DataLoaderAn Overview

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Contents What is DataLoad...................................2 How to download and install DataLoad. . .3 How It Works.........................................3 The DataLoad Window............................3 DataLoad Options..................................5 Importing Data......................................5 Creating a DataLoad spreadsheet...........6 DataLoad Commands..............................7 Using Delays........................................11 Running Dataloader.............................13 Creating Sample Worksheet.................15

What is DataLoadDataLoad is a tool through which data can be loaded into Oracle Applications through the forms.

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Every Oracle Applications implementation requires data and setup information to be loaded in the database before the system goes live. Furthermore, there are often requirements to regularly load or amend data in the system once it has gone live. DataLoad was developed to allow end users to automate the manipulation of the Application's forms by providing a method of loading data that ensures Oracle's validation code is still applied. The data entered is indistinguishable from that entered by users making DataLoad ideal for loading data into the database through standard forms, thus saving the time and effort of writing interfaces. As it uses a Nontechnical approach, it can be built and run by non-technical users. In addition as data is loaded through the forms it is supported by Oracle

How to download and install DataLoad1. DataLoad Classis Version is free and can be downloaded from the websitehttp://dataload.net. Under the section DataLoad Classic, click on the download button. Enter your e-mail address and company name as requested and click on the download button. 2. On the File download box, which pops up, click on save and enter the name of the folder and the directory to which you want to save the file and then click OK. 3. After the download is complete, go to the folder in which it has been saved and open the file. a. Enter the name of the directory where you would like DataLoader to be installed and then click on the Next button. b. Click on the Install button and wait for the installation to complete c. Click on Launch Dataloader and then click on Finish 4. Dataloader is now ready for use

How It WorksThe requisite data is entered into DataLoad's spreadsheet using a combination of Data, Keystrokes and Mouse clicks. When the DataLoad spreadsheet is run it simulates the defined Keystrokes and Mouse keys thereby transferring the data to Oracle. Any keys on your keyboard can be used by DataLoad in any combination, and the left and right mouse buttons can also be used. DataLoad gives the user full control over how and when the data is sent to the target window allowing any application to be controlled and any action to be automated.

The DataLoad WindowThe key components of the DataLoads window are

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Menu Bar The menu bar contains the menus from File to Help. All functions are accessible from these menus, many of which also have shortcut keys and icons to access the functionality more quickly. Toolbar The toolbar contains the shortcut icons. These provide quick access to the most used functions. If you are unsure what an icon does leave your mouse pointer over it and a description will appear. Window Name box This contains the name of the Window which will receive the data and commands. The drop down list will contain a list of currently active windows. If the window you require is not listed it's name can be manually entered. Description box The description box is a free text box, which you can use for recording any useful details. The target form name and version could be recorded here for future reference. Cell Edit box This edit box displays the contents of the currently selected grid cell, and next to it are the co-ordinates of this cell. You can edit, delete, copy and paste the cell data in this box, making such activities easier than directly editing in the cell. Title row The first row of the grid is a grey title row. When you start DataLoad it is blank. You can't directly edit this row but the titles can be accessed through a form that is available from the Edit menu, by clicking the right mouse button, or by double clicking on the row itself. Alternatively, when data is entered in the first editable row of the grid, titles are automatically inserted into the title row. Titles not only provide a useful reference but also enable DataLoad to automatically insert commands into the grid for you. As you tab through the grid, columns that have a command for a title will have that command inserted into the cell, thus saving typing effort. This facility is only of use if you structure your data and commands by records such that each row is identical The Grid The grid is the main part of the window and consists of intersecting rows and columns. The rows and columns intersect at cells and the cells will contain your data, keystrokes or commands Command Group This drop down list contains all the command groups and the correct one should be selected for your load to ensure the appropriate keystrokes and data are issued when commands are used Auto Tab The auto tab check box enables automatic tabbing while working in Copy & Paste mode. When Auto Tab is used the "TAB" command can be omitted from the grid and DataLoad will automatically send a TAB command after each data cell has been sent.

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DataLoad OptionsAutomatically size titles When this option is turned on column widths will automatically adjust to fit the column titles. This means the full title is always displayed and is readable. By default this option is not set. Wait while hourglass When checked, this option will cause DataLoad to suspend sending data and keystrokes to the target application while the cursor is an hourglass. If the cursor is an hourglass this indicates that the application may be still processing the previous data or keystrokes. Delaying processing further cells may prevent DataLoad from sending data that the application is not ready to process. Rather than DataLoad 'spinning' while an hourglass is displayed, which would consume high levels of CPU; it will 'sleep' for a period set in the delays form. When the sleep period is over DataLoad will check the cursor again and will return to sleeping for the preset time if the hourglass is still present. By default this option is not set. Auto insert commands Where a DataLoad column title is a command name that command will be inserted into the column's cells whenever one of the cells is navigated into by the user. This feature is designed to save the user time when setting a spreadsheet up, however unintentional cell commands may result which are undesirable, especially when the spreadsheet is complete. By default this option is set but this functionality can be disabled by unsetting the check box. Show progress bar During a load DataLoad displays a progress bar indicating how many columns of the current row have been sent and how many rows of the total load have been processed. By unsetting this check box this functionality can be disabled. Cell Colour The use of colour in a DataLoad spreadsheet not only makes it look more attractive but is very useful in distinguishing between cell types. Default colours can be set for data, command and keystroke cells and cells are painted that colour as soon as DataLoad identifies what the cell contains. By automatically colouring the cells the user does not have to spend time formatting each cell, or changing the formatting when a spreadsheet layout is changed. By default all cells are white, but by clicking on the colour panels a dialog box is displayed and a new colour can be chosen. Paste Keys By default DataLoad pastes data into target applications using Ctrl-V. This can be changed to Shift-Insert using this option if that is appropriate for your load.

Importing Data5

You can easily import delimited text data from a file into your DataLoad spreadsheet. Files using any delimiter can be processed by DataLoad and the data imported into the spreadsheet currently open in DataLoad. To import data select 'Import Data' from the 'File' menu. Next, select the file containing the data you want to import and click 'Open'. Having selected the file to open you will be prompted to select the delimiter used in the file.

If your file uses a Tab, Comma, Space or Semicolon as a delimiter then select the appropriate option, otherwise select Other and enter the delimiter used in the text box. Click Continue and the contents of your spreadsheet will be replaced with the data contained in the file. Note: When data is imported into a spreadsheet the spreadsheet's existing data may be overwritten, but columns and rows beyond the imported data will not be affected.

Creating a DataLoad spreadsheetDataLoad processes data and commands in DataLoad's spreadsheet cells. A command cell causes DataLoad to do something other than send data to the target application's fields. For instance, a command may cause the cursor to tab to the next field or save the current record. Any cell content which isn't recognized as a command, is treated as data, and is sent verbatim to the active window. Data is sent to the target window by one of two methods, either by copying and pasting or by simulating keystrokes. The former

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method is preferable but keystroke simulation can be very useful in the right circumstances.

DataLoad CommandsA DataLoad command is essentially an alias representing special processing. There are two types of command, although this is not necessarily apparent to the DataLoad user. The majority of commands act as a user-friendly alias for the normal data or keystrokes that can be entered into a cell and these are discussed immediately below. However a number of specialised built-in commands are also available and these are discussed at the bottom of this page. A command is typically used to hide complex keystrokes behind a more userfriendly command name. For instance, to "Save & Proceed" in Oracle Applications 11i the following keystroke combination is required: \%F%V Attempting to enter those keystrokes every time a Save & Proceed is required will make the DataLoad spreadsheet more unreadable and therefore harder to understand and maintain, and the likelihood of mistakes also increases. A much better approach is to register those keystrokes under a user-friendly command name. The Save & Proceed keystrokes are normally defined as *SP. This means that the command can be used multiple times in one load but it is only defined in one place. If the keystrokes required to Save & Proceed must be changed the definition of *SP can be changed once rather than every time the command is used in a sheet. Commands can be edited, added or deleted. The default commands are maintained in the file "commands.dat", which must be located in the same directory as dataload.exe. Command definitions are also stored in the DataLoad spreadsheet files. This makes the spreadsheets portable and any special commands you have created for a load will still work as you designed them when used on another PC. DataLoad also works on the concept of command groups. For every DataLoad command there can be a number of different definitions, each belonging to a different group. Different definitions are required where a load may be used with multiple applications that have different access paths to the same functionality. For instance, to Save & Proceed in Oracle Applications 11.0 the following keystrokes are required: \%A%{DOWN 4}{ENTER} Because this is different to the 11i definition we will want to define *SP differently in each command group, thus allowing the same command to be used to load data into different applications but with different keystrokes

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resulting. A command group must be selected from the drop down list on the main DataLoad form before a load can commence. The following table lists the standard DataLoad commands available and the effects of using those commands. DataLoad Command TAB ENT *UP *DN *LT *RT *SP *FE *PB *NB *PF *NF *PR *NR *ER *DR *FR *LR *SAVE Application Action(s) Save & Proceed Field Editor Previous Block Next Block Previous Field Next Field Previous Record Next Record Erase Record Delete Record First Record Last Record Save Record

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*SB *ST *SLN or *SL(N) *BM *AX *FI *FA *QE *QR *CL *IR

Send a single space character Select entire field text. Pause for N seconds. Note 1 Block Menu Alt + X where X is a single letter (A-Z). Note 2 Find Find All Query Enter Query Run Clear Field Insert record

Note 1 DataLoad can send keystrokes to applications faster than they can be processed. If this problem is encountered, delays can be added to the load which will pause DataLoad at key times. The *SLN command can be added to the spreadsheet to indicate DataLoad should 'sleep' for a given number of seconds. E.g. '*SL5' will cause a delay in processing for 5 seconds. Decimal numbers can be used for more precise delays, E.g. *SL0.5 will result in a half second delay. A large number of predefined delays are available in DataLoad and these, along with *SL, are described in greater detail in Using delays. To reduce setup work, predefined delays should be used instead of *SL wherever possible. Note 2 In Oracle Applications it is sometimes necessary to press a button to navigate to another block. This can be achieved by pressing , where X is the letter that is underlined on the button. Any menu item can also be invoked by pressing + the letter underlined on the menu.

Built-in Commands

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The following commands are built-in to DataLoad and cannot be edited or replaced in the commands form.

Command Application Action(s) (Case Sensitive)*CW(window) *SLN or *SL(N) *ML(coordinates) *MR(coordinates ) Make window the new target window for DataLoad. Sleep for N seconds. Position the mouse at coordinates and press the left button. Position the mouse at coordinates and press the right button.

*CW allows you to switch between different windows and load data into all of them. This command is useful when it is not possible to change windows by any other means, but also has good uses even when this is not the case. It is often possible to change the active window through the application, for instance navigating to the next block in Oracle Applications sometimes causes the focus to move to another window. Despite this it is often faster to change to the new window by calling *CW rather than allowing the application to make the change, and this not only results in faster loads but reduces errors as well. *SL causes DataLoad to 'sleep' for the specified number of seconds and is an important command for controlling the rate at which DataLoad progresses. This command is described in more detail in Cell Delays. *ML, *MR & *DL. These commands will cause a left (*ML) or right (*MR) mouse click or a double click (*DL) to occur at the point on the screen specified in the coordinates parameter. These commands can be very important and have a number of uses. First, they are essential for accessing any application functionality for which no keyboard shortcut exists. Where a button, for example, cannot be accessed using a keyboard shortcut a mouse click must be used. The mouse is also very useful for improving the speed and accuracy of navigation within the application during a load. It is often much quicker to move the cursor using the mouse than by issuing the necessary keystrokes. This may apply whether the cursor is just moving between blocks in a form or between different windows. The coordinates parameter is the X and Y screen positions where the click should occur. Since there is no way a user can know what these coordinates are DataLoad has a method for automatically inserting the coordinates into the command. When the user enters *ML, *MR or *DL in a cell a dialog box is shown prompting the user to position the mouse where the click should

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occur. This dialog box should not be dismissed yet because doing so indicates to DataLoad that the mouse is in the correct position for the click. When the mouse is in the location where the click should occur, the user should then press Enter. This will dismiss the dialog box and insert the screen coordinates into the *ML or *MR command. Those coordinates can be manually entered into further cells where this same click should occur, or the dialog box can be displayed again by entering *ML, *MR or *DL. The mouse clicks work very well to make functionality available for which no keyboard shortcuts exist, or to improve cursor navigation during a load. This command is only suitable, however, where the item to be clicked will always be in the same location. Since Oracle Applications' forms are always drawn in the same position this should not be a problem, however it is important that the forms are left in their default positions while the load is being developed and the mouse click commands programmed.

Using DelaysDataLoad can often send data and keystrokes to target applications far faster than they can be processed. Whether this happens or not is entirely dependent on the 'speed' of the target application, which is in turn dependent on what that application is and what hardware it is running on. Delays are often required at key points in the load to prevent DataLoad from overrunning the application with keystrokes, which would undoubtedly result in errors and unpredictable behaviour. There are two types of delay: Generic DataLoad delays. DataLoad comes with many pre-configured delays, which can be used in many situations but only need to be set once. Many of these delays could be achieved by using a *SL command in the spreadsheet but that approach would mean many cells may need to be changed to change a regular delay, such as a pause after a *NR command. Furthermore, the generic delays give access to some delays which could not be replicated using the *SL command. The delays form can be accessed from the 'Tools' menu or by it's shortcut icon and consists of two tabs, 'Standard' and 'Advanced'. Each tab, which can be set, groups together different delays. All delays can be specified in whole or decimal seconds The Standard Delays Tab This tab contains delay actions for the most often needed delays, and these are divided into two groups. First are the general delays, which consist of regular events requiring delays. The 'Data cell' delay occurs whenever a cell containing data or keystrokes is processed, while the 'Cell' delay causes a pause whenever any cell is processed (command, data or keystroke). Note that delays can be cumulative. If both of these delays are set to 1 second, for

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instance, there will be a 2 second delay every time a data cell is processed, but only a 1 second delays after a command is processed. The third delay in this group occurs when the target window has been called but before any cells are processed. This provides time for the target application to become active before data is sent. The second group of delays is the command delays. These delays occur immediately after the relevant command has been executed. For example, a TAB delay of 0.5 will cause DataLoad to pause for 0.5 seconds after sending a TAB key. Again these commands can be cumulative. If the 'Cell' delay is set then the total delay after any command will be that command's delay plus the Cell delay.

The Advanced Delays Tab This tab allows fine details to be changed and should be used with care. This tab sets pauses in milliseconds rather than seconds and controls how long certain important events happen for. The first 2 pauses control how long a key is left depressed when a keystroke is simulated. The 'Key' press delay represents the duration of a non-system key hold, while the 'System' key press is the time a system key (Alt, Shift or Control) is depressed. The 'Menu Call' delay specifies how long a menu should be displayed before keystrokes are sent to it. This provides extra time for menus to be drawn on slower systems. Finally, the 'Hourglass' delay defines how long DataLoad should

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pause for if the target application's cursor is an hourglass and if the Options form has been configured for DataLoad to use this delay. If this delay is used DataLoad can suspend sending data to the target window until the application has finished processing the previous data and commands, as indicated by the cursor changing back to its normal state from an hourglass.

Cell specified delays These delays are specified in the spreadsheet using the *SLn command. Whenever DataLoad encounters such a command it pauses for the specified time at that point in the load.

Running DataloaderWhen the load is started, the target application that is to receive the first keystroke must be open. If the first command in the spreadsheet is to send data, as opposed to opening a form, for example, the cursor must be in the correct form field to receive that data. The name of the window to receive the data and commands must be entered in the Window Name text box. There is a drop down list that can be used to select window names or the name can be manually entered.

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The name to be supplied in the Window Name box should be the text which appears on the top of the window, not the Oracle Applications form name. This is because the form name may or may not be the same as the window name. The whole window name does not have to be entered; rather only sufficient characters to uniquely identify that window are required. If you have not already selected a Command Group then do that now. The Command Group ensures the correct command definitions are used in your load. When the load is ready to test you can either process all cells in your load or just a limited selection. This latter option is useful for testing or debugging just a small, complicated part of the load. If you want to process just a few cells make sure they are highlighted before the load is started. To run the load, select 'Send data' from the 'Tools' menu or click on the shortcut icon. The following dialog box will appear:

Select whether all cells should be processed (as shown above) or just the selected cells. Click 'OK' and the load will proceed. When it is complete DataLoad will return to being the active window and will display how many records were processed and in what time. It is sometimes necessary to stop the load before it is complete. This can be achieved by pressing the 'ESC' (Escape) key. DataLoad will stop once the current command is complete. For that reason it may not finish immediately,

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however in this situation it is not necessary to repeatedly press ESC or hold the key down.

Creating Sample Worksheet1. Open the Oracle form to which data is to be loaded. In this example we will be using the Segment Values form to load values for the Account segment in the chart of accounts 2. Begin by manually entering the data you want in the form. Starting with the value field write down the key strokes on a piece of paper. Example Value-1000, TAB, Description-Printing, TAB8 Times, Account type-Revenue, ENTER 3. Once you are familiar with the key strokes required to enter one record, open the data loader worksheet and the form to which the data is to be loaded. 4. In DataLoad, click the drop down box for Window Name and select the name of the window that contains the form you want to load data into. It will be the name of the main Oracle window containing all the forms. The window name will appear in the drop list as long as you have that window open on your PC 5. In the Description box type a description. 6. Click the drop down box for Command Group and select the group that best represents the system you are loading data into. The Command Group ensures the correct versions of commands are used for the system you are loading into. 7. Click in the first cell of the Grid and type your first keystroke i.e. enter the data for the value field. 8. Move to the next cell and type your next keystroke TAB. (TAB is a DataLoad command alias that send the Tab key) 9. Continue until you have typed all the keystrokes you wrote down from Step #2 above. 10.Click the Send Data to Form button, or select Send Data from the Tools menu 11.Click OK to Load all cells 12.Watch DataLoad load your data into your form

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13.Save your form

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