fake
Edit the ELF Spec
• File = ELF.SPECS• Record = Your ELF spec name• Edit the following attributes:– Attribute 4 (ELFSPEC.MAPS) – Clear the field
completely– Attribute 5 (ELFSPEC.TGT.FILES) – Change the field
to [your ELF spec name]*[your real target file name]
Now Edit the Field Mappings
• Now clean up your fake field mappings– File = ELF.MAPS– Records = any records with your spec in
ELFMAP.SPEC– Delete them all
Cross that Troll Bridge
• Now you can return to ELFS and finish building your ELF spec.– Build your field maps to the target fields in your
custom Colleague file.– Add any other edits you need.– Generate it.– Test it.– And test it some more.
Some Final Details
• Don’t forget to create duplicate criteria, if applicable
• Don’t forget to create merge criteria
