Data Tools GUI & Automate

The Data Tools program is used to import customer data into LobbyCentral. There are two separate programs that are included:

Data Tools GUI (Data Tools) that is used to manually import data.
Data Tools Automate that is used for scheduled / unattended data import.

Data Tools (GUI)

To import LobbyCentral customer data:

Create an import file based on the Layout Specifications.
Run Data Tools.
Click Customer Import.
Click Browse to select your import file.
Set the field Delimiter.
Click Preview to review the first 50 rows, or click Import to start the import process.

Previewing Data

Use the Preview function to verify that your data file. If the verification process finds errors, these rows will appear in red.

Rejected Records

At the end of the import process, any rejected records will be displayed along with the reason. These records should be repaired and imported in a separate data file.

Data Purge

Data Purge is available for Desktop Only. It is not available for Automate.

BE SURE TO PERFORM A FULL DATABASE BACKUP BEFORE RUNNING THE PURGE!

The Purge Data feature allows you to delete completed requests for a specific date range. This feature is only available in the Data Tools Desktop program.

Purging Data

Launch Data Tools and select Purge Data.
Enter the desired date range and select Delete Requests.
To confirm deletion, select Yes.
Select Ok to complete the operation.

Data Tools Automate

Data Tools Automate is a command line program that reads a delimited file to import customer information into LobbyCentral. The program can be added to Windows Scheduled Tasks to completely automate your customer import process.

Before you begin, you will need to know:

Name or IP address of the LobbyCentral database server
Name of the LobbyCentral database (usually LobbyCentral)
LobbyCentral database username and password

If you do not know this information, you can examine the LobbyCentralService.exe.config file’s <appSettings> section. This file will be located in the folder c:\program files\fuhr software\lobbyCentral\server on the server.

Configuration

Go to C:\Program Files\Fuhr Software\LobbyCentral\Data Tools.
Using Notepad, edit CustomerSettings.config.
Set the values as follows:

filepath: The complete path and filename where Data Tools should look to find the import file, i.e. c:\data\importData.txt
deliminator: The delimiter used.
dbServer: Name or IP address of the LobbyCentral database sever
dbName: Name of the LobbyCentral database.
dbUsername: Database username
dbPassword: Database password
trustedConnection: If Windows Authentication, set to true. Otherwise, leave false.

4. Save the file.

How to Use

Create a customer import file using the layout specifications found in this document.
Copy the file to the location set in CustomerSettings.config.
At a command line, run DataToolsAutomate.exe.

Scheduling Data Tools to Run Automatically

If you have the capability to generate the import file automatically, you can schedule Data Tools to run on a pre-defined schedule to read and import that file.

Windows 2008

In Windows, go to Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Schedule Tasks.
Create a task.
Name the task LC Data Tools Automate and add a brief description.
Check the box “Run whether user is logged on or not.”
Click the Actions tab and create a new action.
Select the Action type of Start a program.
Click Browse and select the DataToolsAutomate.exe file.
Click OK.
Click the Triggers tab and create a new trigger.
Set the desired run schedule and click OK.
Click OK to save the task.

Windows 2003

Create a basic task setting the program to DataToolsAutomate.exe and define the schedule.

Layout Specifications

One customer per row, comma delimited.
Terminate each row with a carriage return.
Do not include header names in the first row.
If data is not supplied for a field, leave it empty. Do not use a single space. i.e. If not providing the middle name: Test,,Customer vs Test,A,Customer
Do not qualify text with double-quotation marks.
Do not exceed the max field size shown in the spec layout.

All fields are required. If the column is not used, pass an empty string for type String or 0 for type Number.

Fieldname	Type	Length
First Name	String	25
Middle Name	String	20
Last Name	String	20
Account ID Number	String	50
Account ID Type	Integer	Use a valid account type as defined in the Account Types table. Account Type IDs can be found in Tools->Administration->Lookup Tables->Account Types. Use 0 as the Default.
Address	String	100
City	String	50
State	String	20
Zip	String	15
Country	String	20
Company Name	String	100
Date of Birth	String	Use format: mm/dd/yyyy
SSN	String	20. Use format: xxx-xx-xxxx
Phone	String	15. Use format: xxx-xxx-xxxx
Email	String	255
Mobile Phone	String	15. Use format: xxx-xxx-xxxx
Should Deactivate	Integer	0 = No, 1 = Yes. If ‘Yes’, the customer record’s status will be changed to Inactive.
Internal Customer ID	String	50 – Your customer ID

How Data Tools handles duplicate customer records during an import

Setting the Match Criteria

For each record in the file, a match is performed based on the selection above. Then it either Updates or Creates the customer depending on the match results.

SSN Matching:

The app will look for a customer with the SSN # in the file. If no SSN is provided, it will search on First and Last name.

Internal Customer ID:

The app will look for a customer with the internal ID in the file. If no ID is provided, a new record is created.

First Name + Account Number:

The app will look for a combination of the first name along with an account number (not internal ID).

Processing the Results

Based on the number of records returned from the match process, the following action occurs:

0 records found = New customer record

1 record found = Update the customer record

2+ records found = New customer record

Data Tools Automate

The Match Criteria logic defaults to SSN first or First + Last Name. To use one of the other two options, it must be updated in the CustomerSettings.config file in the Data Tools folder: