Export specifications

Enabling and disabling Export to iBase

When a user with write access to iBase clicks Export to iBase in the Home tab of the ribbon in the Analyst's Notebook Premium desktop client, the Export to iBase dialog appears.

The first page of the dialog allows the user to choose the Target database and the Export specification that they want to use. The user can examine the details of the selected export specification by clicking Edit.

When an iBase user with the security administrator role clicks the same ribbon button, they see two additional settings:

• Enable export from search results allows all users to export records in the results view directly to iBase without charting them first.

• Enable export from the chart surface allows all users to export records from selected items on the chart surface to iBase.

If neither checkbox is selected, users cannot export i2 Analyze records to iBase. Do not select either checkbox until at least one (default) export specification exists.

Configuring export specifications

When a user with write access to iBase clicks Edit to examine an export specification, the resulting dialog contains a single Specification tab, in which they can view the name and description of the specification.

For an iBase user with the security administrator role, the dialog contains an additional Details tab that provides a range of settings for configuring the behavior of export operations on a per-connector basis.

• Connector

  Unless otherwise specified, all the settings on the Details tab apply to records from all connectors, as indicated by the label (Default) in the Connector field.

  Note: The default settings also apply to records that users create from the Gateway palette, and to any other i2 Analyze records that use the same schema.

  To give different behaviors to records from different connectors, click Add to create a separate group of settings for a connector with a specific identifier. You can then use the drop-down to switch between connectors, or click Remove to return a connector to the default settings.

• Export records with missing discriminators

  The iBase database defines which fields of its records have values that discriminate them from other records.

  Optionally, you can override the iBase definitions and specify a different set of discriminator fields on a per item type basis. (See the topic about Mappings.)

  Regardless of how the discriminators are defined, however, a record being exported from the Analyst's Notebook desktop client might not have values for all of those fields.

  When this option is selected (which is the default), records are exported from the Analyst's Notebook desktop client even when they have missing discriminator values. When this option is not selected, records that do not have values for all the discriminating fields are not exported.

• Chart records as they are added/updated in iBase

  This setting controls what happens on the chart when a record that a user exports from the Analyst's Notebook desktop client causes a record to be created or updated in iBase.

  When the option is selected (which is the default), iBase immediately sends the affected record back to the chart. If the record was exported from the chart, the chart record is updated with data from iBase. If the record was exported from a results list, a new record is added to the chart.

• Update iBase records that match exported records

  When users export records from the Analyst's Notebook desktop client, iBase uses their discriminator values to determine whether there is already a matching record in the database.

  This setting controls what happens when iBase finds a match. When it's selected (which is the default), the existing iBase record is updated with information from the exported record. When it's not selected, the existing record is left unchanged.

  When Update iBase records that match exported records is selected, you also need to specify what happens if iBase finds more than one match for an exported record, through the If an exported record matches several iBase records setting:

  • Update the first matching record means that the first matching record is updated, but all other matching records are left unchanged.

  • Update all matching records means that all matching records are updated with information from the exported record.

  • Do not update records means that all matching records are left unchanged.

• Create iBase records for unmatched exported records

  This setting controls what happens when iBase does not find a match for an exported record. When it's selected (which is the default), an iBase record is created from the exported record. When it's not selected, the exported record is ignored.

• Mappings

  The Mappings area of the Details tab allows you to fine-tune the process of populating the fields of iBase records from the properties of i2 Analyze records. For more information, see Export mappings.

Sharing export specifications

Clicking Save stores export specifications to the iBase database, from where they are available to all users of that database.

If you want to use the same specification for a different database, or to store it in a version control system, you can save it in a distributable form by clicking Write specification to file. To load a specification that someone has provided to you, click Read specification from file.