Metadata Upload File Format

Introduction

This document describes the DrawMGT V11.1 Metadata Upload file format.

For a description of the DrawMGT V9.1 Metadata Upload file format, see Upload File Format V9.1.

Differences Between V11.0 and V11.1

DrawMGT V11.1 Format is compatible with V11.0 but contains two new fields:

These fields are used to upload free text titles. These can only be used by Document Types that support free text and only as alternatives to the title fields that take code values:

The field workFlowType has been removed in V11.1 as it is now derived from the Document Type. Data in this column will be ignored.

Metadata Upload File Format

The Metadata Upload file uses a simple spreadsheet format which contains columns and rows of data.

Each row represents a single record and may contain information about a document, revision and comment.

Each column represents the individual data fields used to build a database record.

Lines beginning with a '#' character are considered to be user information. These, as well as blank lines, are ignored by the Metadata Uploader.

The first row must contain column header information. The headers must match the column names described in the table in section 3.2. Metadata Uploader ignores data in columns that have misspelled or, otherwise don't match the header list and a warning is given. Thus, additional columns can be placed in the upload file and they will be safely ignored by the Metadata Uploader provided they do not conflict with the column names listed below.

All subsequent rows contain document, revision and comment data. Not all columns need to be defined. Again, section 3.2, describes which columns are required. This, however, is not a complete list and only describes requirements to pass system validation. The site may have additional validation requirements not described here. See the Site Documentation for additional information.

The column headers may be in any order. The data in each column should correspond be in the same order as the headers.

Column headers and values in all rows must be separated using a tab character.

The Metadata Upload format is identical to the Download with the exception that comment data is not included in the download.

The Download does, however, include the comment headers. Downloading an example document and revision may be a good way to create an upload file as this may be used as a valid format.

The upload is limited to 100 rows of data.

The Metadata Uploader sets any defaults defined in the system or site configurations. If a column is not defined in the file, the Metadata Uploader will just use these defaults. If a column is defined but the value is blank, the Metadata Uploader will set the field to blank.

Planned fields (e.g. planned title and scale) are considered a special case. If a document planned field contains a value, this will be used as the default for revision record.

Upload Record Definition

Upload Record Components

The upload record consists of a series of fields which can be divided into three categories:

  1. Document definition fields
  2. Revision definition fields
  3. Comment definition fields

A single document, revision and comment may be created in one upload record. Alternatively a revision can be updated. The following restrictions apply:

The presence or absence of fields in each category lead to a number of possibilities. Section 5 lists all the possibilities and the system's response.

Upload Record Fields

The following tables describe the fields handled by the Metadata Uploader and displays the following information:

Field Values

This section defines the formats and values acceptable for each field.

Drawing Code Syntax

Please refer to the drawing code syntax documentation for the site specific drawing code formats.

Date Field Values

Dates must be specified in YYYY-MM-DD format. Notes:

Initials Field Values

Initials must be specified exactly as defined in the initials column of the users list. Note that the initials include a '/' and a company designation. See the user's list (select from the left hand menu) for the actual values.

ID & Code Values

The following field requires a numerical value:

All other database reference table fields are handled using the reference data type defined in section 3. For example, approval status uses the 'code' reference data value. Therefore, setting the value in column approval1Status to "0" will set the revision to "Open".

For a complete list of reference data ID values and codes, please consult the Reference Data List.

Upload Record Types

This section lists all the possible combinations of upload records and the system's response to them.

Upload Record Types and System Response

The following tables describes the system's response to all possible combinations of documents, revisions and comments. The exact meaning of none, new and old is described in the next section.

Field Categories

List of Fields Which Cannot Be Uploaded

For completeness here is a list of the fields in the Drawings, Revisions and Comments tables which cannot be uploaded.

MetadataFormat (last edited 2009-11-08 10:22:18 by softxs)

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