Parse Delimited form
Completing the Parse Rules tab
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Complete this tab to identify the input character that delimits fields in the input file, and to configure a mapping from parsed input data to the clipboard or to other destinations.

Field Description

Field

Description
Field Description  
Field Format

Select:

  • Comma Separated Values (CSV) — to indicate that the contents of the file are in CSV format (available as an export file option from Microsoft Excel). Field values are separated by a single comma. Field values that contain a comma are surrounded by a pair of double-quote characters.
  • Custom Definition — to indicate that the contents of the file use a character or character sequence to delimit fields, as defined on the next two fields of this tab.
Delimiter

If you selected Custom Definition for the Field Format, enter the character that separates each field in the input record. Enter one of the following

  • A single character
  • An equals sign (=) followed by a property reference in the form pagename.propertyname, where this property contains the separator character at runtime
  • One of the two-character escape sequences \n for newline, \r for return, \f for form feed, \0 for the null character, or \t for a tab character.

You cannot enter an octal or hexadecimal character value here.
Escape Character

Optional. If you selected Custom Definition for the Field Format, specify a character that, when it immediately precedes the delimiter character, causes that one delimiter character to be ignored and become part of the input data.

For example, if a comma is the delimiter character, and you enter a backward slash (\) in this field, input text containing:

parsley, sage, rosemary\, and thyme,

produces three parsed segments. The last segment contains a comma (and no backward slash):

parsley
sage
rosemary, and thyme

To define the escape character as the value of a property reference, enter an equals sign (=) followed by a property reference in the form pagename.propertyname, where this property contains the escape character at runtime.

If you leave this field blank, the system uses a backslash character as the escape character.

Processing Method

Field

Description
Processing Method  
Method

Indicate how this parse rule operates at runtime. Select one:

Use parse details

Applies the parse details specified in this rule.
Build tag list

Stores the output of this rule as the values of a single Value List mode property named pyTagList on a new clipboard page named Work.

Record a valid property name, generated from the data in the file, in each value of the Value List property. (Note that only certain characters can appear in property names; dash characters and any other invalid characters found in the input are skipped.)

Use tag list

Use a tag list property (pyTagList on a clipboard page named Work) to store the elements in this record.

Build value list

Store the output of this rule as the values of a single Value List property. Enter only one row in the Parsing Details array:

  • Select Clipboard as the Map To field value.
  • Enter the name of this Value List property in the Map To Key field.

For example, if the first record in an input file contains header information that identifies the values in all the later records, you can choose Build tag list in a first Parse Delimited rule, and Use tag list in a second Parse Delimited rule.

If you plan to validate the page that contains the imported rows and save it as an instance in the database, remember that the tags must identify existing, defined properties.
Drain Remaining Data

When selected, at runtime the system ignores remaining data in the input record in the input data stream. If cleared, later processing can continue from the current position.

Parsing Details

Field

Description
Parsing Details

add rowComplete this array to define the processing for each input field. Enter rows in the order the data appear in the input file.
Required

Select to mark an element as required. If the data on the input stream is exhausted but parse details marked Required remain, parsing halts. Data processed so far remains available on the clipboard.

Description

Enter text to describe this parse step.
Map To

SmartPromptEnter the action to take in this parse step. Select:

  • Clipboard
  • XML Parse Rule
  • Delimited Parse Rule
  • A function rule in a MapTo library.
This is a required field if the Method field is set to build value list.
Map To Key

SmartPromptIdentify the value of a key or value used in conjunction with the value you entered into the Map To field:

Clipboard Enter a property reference on the clipboard that is to receive the value.
XML Parse Rule Enter a Namespace value that is the first key part of that rule, a period, and a Record Type value for the Parse XML rule key. Or you can enter only a Record Type value to indicate that the Namespace of the Parse XML rule is the same as the Namespace of this rule.
Delimited Parse Rule Enter a Record Type value.
a MapTo function Identify a property reference to use as the third parameter of the function.
If the Method field is set to build value list, this field is required.

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