Customization of Integration Process

You might require customization to the output of the scheduling data before you import it into Cobra.

The integration process provides hooks to allow custom applications to run before importing the schedule data into Cobra. This enables further validation of information, a reformat of the schedule data, or conversion of the schedule in a format that the standard integration supports.

The Integration wizard places the data in a normalized set of temporary tables, pauses to see if there are custom hooks defined, executes any custom hooks, continues with the validation of data and then imports the data into Cobra tables.

You can view these temporary integration tables by choosing to publish temporary integration tables on the Integration tab of the Application Preferences dialog box.

Custom applications can be in one of the following file types:

• Script — A text file with a SQL query or list of commands in VFP
• Executable — An example is a compiled VB or C++ application
• Visual FoxPro Procedure — A compiled .FXP file

On the General tab of the Application Preferences dialog box, indicate the folder where these custom applications are stored. On the Custom Hooks tab, indicate the application name and file type.

When importing project data, there are two points in the integration processing cycle:

• Pre Load Process — Occurs before starting the Integration wizard and can be used to change the selections in the wizard.
• Pre Save Process — Occurs after the data is retrieved from the schedule but is not yet validated. This is where most custom applications run.

When importing actual costs, the custom hooks run after the data is imported into the temporary tables and before validation occurs.

When importing project data, you can stop the process if an error occurs in your custom application. This feature is useful if your custom hook is performing extra validations and you do not want the data to be imported if certain conditions exist.