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Data format settings defined for a data source apply to any new extraction made in the current
data mapping configuration. These settings are made on the Settings pane; see "Settings
pane" on page323.
Settings for a field that contains extracted data are made via the properties of the Extract step
that the field belongs to (see "Setting the data type" on page276). Any format settings specified
per field are always used, regardless of the user preferences or data source settings.
Note
Data format settings tell the DataMapper how to read and parse data from the data
source. They don't determine how these data are formatted in the Data Model or in a
template. In the Data Model, data are converted to the native data type. Dates, for
example, are converted to a DateTime object. How they are displayed in the Data Model
depends on the current operating system's regional settings.
Properties and runtime parameters
A data mapping configuration's properties hold data that can be used throughout the data
mapping workflow to compare against in conditions or to complement the existing data.
A number of properties are predefined, such as the path of the file that is currently being
processed, and the current position of the pointer in the data.
It is also possible to define custom properties. For instance, a unique ID could be created to be
added to each record in the output for integrity checks later on, or a time stamp could be added
to create reports. A tag could be added to process certain records differently.
Ultimately data mapping configurations are meant to be used in automated processes, to
extract data from a particular type of data file.
Runtime parameters can pass values from an automation tool - PlanetPress Workflow, usually
- to a template, data mapping configuration or Job Creation Preset. The actual values of the
parameters may be different from one time that a process runs to the next, which means the
output could be different even when the same template, data mapping configuration and/or Job
Creation Presets are used.
In a data mapping configuration, certain runtime parameters are predefined, such as the ones
that refer to the JobInfo variables in Workflow. For an overview see "Fixed automation
properties" on page341.
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