Import Wizard

Use the Import Wizard command to import data from other accounting systems or applications.

The source information must be in either a FoxPro compatible format (a file with the file name extension of '.dbf') or a comma separated variables format (a file with the file name extension of '.csv)'.

The table below shows what you can import:

Application	Import file
Sales Ledger	Customers and sales transactions (including analysis records)
Purchase Ledger	Suppliers and purchase transactions (including analysis records)
Nominal Ledger	Accounts and journals
Stock Control	Stock items and transactions
Invoicing/SOP	Documents (including headers and details)
Costing	Timesheets
Payroll	Timesheets and contact details

When you select the Import Wizard command in the Import folder, the application runs a wizard to control the import process. This will guide you through the steps you need to take and the information you must enter to import your data. You can only import one file type at a time, so you need to run the wizard separately for each type of record you want to import.

Importing FoxPro and Compatible Files (.dbf)

If a database file is used as the data source then, subject to certain criteria, the database file need only contain those fields that you wish to import. However, there are a number of mandatory fields which must be included otherwise the import file will be rejected. Field names must be the same as the name of the field in the destination table but the position of the field can be different to the destination table. For example, if you are importing sales accounts, the account number must be stored in a field with the name SN_ACCOUNT but it can be positioned anywhere in the file, even though it is the first field in the SNAME table.

The following table lists a typical database file that could be used to import account names and addresses into the sales ledger.

Field Name	Field Type	Field Width
SN_ACCOUNT	Character	8
SN_NAME	Character	30
SN_ADDR1	Character	30
SN_ADDR2	Character	30
SN_ADDR3	Character	30
SN_ADDR4	Character	30
SN_PSTCODE	Character	8

Importing Comma Separated Variables Files (.csv)

Without Column Headings

Comma separated variables files can be created without fields names, however you must take care when constructing the file. Individual fields are separated with commas. You can enclose text fields in quotation marks, but this is not essential because the import application will strip them from the fields. All fields, in addition to any mandatory fields, between the first and last to be imported, must be specified by a comma, otherwise the import application will be unable to identify the fields. Example....

Important: You must EXCLUDE the memo fields from any tables within CSV files you use for the purpose of importing. If memo fields are included, invalid data type errors may occur because the inclusion of a memo pushes others fields into the wrong destination field.

With Column Headings

In addition to standard .csv file formats like those described above, the Import module also supports the import of such files where column headings are used to identify the fields within a table. When you identify a .csv file for import, the option CSV file(s) include column headings appears on the wizard. If the .csv file(s) you want to import has column headings embedded in the file, then you select this option. As a default, the option is cleared. The use of column headings helps to identify which field is which, but has no bearing on how the file is imported. In effect, a CSV file with column headings is one in which the first line of the file is ignored.

Column headings must be the same as the name of the field in the destination table but the position of the field can be different to the destination table. For example, if you are importing sales accounts, the account number's heading must be SN_ACCOUNT but it can be positioned anywhere in the file, even though it is the first field in the SNAME table. Example ....

Validation

Each record read by the import wizard is validated before being written to the database. If this validation fails at any stage, the record is not imported and a message is added to the audit file describing the problem. Generally, if an error occurs, the current record will not be imported. Certain validation failures result in warnings rather than errors. Unlike errors, warnings do not interrupt the application.

Important: Even though a data record may pass validation, there may be something wrong with the data. For example if you're importing supplier records with account balances, the Importer won't prevent you importing a wrong balance. Please make sure data is correct.

Audit Report and File

When the import process is completed, the Publisher form appears so you can choose the output destination of the audit report. This lists details such as errors and warnings. A file called Audit.txt is also created containing this information which is stored in the Temp folder within the application's folder.

Import Options

Select this option	To
Show Progress Bar	Display a progress bar that indicates the status of the import. This might be useful if you are importing a large quantity of records and would like to monitor the progress of the import on screen.
Allow Keyboard Interrupts	Allow you to interrupt the import application using the keyboard. If you clear this option, the import application cannot be interrupted and must continue until it has finished.
Update Target Files	Enable the updating of the database by the data to be imported. If you clear this option, all validation conditions are tested and an audit file is created. This means you can perform a ‘dummy’ run of the import to identify potential problems or errors in the data before you choose to update the database.
Override Existing Records	Override a matching existing record with the one being imported. If you leave this option cleared, an error is reported if matching records are found and the record in the source data will not override the existing one. Warning: Use this option carefully If this option is used then all fields in a record currently in Opera will be overwritten with the contents of the fields in the import file - even if the fields in the import file are empty. If you are importing records using a CSV file or using a DBF file with all fields, but only the mandatory fields have entries in them, all the non mandatory fields will be overwritten with blank entries. Also, existing memo fields will be replaced with blank entries, even though memo fields are not included in an import file.
Terminate If Errors Found	Abandon the import procedure as soon as an error condition is encountered. If you leave this option cleared, the procedure will continue to the end, reporting other errors, if any, and then abandon the import. This might be useful if you need to ensure that your records are imported altogether or the whole batch is rejected.
Suppress Warnings	Hide warnings that do not prevent the import of data. If you leave this option cleared, warnings are reported even though they do not cause the transactions to be ignored or failed.
Incorporate Batches into Current Batch	Consolidate batches of transactions into the current batch (that is, update an ‘open’ batch in the Cashbook module). This option only appears if you are importing sales transactions and you use the Cashbook module.
Update Nominal	Update the Nominal Ledger at the same time as importing the transactions. This only applies if your activation includes the Nominal Ledger and the Real Time Update of Nominal option is selected in the System - Maintenance - Company Profiles command. If you import Nominal Journals, you can decide which Nominal Ledger period is updated. You can select either the Nominal Ledger's current year or previous year, and the period you want to update. You can select any period in the previous year or any period in the current year up to the current period. Any other transactions will update the Nominal Ledger's current period as long as the record's transaction date falls within the current period or is older than the current period. If the transaction's date falls ahead of the Nominal Ledger's current period you must transfer it to the Nominal Ledger using respective Transfer command in the Nominal - Utilities menu.
Bypass OPA Processing	Ignores the Open Period Accounting rules in Opera 3. The importer automatically assumes that OPA is in use unless this option is either ticked in the wizard or set to ‘O’ by developers using the importer as a command line utility. For more information, see the Importer and Open Period Accounting Help topic.