CSV Input Data
Data used as input for CSV loading has a specified format. The CSV input contains the following components:
• CSV bundle
Each bundle should contain one collection (or product family) plus parts information and service information.
• Full product hierarchy for all collections
This CSV file must contain the full PH for all CSV input data loaded into PTC Arbortext Content Delivery. The Images folder contains the PH images.
You need to consider how to define the context for your information structures. If the context of a Information Structure is set to the Family level, all of the Models in that family will use the same toc.csv file. The context for the first level Folder is the Model. You need a first level folder for each Model in the Family.
To filter the documents for a specific model, use Serial Numbers on the documents and use the productinstance.csv to map the serial number to the model.
Incremental CSV Input Data
The CSV loading process enables you to load only a subset of the data containing an incremental update. The incremental update .csv file contains only the entries that need to be added, updated or deleted from the system,
Creation date is a mandatory field in the properties.csv file, through which the incremental update bundles loading is determined. The loading of an input data will fail if the data contains a creation date that is earlier that the creation date of the last loaded data.
The incremental update process is supported for the following data types:
• Images in image.csv
• XML documents in xml.csv
• PDF documents in pdf.csv
• GRAPHIC documents in graphic.csv
The associated IS structure (toc.csv) must be provided in the bundle containing an Image, XML, PDF or Graphic incremental change. The only exception is when the included IEs are not associated with any IS (an IE only bundle), so there is no context or IS associations. In this case the collection to which the IEs should be loaded must be specified in the properties.csv file.
• Product Instance in productinstance.csv
• Parts in part.csv
• Parts lists in assembly.csv
To load an incremental change of a Parts list, the associated IS (toc.csv) must be provided in the bundle.
• Superseded, alternate, cross reference or supplementary parts in part_relations.csv
• Hotspots information in hotspot.csv
The incremental update process is not supported for the following data types:
• Product Hierarchy in producthierarchy.csv
If this file is included in the incremental update data, then it replaces the previously loaded PH.
• Information Structure in toc.csv
You can only update or delete an entire, specific IS sub-tree. Incremental update is not supported for specific IS entries.
• BOM in bom.csv and bomcollections.csv
You can only update or delete an entire, specific BOM sub-tree. Incremental updates are not supported for specific BOM entries.
• Options and choices in OptionsChoicesDefinition.csv and OptionsChoices_Applicability.csv
You can load option and choice definitions using the CSV loading tool, similar to the third party options and choices loading process. Incremental update is not supported for this type.
Loading Multiple Collections
You can load a CSV input bundle that spans across or is loaded into multiple contexts or collections. You can use the following approaches to specify the collections:
• Specify the list of related contexts in the properties.csv Context column.
In this case, the mapping to the respective collections is resolved and the data is loaded into each one of the specified collections in the loading process.
• Specify the single CollectionID to which you want the data to be loaded.
This option is generally used for bundles that only contain IEs.
• Do not provide the contexts or collection ID and use the IS structure (toc.csv) in the bundle.
In this case, the collection mapping is resolved using the relation to the IS.
Defining the PH Association for Each IS
You can specify a different PH family or model association for each one of the Information Structure sub-trees. To do this specify the relevant PH node level (family or model) that applies to each one of the IS entries in the Parent Entity Code column of the toc.csv file.
Specifying Context and Applicability on IS Folders or IEs
You can specify different contexts, serial numbers or other applicability information (including options and variants and date effectivity) for each of the IS sub folders in the toc.csv file. If no specific applicability information exists for a given IS sub folder, the effectivity is taken from the document level. You can also specify applicability information on the IE mapping (PDF, XML, Images, Graphics, and assembly .csv files) level.
The following columns are available in these files to provide applicability information:
• Context and SN – Provides a combination of multiple applicable contexts and serial numbers applicable
You can provide a serial number, context, or a combination in the following format: Context1:SN1; Context2:SN2.
• Applicability – Provides a more advanced option to specify a combination of context, serial number, options and variants, or date effectivity information in the APEX format.
For example:
(OR (AND (INSTANCE_RANGE 'SUV_WE_DE_SN001' 'SUV_WE_DE_SN002'))
(AND (OR (INSTANCE_RANGE 'SEDAN_SH_DE_SN001' 'SEDAN_SH_DE_SN015')
(DATE_RANGE '2015-01-01 00:00:00.0' '2020-01-01 00:00:00.0'))))
• SN – Provides applicability based on just a range of serial numbers.
Specifying Part Relations
You can load superseded, alternate, cross referenced, or supplementary parts. A Relation column is provided in the part_relations.csv mapping file where you can specify the relation type.
You can also load one-to-many or many-to one supersession groups relations by specifying a group of multiple parts in the Source Part Code or Target Part Code columns in the part_relations.csv file. Once multiple parts are specified, the loading process groups those together in the supersession chain. Note that the process does not support many to many (group to group) relations.
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In previous releases, this information was included in the alternative_parts.csv file. This file is no longer supported. The first column in the old file was named Alternate Source Part Code. That column is named Source Part Code in the new file.
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Loading Information Elements Not Associated with an Information Structure
You can load Information Elements (IEs) that are not associated to any Information Structure (IS). This means the full CSV data might contain IEs that are not in the toc.csv file. As for all other inputs, the CSV data should contain these IEs, their related images and mapping files (for example for the thumbnail information) as with any other IE.
IEs that are not in the toc.csv file are created with the appropriate information and metadata in the correct folder. The Collection name for these IEs is retrieved from the properties.csv file These IEs cannot be associated with any context or serial number.
In this case, you must specify the information in the Description_lang, Context and SN, and Applicability columns for the IEs, as that information is usually included in the toc.csv file. Also, you cannot include SN only information in the Context and SN column for bundles containing just IEs. You must provide both the Context and SN applicability information.
Loading Options and Choices
You can load option and choice definitions using the CSV loading tool, similar to the third party options and choices loading process (see
Customizing Access Options).
The following CSV input files define this information:
• OptionsChoicesDefinition.csv – Defines the multilingual information for options and choices
• OptionsChoices_Applicability.csv – Sets the context (PH node) for the particular option and choice
IE Loading in Shared Mode
You can load IEs in shared mode, meaning that a single set of IEs is retained during loading and the duplication of IEs in different contexts across multiple IS entries is avoided. This process complies with the set system preference.
Part Related Documents
You can associate and relate certain IE documents (PDF, XML and GRAPHICS) to a part during loading. The related documents are displayed on the part information page’s Related Documents tab.
Support for Multiple Organizations
You can load parts that originate from multiple organizations in a single CSV bundle. An Org Name column is provided in the part.csv, assembly.csv, part_relations.csv, and bomcollections csv files to specify the organizations. If no organization is specified, the bundle level Org Name in the properties.csv is used for the organization.
Merging Data from CSV and SIM/SP
You can merge data from CSV and SIM/SP bundles. See
CSV Loading Tool Configuration and Data Loading for more information.
