Working with file formats

Import file formats

For all file types other than Mainframe, you can import the file format via the + File Format button, located in the Files tab. This will import the file directly into the Continuous Compliance Engine.

  1. From Home, navigate to the Settings page and click into the Data Formats section on the left, then click the Files tab at the top.

  2. Click the + File Format button on the top-right, a window with the same name will appear.

  3. Select a FormatType and click Next.

    import file formats

Formatting Examples are shown in the wizard, based on each format type.

  1. Import a format by clicking Choose File. You can specify a custom name for the file format instead of it being automatically named after the uploaded file.

  2. Browse for the file from which the fields will be imported, then click Next. The contents of the imported file vary for delimited, fixed-width, XML, JSON, and parquet file types.

    You must not upload sensitive data when creating a Parquet file format, as the exported file may expose it.

     

Removing a selected file

If you accidentally selected an incorrect file, simply click the x button to the right of the file name and repeat the selection steps above.

  1. Optionally, for only the delimited or fixed-width formats, users will see a step to configure the number of header or footer records for the file. Click Next with or without setting the header or footer, as needed.

    import file formats

  1. View the summary on the last step to confirm the changes.

  2. Click Save at any point after importing the format.

Import Mainframe formats

For Mainframe data sets, you can import the file format via the + Mainframe Format button, located in the Mainframe tab. This will import the copybook directly into the Continuous Compliance Engine.

  1. From Home, navigate to the Settings page and click into the Data Formats section on the left, then click the Mainframe tab at the top.

  2. Click the + Mainframe Format button on the top-right, a window with the same name will appear.

  3. The Format Type will be preselected with Copybook, click Next to continue.

    import file formats

Formatting Examples is shown in the wizard for copybook. Duplicate field names in copybook files are not supported.

  1. Import a format by clicking Choose File.

  2. Browse for the format file and click Next

    .import file formats

Removing a selected file

If you accidentally selected an incorrect file, simply click the button to the right of the file name and repeat the selection steps above.

  1. View the summary on the last step to confirm the changes.

  2. Click Save at any point after importing the format.

Edit a file format

Selecting the hyperlinked Name of a format in the corresponding column will initiate the file formats edit screen.

The file inventory relies on the file format it represents. As a result, any changes to the file inventory affect all data files using that file format. Thus, altering the file inventory impacts all files conforming to that format across the application. This is applicable to all the file types Fixed-Width, Delimited, Mainframe, JSON & XML.

Delete a file format

Click the Delete icon delete icon under the Actions columns to the right of the corresponding format name in the list. The user will be prompted for confirmation.

Duplicate file format

You can duplicate a file format by providing a new file format name. You can also choose whether to copy the masking assignments. By default, the masking assignments are copied. When duplicating a file format, you can exclude masking assignments by selecting the Do not copy masking assignments checkbox in the Duplicate File Format dialog. This option prevents the duplication of file fields algorithm assignments and document store type configurations.

This feature is currently available only for File type Formats and will be supported for Mainframe formats in the future release.

Export file format

You can now export an uploaded file format. For flat file formats such as Fixed-Width and Delimited, select a specific record type to download its format, or leave the selection empty to download the default All Records format. For semi-structured formats XML and JSON, the system generates a file format template with placeholder values based on the extracted path structure.

This feature is currently available only for File type Formats and will be supported for Mainframe formats in the future release.

  • The Export File Format dialog appears only for Fixed-width and Delimited file formats.
  • For exported XML file formats containing namespace fields, the namespace definitions must be manually copied back into the exported file before creating a new file format.