How to create an import file for Number Changers

4 minute read time.

In a previous blog, I discussed about number changers and talked about the different types of changes and which modules have number changers. What can one do if he/she has over 100 or 1000 changes to be entered? The program only allows one change to be entered at a time, so the best option is to import the changes. There are 5 types of formats supported but the most popular 2 formats used are Excel (.xls) and Comma Separated Value (.CSV). Go to the Number Changer of your choice below for more details on the import file requirements. You can use Excel or Notepad to build the import file for CSV format but when saving the file in Excel, make sure you select the file type CSV prior to saving the file. After entering a couple changes, save the import file to the desired format and test importing the file so you know the format is good before mass producing your list of changes. Just delete the test changes after it is imported.

Vendor Number Change

The import template should be easy to create as it only contains 5 required fields/columns. A short description of each column is show below. The first row of the import file is reserved as a title row, so it can be blank or filled with descriptive information for each column (such as what that column contains or what it is for). Once the 5 column descriptions are entered in row 1, actual changes can be entered on Row 2 and onward. Just enter the appropriate detail in each column for each change on each row. Columns 4 and 5 must contain data even if they are not being changed.

Required Fields:

  • Column/Field 1 – Old Vendor number
  • Column/Field 2 – New Vendor number
  • Column/Field 3 – Action/Change type
  • Column/Field 4 – Short name
  • Column/Field 5 – Vendor name

Action Types:

  • 0 (change)
  • 1 (combine)
  • 2 (copy)

Example of file layout:

Customer Number Change

The import template should be easy to create as it only contains 5 required fields/columns. A short description of each column is show below. The first row of the import file is reserved as a title row, so it can be blank or filled with descriptive information for each column (such as what that column contains or what it is for). Once the 5 column descriptions are entered in row 1, actual changes can be entered on Row 2 and onward. Just enter the appropriate detail in each column for each change on each row. Columns 4 and 5 must contain data even if they are not being changed.

Required Fields:

  • Column/Field 1 – Old Customer number
  • Column/Field 2 – New Customer number
  • Column/Field 3 – Action/Change type
  • Column/Field 4 – Short name
  • Column/Field 5 – Customer name

Action Types (predefined):

  • 0 (change)
  • 1 (combine)
  • 2 (copy)

Example of file layout:

Account Code Change

The import template should be easy to create as it only contains 5 required fields/columns. A short description of each column is show below. The first row of the import file is reserved as a title row, so it can be blank or filled with descriptive information for each column (such as what that column contains or what it is for). Once the 5 column descriptions are entered in row 1, actual changes can be entered on Row 2 and onward. Just enter the appropriate detail in each column for each change on each row. Columns 4 and 5 must contain data even if they are not being changed.

Required Fields:

  • Column/Field 1 – Old Account number
  • Column/Field 2 – New Account number
  • Column/Field 3 – Action/Change type
  • Column/Field 4 – Account Structure
  • Column/Field 5 – Account Description

Action Types (predefined):

  • 0 (change)
  • 1 (combine)
  • 2 (copy)

Example of file layout:

Item Number Change

The import template should be easy to create as it only contains 5 required fields/columns. A short description of each column is show below. The first row of the import file is reserved as a title row, so it can be blank or filled with descriptive information for each column (such as what that column contains or what it is for). Once the 5 column descriptions are entered in row 1, actual changes can be entered on Row 2 and onward. Just enter the appropriate detail in each column for each change on each row. Columns 4 and 5 must contain data even if they are not being changed. If you are changing the item structure code, the existing list can be view in IC Setup, Item Structures.

Required Fields:

  • Column/Field 1 – Old Item number
  • Column/Field 2 – New Item number
  • Column/Field 3 – Action/Change type
  • Column/Field 4 – Structure
  • Column/Field 5 – Item Description

Action Types:

  • 0 (change)
  • 1 (combine)
  • 2 (copy)

Example of file layout:

Importing

Follow these steps to import the file:

  1. Open the Number Changer that you created the list for.
  2. Click on File.
  3. Select Import.
  4. Click on Browse to select the file to be imported.
  5. Click on Import to start importing the file.
  6. Click Done to import the list.
  7. OR if you do not want to import the list yet, click on Clear List

Notes:

  • The maximum number of entries that can be entered is 1000, so make sure your import file does not exceed that.
  • After the changes are imported, it can still be modified or deleted.
  • Before posting any Change (no matter what type), make your you make a valid backup of your database. It would be even better if you can test your changes in a current “Test” copy of your database.
  • We only discussed functions or features related to importing a list of changes for the Number Changers in this blog. For more detailed overview of each Number Changer, press F1 when you have that Number Changer open.