Data import guidelines

Data being imported to Blue from an external datasource should adhere to a few basic guidelines that will make the importation process go as smoothly as possible.

A user datasource must contain at least three fields, a User ID, a first name and a last name.
Field and table names cannot contain reserved words (SQL Reserved Words.
Leading and trailing spaces must be removed for every field.
Field and table names can only contain alphanumeric characters and the underscore (_).
NULL should be used instead of leaving the field blank.
Only String, Integer, and Date/Time data types can be imported.
The username field should be alphanumeric.
Special characters should not be used in any field intended to be used as an ID field for Blue or any other system.
Each record must have a unique ID field that is alphanumeric.
Date/time fields must follow one of the supported formats to be imported:
- yyyy-mm-dd 00:00:00
- mm-dd-yyyy 00:00:00
- dd-mm-yyyy 00:00:00

Hours/minutes/seconds (00:00:00) are optional. The date/time format is based on the date, time, and region settings of the Blue server, so use caution when importing data from a different part of the world as the date and time formatting may result in bad data.

CAUTION

Adding or deleting blocks or fields within the block fundamentally modifies the structure of the datasource. Preexisting records in the datasource will remain intact until the next successful import. Modifying the structure of a datasource can affect projects, reports, filters, triggers, groups, and other areas of Blue that may cause significant unexpected behavior.

REMINDER

If duplicate entries exist in your datasource, consult this topic for more information on cleaning up records: Manage duplicate records.

Data field types

While setting up datasources, it is important to ensure that Blue recognizes the data as the appropriate type. The type of data in a field may affect your ability to search, filter, or perform other actions on the data. Once the data type is set for a field, it cannot be changed. Blue currently supports the following data types:

Data Types

Data type	Definition¹	Group by	Piping	Listable	Record mgmt	Searchable
String	text, 100 char max	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
LongString	text, 200 char default, 500 max	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
LongText	text, 5000 char default, 10,000 max	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
ImageURL	URL, 200 char default, 500 max	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Integer	whole numbers up to 2,147,483,647	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Date/Time	numerical date and time	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

The default maximum values for LongString, LongText, and ImageURL can be changed by editing the associated values in the BlueAppConfig.config XML file. ↩

List of errors

List of warnings

Add an object datasource

InConnect datasources

Add a user datasource

InConnect datasources

Add a hierarchy datasource

InConnect datasources

Add a field filter datasource

InConnect datasources

Add a relationship datasource

InConnect datasources

Data import guidelines

Data field types

Footnotes