The file listener monitors the file directory and calls the file service when files arrive. The file service might use a parse rule for XML, structured, or delimited data, or a JSON data transform to read the file and map the data into fields on the clipboard. A service activity processes the data, typically by creating a case from the file data and launching a flow.

Both the file listener and the file service have a role in processing the files:

1. When files that match the listened for pattern arrive, the file listener calls the file service to process the file data.
2. The file service processes the file by using the rules that you configured for it.
3. Based on the file listener configuration, the file listener either deletes the file or moves it to the work_<name of listener>/completed subdirectory.
4. The listener also creates a reports subdirectory to hold report files that contain the processing results.

To configure the file service and file listener, perform the following steps:

1. Create the file service rule to process your files. The most common use case is to use a Parse Delimited rule to map properties to the fields in a CSV file. For more information, see Creating a Parse Delimited rule.
   Additionally, you can use the following rules to configure a file service to process your files:

   • Parse XML – Use a Parse XML rule to import XML files. For more information, see XML Stream rules.
   • Parse Structured – Use a Parse Structured rule to process fixed-format flat files. For more information, see Creating a Parse Structured rule.
   • JSON data transform – Use a JSON data transform to process data that is in JSON format. For more information, see Data transforms.
2. Create a service activity to configure the file service to perform an action on each record of the file, one record at a time.
   In addition to parsing the CSV file, the service activity typically creates a work object for each record. When you create the service activity, make sure that you enter the following values:

   • In the Method field, enter Call svcAddWorkObject.

     The svcAddWorkObject function creates a work object by using the flow rule specified in the Flow Type field. For example, you could call the BatchNewPolicy flow type to add the created work objects to a workbasket for processing new policies.

   • In the workPage field, enter pyWorkPage.

   For more information about creating a service activity, see Create or Save as form in AUT test suite.

3. Create the service package that is required to group related Service File rules.
   For more information, see Service Packages.
4. Optional: If you are using multithread processing, create a service request processor. A request processor enables asynchronous processing by defining a queue in Pega Platform that can have items placed in it for processing.
   For more information, see Viewing test coverage reports.
5. To define how the system processes the files that the file listener pulls into your application, create a Service File rule. For more information, see Service File rules.
6. Create the file listener that monitors your file directory and calls the file service to process the data in the file.
   • For Pega Cloud or on-premises users on systems running 7.2.2 or 7.3.1, see Configure a file listener associated with a storage destination in the archive on Pega Community.
   • For Pega Cloud or on-premises users on systems running 7.4 and higher, see Configuring a file listener associated with a storage repository.