LOAD TIME CLOCK ENTRIES#

Processing Information#

The Load Time Clock Entries (LTCE) screen is a new function that is used to load Clock Entries; this was formally done using UTCIO. The entries are loaded based on a comma delimited source file. This source file must match an interface format specified in IDIF. The LTCE function will look for an interface code called LTCE.

Step 1 - Define Interface Format in IDIF#

An interface format is needed for the LTCE to load time sheets with Start and End times. The specific interface format may be seen in the page LTCE INTERFACE FORMAT.

Step 2 - Define Site Preferences in IMST#

Within the IMST screen, the administrator must define where the Extract and Load files are located and where the load functions are to write the exception files to. These locations are used by the functions to create and retrieve information. The customer can modify these values to represent any directory on their system, which is convenient.

The extract directory is defined using the EXTRCT DATA FLDR preference. The load directory is defined using the LOAD DATA FLDR preference. The ATTACHMENTS FLDR must be specified so the load functions know where to write the report exceptions log to.

If the full path is not specified here, then the path used by the HL Application Directory will apply. The user who is running the LTCE must have Read/Write/Create access to this directory on the server.

Step 3 - Run LTCE to load the file#

Launch the LTCE function specifying the appropriate parameters as indicated below.

Step 4 - Review Report and Exception File for Results#

During the load process, all non-fatal exceptions as well as the number of insertions and updates (by table) are logged in the execution run logs. After the load process completes, a report is written to a text file indicating the number of records read, number of records bypassed, number of records processed, number of records that were bypassed because an identical one already existed in the table, and number of records updated/inserted by table. The report will display all non-fatal business exceptions encountered during the load with a record number indicating for which record the exception occurred. The report will also display the amount of time that was taken for the load process to complete.

There are 2 tiers of exceptions that can be generated during the load process. The first tier involves extracting and building data from the source file and the second involves processing the extracted data. However, there will only be ONE exception for each failed load. Basically, if the record fails to build data correctly, the program will not bother loading it so you will never see 2 exceptions for a single failed record load.

Exceptions generated while extracting and building data from the source file will indicate that the exception occurred while "reading data from file". Exceptions generated while processing the extracted data will indicate that the exception occurred while "loading data into the DB".

When a Null Pointer Exception (NPE) occurs during the load process, the entire stack trace to the NPE is captured and displayed as part of the exception message in the load report.

The report text file will be located in the directory which was specified in the IMST preference LOAD DATA FLDR.

Step 5 - Verify Loaded Data in ITCE#

If there are no exceptions in the report, you should navigate to the ITCE where the data was loaded and verify that the load was done correctly.

Step 6 - Process Clock Punches#

To process the clock punches the UTCIO should be run.

Report Parameters#

Report Parameters
File Name This field holds the name of the file that has been placed on the
server in the directory specified in the IMST record LOAD DATA FLDR.
Mandatory
Delimiter This file indicates the delimiter in the file if it is not a Fixed Format.
Directory Path This field indicates the location of the source file on the server.
Interface Code The Interface Code that was created in step 1 must be specified.
Exception Level Lexicon value of 0 to 9. Allows you to specify the level of trace they
wish to see in the report.