Name

Enter a name for this file exporter.

Enabled

File Name (Expr)

Enter an expression to generate the name of the file being exported. It must evaluate to a plain text string. It can include text expressions. You can use the internal variables:

• _fromDate: the start date of the period of the table being processed.

• _toDate: the end date of the period of the the table being processed.

• _inputMultiplier: the value returned by the input multiplier, if one is being used.

Output Directory (Expr)

Optionally, enter an expression to generate the name of the directory into which generated files should be written. It must evaluate to a plain text string. 

If you have configured a restricted directory for the PhixFlow server, the file exporter creates the output directory there; see System Configuration → Restricted Directory. 

You can use the internal variables:

• _fromDate: the start date of the period of the table being processed.

• _toDate: the end date of the period of the the table being processed.

• _inputMultiplier: the value returned by the input multiplier, if one is being used.

If you do not enter an expression or if the expression evaluates to blank, when you run the analysis model:

• PhixFlow does not save the generated file to disk

• PhixFlow checks that you have completed the options in the Send By Email section.

FTP Site

Select an FTP site to which the generated file will be moved. For details about how to add sites to this list, see FTP Site. FTP directory paths must be the full path to the file because PhixFlow ignores the local machine's base directory specified in System Configuration.

If you do not select a site, PhixFlow assumes the output file will be saved on the local machine.

Ignore Base Directory 

The base directory is set in System Configuration → System Directories → Output Directory.

Export File As

You can export files in the following formats:

Comma Separated Values: Data will be read from a single push pipe and written to CSV files.

Excel Spreadsheet: Data will be read from a single push pipe and written to Excel Spreadsheet files.

If the push pipe has a drill-down view with an Excel template specified, this will be used to export the data. Optionally, use the Excel Template field for this file exporter. Specify an Excel template, which will supersede any template specified on the push pipe drill-down view.

If you specify an Excel Template, each output file is generated by copying the Excel template file and overwriting the values in the first worksheet. In this case, the type of file generated is the same as that of the template.

If you do not specify an Excel Template, each output file is generated by creating a new, empty Excel file and writing values to the first and only worksheet. In this case, the file type is the extension generated by the File Name Expression field.

.xls will generate a file in Microsoft Office 2003 Excel format.

.xlsx or .xlsm will generate a file in Microsoft Office 2007 Excel format.

Any other extension will generate a file in the format configured in System Configuration → Default Export Excel Version..

Excel Spreadsheet (Multiple Inputs): Data will be read from all input pipes and written to Excel spreadsheet files. At least one input pipe must be a push pipe.

The Excel Template Expression must evaluate to the name of an Excel template file. The Excel template must be annotated with instructions to the exporter to insert data from any of the input pipes into specific ranges of cells. See Excel Template.

HTML File: Data will be read from a single push pipe and written to HTML files.

If the push pipe has a drill-down view with an Excel template specified, this will be used to export the data. Optionally, use the Excel Template field for this file exporter. Specify an Excel template, which will supersede any template specified on the push pipe drill-down view.

If you specify an Excel Template, each output file is generated by copying the Excel template file and overwriting the values in the first worksheet. In this case, the type of file generated is the same as that of the template.

If you do not specify an Excel Template, each output file is generated by creating a new, empty Excel file and writing values to the first and only worksheet, then writing that worksheet out as HTML.

Overwrite existing file

The file exporter overwrites existing files with the same name as the file to be generated. This can be useful where you want PhixFlow to replace a file at regular intervals, for example to update the content of an HTML page on an intranet.

Maximum Records per File

Enter the maximum number of records that will be written to each file.

Header

Character Set

Other Character Set

Available when Character Set is Other. Enter a different character set. For the full list of available character sets, see the Oracle Java documentation about encoding; you can use the canonical names from either column.

Line Separator Style

When PhixFlow generates the file, it uses the line separator configured in System Configuration → Advanced section → Line Separator Style. If this is not set, Phixflow uses the default for the operating system on which the PhixFlow server is running.

You may want to generate an export file that uses a different line separator, for example if PhixFlow runs on Linux, but the file will be sent to Windows users. To set a different line separator, select:

• Windows

• Unix

• Other - see Line Separator Chars, below

Line Separator Chars

Available when Line Separator Style is Other. Enter either a single character or multiple characters to use as a new line separator. The characters may be the literal characters or a sequence from the table below. These sequences are useful if the required separator character is not valid to be stored in the database.

Column Separator

Separator Character

Excel Template

Available when Export File As is one of following:

• Excel Spreadsheet (Multiple Inputs): enter an expression that evaluates to an Excel template; see Excel Template.

• Excel Spreadsheet or HTML File: enter the name of the Excel template.

Convert To PDF

Available when the Export File As is Excel Spreadsheet.

• either the Output Directory,

• or the PDF Target Path.

PhixFlow reports on the PDF conversion in the console's PDF Chore tab.

PDF Target Path (Expr)

Available when the Export File As is Excel Spreadsheet.

Enter an expression that evaluates to a path where PhixFlow will save the PDF file.

Evaluate Formulae Before Saving File

Quote Style

Quote Character

Input Multiplier

The input multiplier expression should evaluate to a list of one or more values. For each value in the list, the internal variable _inputMultiplier will be set to that value and the file export process will be repeated i.e. the pull pipes will be read and the data from those pipes processed to generate file output data, and a new export file will be written.

Log Input Multiplier Messages

• Log Input Multiplier Messages: when ticked, PhixFlow writes a message to the log every time the input multiplier value changes during an analysis run, whatever is set here.

Email From

Enter the email address from which the generated email will appear to be sent. An expression that must evaluate to a plain text string.

Subject Expression

Enter an expression to create the email subject. The expression must evaluate to a plain text string.

Attach File

Specify whether or not the exported file should be attached to the email sent.

Future Attachments Expression

Enter an expression that evaluates to a list of external files that should be be attached to the email.

These files are created outside PhixFlow, and may or may not exist when the file exporter runs. If the files don't exist, the generated email will be held in the output queue until either they are created by some external process, or a timeout period has passed.

Zip File

Available when Attach File is selected or Future Attachments Expression is set.

Specify whether or not the attached file(s) will be zipped.

Email as HTML

Message Expression

Enter a PhixFlow expression (see Glossary) to create the message body of the email. Email messages can have unlimited characters. When Email as HTML:

• is not ticked the expression must evaluate to a plain text string. 

• is ticked, the string can include HTML tags, for example to format text or provide links.

Encryption Type

The following encryption types are supported:

• leave blank: If the Encryption Type is blank, then the file will not be encrypted.

• Standard Zip: Standard ZIP 2.0 encryption is the encryption type that is accepted by most applications, and is the weakest supported encryption type.

• AES 128-bit: All variants of AES encryption are stronger than Standard Zip encryption, but AES encryption is the weakest type of AES encryption supported and is accepted by fewer applications.

• AES 256-bit: AES 256-bit is the strongest type of AES encryption supported.

Password

Email recipients must enter this password in order to open any exported zipped files.

When setting the password, you should make a note of the password used and communicate it separately to the recipients of the emails to be sent out. It is not possible to display the current password.

Confirm Password

This must match the main Password.

Notification

This table has the standard toolbar plus the extra button

To add users to this table, click

• Name: The user name.

• Email As: The email send-type.

• Expression: A PhixFlow expression.

 To change any of the data, double-click on the row to open the User Notification Rule tab.

Protect during import

TO Expression

Enter a PhixFlow expression to calculate the recipients for the email. The recipients returned by this expression will be added to the list of recipients returned by the individual User Notification Rule on the Email Recipients section.

For example to simply enter a list of email addresses, you can enter an expression such as: ["john.smith@acme.com","jane.doe@corp.com"]
The result of the expression must be:

• either a single plain text string that should be a valid email address

• or a list object that contains one or more strings, each of which must be a valid email address.

CC Expression

As in the TO Expression, the list of users returned by this expression will be included on the CC line on the email.

BCC Expression

As in the TO Expression, the list of users returned by this expression will be included in the BCC line on the email.