Assigning incoming data to entity and link properties

After you create an import design, you can configure how the property values of imported entities and links are set from the incoming data.

About this task

You can use values from incoming data as the property values of the entities and links that Analyst's Notebook creates during the import process. For example, you might set the Call Duration property of a Telephone Call link from a value in the Duration column of an import file.
Note: The details of assigning data are different, depending on whether you are working with a schema-aligned or a classic import specification:
  • In a classic specification, you can assign values to the properties of Analyst's Notebook items, and to cards and attributes on those items.
  • In a schema-aligned specification, you can assign values to the properties of i2 Analyze records.

In some cases, you can assign values from more than one column of import data to a property. For example, a Full Name property might consist of data from a Given Name column and a Surname column.

Procedure

To configure how a property value is set from incoming data:
  1. In the import design, click an entity or a link.
    The record or item properties are displayed to the right of the import design.
  2. Drag a column from the preview table at the top of the wizard to a cell in the Value column of the property list.
    The column name is displayed in the property table within square brackets. For example, [Duration].
  3. To assign more than one column to a property value, hold the Shift key and drag a second column to the cell in the Value column of the property table. The second column is also assigned to the property value, and is separated from the first column by a space.
    For example, [First Name] [Surname].
    Note: You can use this technique to assign multiple columns to single-line text, multiple-line text, or 'suggested from' properties (lists that you can type other values into). To achieve the same effect for other properties, use column actions to create columns that contain multiple values before you reach this point.
  4. If you are working with a classic specification, then you must assign a column to the "Identity" property of an entity that uniquely identifies it on the chart.
    Depending on the data, you might use the number of a telephone, or the license place of a vehicle, for example.
  5. Choose what action to take when the import wizard encounters a blank value in a column.
    1. Select the property name, and then click the browse button that appears next to the value.
    2. In the window that opens, choose whether to replace a blank value with a fixed value.
    3. If you are working with a classic specification, and the blank value is for the identity of an entity, choose one of the following options:
      • Do not create the entity
      • Create the entity with a blank identity
      • Create the entity and set its identity to, then enter a value.