Structured Text Filter

To learn more about filters in general, see section Understanding Filters.

Use this filter whenever you receive a structured text file. These are the text files in which the fields are identified by one of the following methods:

  • Fields are delimited by a character: Usual delimiter characters are comma or semicolon. CSV (comma separated values) is a typical example of a delimited file.

  • Fields contain fixed number of characters: In other words, fields are defined by fixed-width columns.

For examples of structured text data, see section Text Database.

Defining Structure

To define the structure of a text file, you have the following options:

  • Importing structure using the Text File Wizard: In this case, click the Import Data Structure button in the ribbon and follow the on-screen instructions. After you finish the wizard, the type of text database and all fields are defined. If the first line of data contains field names, the Wizard can import them. This is the recommended method, if the trigger always receives data whose structure does not change.

  • Manually defining the fields: In this case, you have to manually define the type of data (delimited fields or fixed-width fields) and then define the field names. For more information, see section Defining Fields.

  • Dynamically read the fields: In this case, the trigger might receive data that is structured in a different way. An example for this are new field names – dynamic structure eliminates the need to update the filter for each structural change. Support for dynamic structure automatically reads all data fields, no matter if new fields exist or if some of the old fields are missing. It maps them automatically with the variables using the same names. For more information, see section Enabling Dynamic Structure.

Data Preview section simplifies the configuration. In the preview pane, the result of a defined filter rule highlights the area along with every configuration change. Data Preview enables you to check what data is extracted with each rule.