Contents of the Import Subcontract Retainage PO Status Updates Screen

Use the fields and options to configure 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.

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

Note: International users:

The data can contain non-English characters, provided 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.

Please see the Processing Details topic and the following Input File and Error File sections in this help topic, for additional information regarding input file and error file processing.

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.
  • 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. ClickUpload 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.
File Name Enter, or click to select, the input file to process. The input file is a fixed-length or delimited ASCII file that is named by the user with the appropriate extension.
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 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

Error Handling

Use this group box to determine how validation errors are handled. Errors occur if the input file record is not valid or a condition is not met for a field that is being processed in an input file.

Field Description
If errors are encountered in the input file:

Select the error handling method from the drop-down list. The valid options are:

  • Process Valid Records: The application processes all subcontract PO updates (header and line records) with no invalid rows on the input file. This is the default
  • Process No Records: The application will not process any input rows when it encounters errors.
Do Not Produce an ASCII Error File Select this check box to suppress producing an ASCII Error file. If you clear this check box, the application creates a file listing all errors encountered.
Default Employee Enter, or click to select, the default employee ID. A default employee can be used for status updates when no employee ID is provided in the input file record.

Performance Analysis

All the fields in this group box are non-editable.

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

Process Subcontract PO Status

Click drop-down and select Update Subcontract PO Status to read the Input File, validate the data, and insert or update the Subcontract PO Status Update tables. See the Processing Details section for further information. A batch mode option is also available.

Process and print the report

Click drop-down and select Print/Import Subcontract PO Status to read the Input File, validate the data, insert and update the Subcontract PO Status Update tables, and print the error report, if applicable. A batch mode option is also available.

Print Default Report

Click and select Import Subcontract PO Status Updates Error Report to print the report.

The file contains all input rows that are in error. You can correct this error file, rename it, and reprocess it until all rows pass. The program inserts the time into the TIMESTAMP field at the end of each record, indicating the most recent instance in which the file was created. A batch mode option is also available.