A .ini Configuration file consists of the Options section, Format section, and Fields section. Each section is declared within brackets.
Options Section
•All lines in the Options Section must be processing directives or comments.
•Unknown or unsupported processing directives are ignored.
Processing directives in the Options Section are in the form of <Directive>=<Value>.
The following processing directives are used within the Configuration file Options Section. All directives are optional unless otherwise noted.
|
Directive |
Value |
Description |
|
BATCHID |
Ten-character alphanumeric string |
•Unique Identifier for the file. •Odyssey and OdysseyOne ignore this directive. |
|
CREATED |
String containing date and, optionally, time |
•The date the file was generated. •Odyssey and OdysseyOne ignore this directive. |
|
DESCRIPTION |
Alphanumeric text |
•Description of the file, its contents, and/or its purpose. •Odyssey and OdysseyOne ignore this directive. |
|
RECORDCOUNT |
Positive base-10 number |
•Number of records contained in the Import (data) File. |
|
SOURCE |
Text string |
•Indicates the source of the file (for example, “SIS” or “Bursar”) •Odyssey and OdysseyOne ignore this directive. |
Format Section
Note the following details regarding the Format Section:
•All lines in the Format Section must be processing directives or comments.
•Unknown or unsupported processing directives are ignored.
•Processing directives in the Format Section are in the form of <Directive>=<Value>.
•Do not add spaces before or after the equal sign, such as <Directive> = <Value>.
If spaces are added, the import still runs; however, an error line displays within the import results log.
Example:
Invalid format option on configuration line #10 (“Version = 4.3”)
Invalid format option on configuration line #11 (“Delimiter = COMMA”)
The following processing directives are used with the Configuration file Format Section. Both the Version and Delimiter are required directives.
|
Directive |
Value |
Description |
|
VERSION |
Version string |
•REQUIRED directive. •The version of the specification used to create the file. •Format as: <Major>.<Minor> •Version: 4.3 |
|
DELIMITER |
Delimiter value |
•REQUIRED directive. •Delimiter you are choosing to separate your data within the Import (data) File. •The delimiter can be any length and made up of any printable characters. •Use words "Comma" or "Tab" when using those delimiters. |
Fields Section
Note the following details regarding the Fields Section:
•The Fields Section specifies the order of the fields in the Import (data) file.
•All lines in the Fields Section must be processing directives or comments.
•Unknown or unsupported processing directives are ignored.
•Processing directives in the Fields Section are in the form of:
POSITION=<field occurrence>,NAME=<Field Name>,TYPE=Core
The following processing directives are used with the Configuration file Fields Section.
|
Directive |
Value |
Description |
|
POSITION |
Positive integer, field occurrence |
Number representing a field occurrence within an import. |
|
NAME |
Field Name. See Field Tags section. |
Keyword indicating where data goes within the target system. |
|
TYPE |
Field type |
Core is the only field type supported. |
Delimited Configuration File Example
The following is an example of the Delimited Configuration File:
|
[OPTIONS] Description=Odyssey Import of New Patrons Source=Mainframe Database Created=2022-06-01 11:30:00 BatchID=4395 RecordCount=5
[FORMAT] Version=4.3 Delimiter=Comma
[FIELDS] POSITION=1,NAME=IDNumber,TYPE=Core POSITION=2,NAME=CardNumber,TYPE=Core POSITION=3,NAME=Plan,TYPE=Core POSITION=4,NAME=LastName,TYPE=Core POSITION=5,NAME=FirstName,TYPE=Core POSITION=6,NAME=MiddleName,TYPE=Core |