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Import Formatting Guidelines
Import files may be structured as a normal text file, where each row (line) in the text file represents one item, route, etc. The fields in each row can be listed in any sequence, as long as the sequence is consistent from row to row. The file may be formatted using a traditional fixed width style, or may be formatted in a delimited format such as CSV (a comma-separated-value file).
The import process handles a variety of data formats. The table below depicts the typical formats that very easily accommodated using the Syntelic import processor. Text columns are generally limited to 25 characters in length unless otherwise stated. Data fields may be left or right justified; leading and trailing spaces are ignored. It is suggested that text ID columns (columns that uniquely identify a column) should not include embedded spaces, but that is not a requirement.
| DATA TYPE | TYPICAL FORMATS |
|---|---|
| Date | 20150314 (YYYYMMDD), 150314 (YYMMDD), 03142015 (MMDDYYYY) |
| Date/Time | 201503141345 (YYYYMMDDHHMM, year-month day with 24-hour clock) |
| Clock Time | 1345 (HHMM 24-hour clock), 0145P (HHMM 12-hour clock) |
| Duration | 16800 (HHHMM, this example shows 168 hours and no minutes) |
| Integer | 123 (whole number, no decimal point, leading zeroes optional, left or right justified) |
| Decimal | 123.45 (number with a whole and fractional portion, explicit decimal point included) |
| Boolean | Y/N (Y=yes/N=no), 1/0 (1=yes/0=no), X/blank (X=yes/blank=no) |
Negative values for integers, decimals, and durations are normally indicated using a leading minus (“-“) sign.