File Connector

For each execution, a file in the specified directory is read (as long as its name corresponds to the pattern entered in the File > Name field). The file that is read depends on your specifications for Read order.

All files in the specified directory are read (as long as their file names correspond to the pattern entered in the File > Name field). In directory mode, an XML output message is always generated. This means that the Technical Workflow starts in any case.

Path to the directory from which files are to be read. The path can be entered as absolute or relative path to the directory <inubit-installdir>/server/process_engine/bin.

If selected, you can use a wildcard (asterisk/*) or enter the complete file name.

If selected, Perl-compliant regular expressions can be used to create character string patterns to select the files to read.

Refer to Regular Expressions.

File name. Optional wildcard or regular expression.

Refer to Regular Expressions.

If activated, the pattern specified for the file name is inverted. As a result, all files whose name does not correspond to the pattern are read.

If activated, case-sensitivity will be ignored for file names including their extensions.

Example: Test*.xml was specified in the File name field in the configuration of a previously executed file connector. A file with the name Test5.xml was passed by the file connector as an output message. In this case, the wildcard content is the digit 5. If you have also specified a wildcard in the current connector (for example, Output*.xml), the digit 5 is inserted into the wildcard position. The output of the connector configured here is therefore Output5.xml.

If activated, files are deleted after they have been read. Activate this option to process all files, one after the other, in a directory.

You can also activate the Throw error if, delete fails option so that an error entry is displayed in the Queue Manager for the workflow with this module if a file cannot be deleted. If an error output is configured, it is run. Otherwise, module execution is terminated.

(Only in file mode.)

Activate this option to ensure that the file input connector does not read any files while other applications are writing to them. If this option is selected, the file input connector checks the timestamp and sizes of the files to be read at configurable intervals and compares them. The files are only read if the specifications have not changed.

You use this specification to define the maximum number of times the workflow is to be started per triggering event. The triggering event is the attainment of predefined point in time (if the scheduler is activated). The workflow is then started as many times as necessary until either

If the value of Max. number of executions per scheduled call is higher than 1, this option can be selected to continue the specified number of calls even after a previous failure.

If selected, the file connector also reads the directory itself as well as the files in the specified directory.

Deletes empty directories once they have been read; this is a reasonable combination with the Delete files after reading option.

Activate this checkbox to delete the source directory even if it is not empty. If the directory exists, it will be deleted. Otherwise, the deletion of the directory will be aborted.

Maximum number of files that can be read.

Maximum total size of files to be read. Once the limit is reached, the file connector will cease to read any input files.

Checks whether a relevant file with size=0 exists. If yes, an XML file with the element <FileExists> and the value true is output. Otherwise, the workflow execution is terminated with an error. The input file is not output.

Checks whether a relevant file is available. An XML file is output with the element <FileExists> and the value false if the specified file does not exist; if it exists, the value of the <FileExists> element is true. The input file is not output.

Checks whether a relevant file exists. If not, an XML file with the element <FileExists> and the value false is output. Otherwise, the workflow execution is terminated with an error. The input file is not output.

Defines how input messages should be passed to the workflow:

Defines the encoding of the character set.

If selected, the entire file is read. If not selected, only the file metadata are read, e.g., name, file size, and date. If binary data shall be read, the Encode data base64 option below must be activated.

Activate this option if binary data shall be read. This kind of data must be encoded before it can be included in the XML properly. As long as this option is not activated, a corresponding warning is displayed.

If selected, the absolute path of the file is stored in a separate path attribute.

The input messages consist of data that should be written into a file without being changed.

The input messages come along in IBISDirectory-Xml format and are stored in a chosen directory.

The input files are compressed in a Zip file. If selected the File Connector expects a zip archive as input message. The File Connector decompresses this archive and stores the decompressed files in the given directory.

Absolute path to the directory that the file connector is to use when writing files.

The date specification also has a timestamp. If you specify the file name in the format file_%TimeStamp%%.xml, the output file name can be, for example, file_12122012-151047.xml. file is the file name, followed by a two-digit day specification, two-digit month specification, four-digit year specification (ddMMyyyy). The number following the hyphen is the time in two-digit hour specification, two-digit minute specification, and two-digit second specification (HHmmss).

The timestamp is created exactly like the date stamp (see above). A milliseconds specification is also used. If you specify the file name as file_%TimeStamp%ddMMyyyy-HHmmss-SSS%.xml, the following file name for example is used as the name of the output file: file_12122012-151304-027.xml. The final, three-digit specification represents milliseconds.

The process ID is the unique number created for a workflow execution. To pass the process ID of the workflow execution with the output file, enter the file name in the following format: file_PID_%ProcessId%.xml. As a result, e.g., the following file name is used as the name of the output file: file_PID_18.xml.

Generates all non-existent directories from the path specification.

If this checkbox is activated, you can enter a new name the existing directory configured in the Name field shall be renamed to. If the source directory does not exist in the file system, the workflow will be aborted. If the destination directory exists, the source directory will not be renamed.

You can also use wildcards (*) and add a timestamp and process ID in file names (refer to option Directory > Name).

Example: A Test*.xml file was specified in the Directory and file name field in the configuration of a file connector that was executed previously. A file with the name Test5.xml was passed by the file connector as an output message. In this case, the wildcard content is the digit 5. If you have also specified a wildcard in the current connector (for example, Output*.xml), the digit 5 is entered in place of the wildcard. The output of the connector configured here is therefore Output5.xml.

Example: A Test.xml file was specified in the Directory and file name field in the configuration of a previously executed file connector. The file connector forwards a file called Test.xml as the output message. This file name is then also used here.

This option makes sure that the application waiting for the file fetches the file only after its completion. If selected, the data is written initially to a temporary file. When this process is completed, the temporary file is renamed according to the given file name. Creating the temporary file can take longer for larger files.

An existing file with the same name is overwritten.

Each time the workflow is executed the file to be read is appended to an existing file should one exist. This can be useful if you want to record cumulative log data in a file. This option cannot be used if wildcards are specified in the file name.

Skips writing into an existing file but creates a new one if no such file exists. In the watchpoint result file, the fileConnector.skippedFiles workflow variable contains the names of the already existing files.

If this option is selected, the input file is passed to the subsequent module. Depending on the size of the input files, this option can affect the performance of your system.

Refer to Module Variables.