DMEX - Data Mover - Excel

Introduction Guide

simplifies the future...

Copyright 1993 - 2002 Ementor ASA.

EIS and its modules are developed on a Microsoft Windows ® user interface. The system is implemented using
Oracle ® Relational Data Base Management System (RDBMS) as the archiving tool.

Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.

Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation.

Information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the
part of Ementor ASA. Companies, names and data used in examples herein are fictitious. No part of this
document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, for any
purpose, without the express written permission of Ementor ASA.

Document version: 1.0

Software version EIS: 2.03.xx
Software version CABSYS: 6.7
Print date: 24.04.2002

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Contents
Preface 1
About this Guide........................................................................................................... 1
Audience ....................................................................................................................... 1
Conventions used in this Guide .................................................................................... 2
Comments are welcome................................................................................................ 2

Introduction 3
What is DMEX and what it can do ............................................................................... 3
Requirements ................................................................................................................ 3
Export data to an Excel file........................................................................................... 4
Operations: ..................................................................................................... 4
Import data from an Excel file ...................................................................................... 6
Operations: ..................................................................................................... 6

i • About this Guide Introduction Guide

Preface

About this Guide

This guide introduces you to the DMEX utility, a part of CABSYS and Ementor
Engineering Information System (E2IS), with which you can import data from Microsoft
Excel into the database. It provides step-by-step exercises that explain requirements and
how to configure and use the program. The guide will not show all aspects of the system,
but enough to get you started.

Audience

This guide is intended for the experienced E2IS and CABSYS user, witch need to import
large amounts of data from Excel to the database. Some technical background and
knowledge of the database and Excel are required. Although, to get full value of the
description in this manual, note the following assumptions:

1. You are familiar with the MS Windows system and Excel in special.
2. You have a valid login ID in the network.
3. You have access to the project's network directory and project database.
4. You have enough knowledge about your data in your project.

Introduction Guide About this Guide • 1

Conventions used in this Guide

The conventions used in this guide are described in the table below:

Convention How Used

Italic References to new terms or emphasis. Also used for parameters.
“Quotation Chapter references, explanatory words and expressions from common
marks” oral speech.
Bold References to the program menus, icons, commands and buttons etc., as
well as to illuminate key words and phrases that need special attention
and hence need to stand out from the context.

Comments are welcome

We encourage you to send us any suggestions, ideas or comments that you may have with
regard to this guide. Your opinions are the most important input we receive as we revise
CABSYS and E2IS documentation.

If you would like to contact us directly, you can do that by sending an E-mail to
[email protected].

2 • Conventions used in this Guide Introduction Guide

Introduction

What is DMEX and what it can do

The DMEX utility is a program used for importing data from Excel files into the E2IS
database. It consists of to major modules.
First, an application transforms the database view’s data to an Excel document, based on a
configuration file witch describes the mapping from view to Excel columns with freezing
and formatting the first row (header row) and locking and commenting some of the
columns which are not to update. There are produced to Excel files: original and modified
file. The original file is saved and should not be changed. The modified file is used by a
user to modify the data.
Second, another application takes the original and modified Excel files, compares them and
takes all changed data to update all underlying tables on which view was created. This is
done by using the same configuration file as in the previous step.

Requirements
E2IS system or CABSYS,
Visual Basic 6 SP 5 runtime,
Oracle 8i client software,
Microsoft Excel 97 or newer.

Introduction Guide What is DMEX and what it can do • 3

Export data to an Excel file

Operations:
Start export operation from the E2IS environment.
1. Select the Data Import/Export -> Data Export ->Export From Standard Views entry
in the function menu window. Here you will find a list of different export actions to export
your views to an Excel file. The Standard Views are views which can be exported to an
Excel file and later updated by the changed data. If you do not need all the data from the
view, you can use the filter feature of the E2IS.

4 • Export data to an Excel file Introduction Guide

 2. Enter the Excel file name in the text box or select ‘...’ to brows and find the right location
for exported Excel file. After you have done it, Select Export To Excel to finish the
action. You have saved the original Excel file now. It should not be changed at all.

Normally in both steps you can resize the form appropriately to show more data.
After all is done, you can see the Excel file with the first row frozen, bolded and locked
with all unupdateable columns locked and marked by a red flag on the upper right corner.
3. From this original Excel file you can now produce the modified Excel file by using the
Save As feature of the E2IS. Give it the name as for original file with suffix like ‘_Copy’
or something else you find appropriate in order to distinguish between the two files. The
modified file is to use for updating data. You can distribute it and later use in the process
for importing data from an Excel file. It is done in the next phase – Import data from an
Excel file.

Introduction Guide Export data to an Excel file • 5

Import data from an Excel file

Operations:
Start import operation from the E2IS environment.
1. Select the Data Import/Export ->Data Import ->Excel Import entry in the function
menu window. Here you will find a list of different import actions for update your views.
2. After having selected a wanted import action, this dialog will appear. Select Next.

3. You are now in STEP 1. Here you can select the original Excel file.

6 • Import data from an Excel file Introduction Guide

 Select Open and browse for the wanted original Excel file.

Introduction Guide Import data from an Excel file • 7

 4. In this dialog box, you have selected the original Excel. Now select witch worksheet to
import. The first work sheet is always selected by default.

When the appropriate Excel worksheet is selected press Next > to go to the next step.

8 • Import data from an Excel file Introduction Guide

 5. You are now in STEP 2. At this time you can read what you have selected in the previous
step. If it is not OK, select <Back and correct the mistake.
You are selecting here the modified Excel file. Select Open and browse for the wanted
modified Excel file. The procedure is the same as for the original Excel file. The only
difference is that after you have selected the Open on this dialog box, you are already in the
directory where you found the Excel original file.

After you have selected the modified Excel file, select Next> to continue.
NB: if you change the sequence of the original and modified file, you can neutralize the
effect of updating the database.

Introduction Guide Import data from an Excel file • 9

 6. You are now in STEP 3. You can see what Excel files you have selected in the previous steps.
If it is not OK, select <Back and correct the mistake
In this dialog box you get the first and last rows of the Excel work sheet. If you do not want
all the rows to process, you can adjust it now by changing the appropriate values in the first
and/or last row.

When all is OK, select Finish to start the last phase - updating the database.

10 • Import data from an Excel file Introduction Guide

 7. You are now in the STEP 4. This is the time consuming step. After the processing is
finished, you get a lot of information. Always check the Message and Error Log file by
selecting View Log. Here you can see the first and last rows to be processed, executions
elapsed time and progress bar with current record in processing.

Introduction Guide Import data from an Excel file • 11

 8. The Message And Error Log File is written to your local Temp folder and has all info about
the program run. You can check it, and if there are some errors, you can analyze them,
resolve them and rerun the program.

After you have finished all, select Close on this form, go back to main form.
On the main DMEX form select End to exit the application.

12 • Import data from an Excel file Introduction Guide

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