Input

Learn about the input step of communication.

Inputting communication files on a branch office

  1. Transfer the communication files to the directory \<source station number>\in on the target station, see Transferring Communication Files.
  2. Start the input, see Starting Communication.
  3. Data is input in the following order:
    1. The data model, if it has changed, see Communicating Data Model Changes in the CRM.core Administrator Guide.
    2. Catalog maintenance records missing on the branch office (based on the entry in the (In. ) Cat.Maint . ID field in the station record), see Communicating Catalogs.
    3. All other data as determined by the communication format.

      The input records are matched up with the records in the local database, see Match-up.

  4. If the communication format has changes since the last synchronization, a synchronization request is output, see Synchronization.
  5. If records are to be deleted according to the delete cycle, they are now deleted, see Communicating Deleted Records.
  6. Once the input is complete, a notification file is output which must be input on the source station to complete the communication cycle, see Confirmation.

Inputting communication files on the main office

  1. Transfer the communication files to the directory \<source station number>\in on the target station, see Transferring Communication Files.
  2. Start the input, see Starting Communication.

    The input records are matched up with the records in the local database, see Match-up.

  3. If a synchronization request is sent by the branch office, the requested records are output in a separate communication file, see Synchronization.
  4. If records are to be deleted according to the delete cycle, they are now deleted, see Communicating Deleted Records.
  5. Once the input is complete, a notification file is output which must be input on the source station to complete the communication cycle, see Confirmation.
Note: When inputting values in combined date and time fields (type: "date,time"), the values are converted to the station's local time zone (TIMEZONE entry in the mmdb.ini file). Values in simple date or time fields are not converted, see Data Model in the CRM.core Administrator Guide.Use mmba.exe –- writeDateTime to output a list of all combined date and time fields, see mmba.exe Parameters in the CRM.core Administrator Guide. To disable the automatic conversion of times, enter v in mmdb.ini, see mmdb.ini and mmodbc.ini Files in the CRM.core Administrator Guide.

Match-up

When inputting records from the source station, these records are matched up with the records on the target station. By default, records are matched up using the primary key. If records with identical keys are found, the records are merged. If no matching record is found, the record is added to the database.

Aurea CRM saves the modification date and time for each record and each field. When merging records with identical primary keys, these time stamps and the settings in the communication format determine which data is retained, see Conditional Input and Field Properties.

Select View > All Mask Fields and click on (Show last change) to display these time stamps for a record.

Use the Update priority configuration entry to prevent the contents of individual fields from being overwritten by newer contents, see Communication in the CRM.core Administrator Guide. This allows you to prevent data that is synchronized with external systems from being overwritten from data resulting from the communication with branch offices, for example.

You can define specific match-up settings for companies, persons and properties (BTB only) in the communication format, see Match-Up Control. Aurea recommends retaining the default settings (match up by primary key) for the Company, Person, Person in Company and Property (BTB only) info areas and to subsequently merge any duplicate records in Aurea CRM's main module, see Managing Companies and Persons in the Aurea CRM win User Manual.