What You Need to Know Before Using OpenAir Integration Manager

As users of the solution already know, OpenAir is a powerful tool. However, with OpenAir Integration Manager, you can add yet another new level of functionality.

Integration Manager allows for importing and exporting OpenAir data. Because this tool is powerful, it’s important to understand what it can do and best practices on how to use it.

Ask These Questions First

Integration Manager can be useful in updating many fields at once, or in adding a large quantity of data to a project or customer at once. If you’re considering using Integration Manager for a task like this, there are a few questions you should ask yourself, first:

• How long would this update take to do manually? If manually adding the data would take less or about the same amount of time as setting up and running an Integration Manager task, it’s likely better to do it manually. There is less chance of significant errors or loss of data integrity with manual additions.
• Does this import, export, or update need to be run regularly? If so, Integration Manager is the right tool for the job. Tasks can be set up and saved for future use, and Windows Scheduler can be added to the process to automate these tasks.
• Am I updating only one object? Integration Manager is only able to update the fields in one object at a time. If your updates span multiple objects, Integration Manager may not be the most efficient way to do it.

Proceed with Caution

As mentioned, Integration Manager is a tool that is useful for extracting data and for updating and adding data into your OpenAir system.  What it doesn’t do is delete data. Therefore, it’s crucial that you take your time when using Integration Manager to ensure you are in the right environment and that the updates and additions you plan are correct.

If you should add data into OpenAir that you didn’t mean to, you have a few options. If it’s a small amount of data, you can delete the entries manually. For larger or more complex situations, give Top Step a call. We’ve helped clients with these issues before and may even have a script ready to use.

Using Integration Manager in a Multiuser Environment

To get the most use from the tool, it may be worthwhile to allow more than one user to have access to it. But for that to be effective, and to keep your data safe, you’ll want to make sure that you’re following some best practices.

In an environment where multiple users will be accessing the tool, it should be installed on a Windows server that is available to those users. This prevents multiple copies of the application from being installed and provides centralized access management.

Permissions to run the application can be set at the user level within OpenAir. Within a user’s profile, there is a permission that permits access to Integration Manager. Unless a user needs to use Integration Manager, that access should be turned off.

When running Integration Manager, you’ll need a few key pieces of information to log in. You’ll need your company name, your login credentials for the system you’ll be accessing – production or sandbox – and you’ll need the address of the production or sandbox server. Make it a habit upon login to check the server address. You can cause serious data integrity issues by executing an update on production when you thought you were in your sandbox.

Import and Export Processes and Scheduling

Importing and exporting data with Integration Manager both rely heavily on the initial field mapping. Doing this step correctly is critical to successfully updating information or extracting what you need.

Integration Manager only works with a CSV file, and the file itself must be cleaned up for use, with extraneous headers and trailing data rows removed when appropriate. Even with a perfect CSV file, however, the process can be a challenge.

That’s because OpenAir naming between the user interface and the database fields, and further from the database fields to Integration Manager don’t always match. It’s important when mapping fields for use with Integration Manager that you keep OpenAir’s data dictionary handy, and refer to it when necessary.

Once the fields are mapped appropriately, you should run a test import or export to ensure that your task has been set up correctly. A test of a single data insert or update is easy to correct, whereas hundreds of changed fields can be a real problem. Once you’ve run your single line import or export, validate the data. Only then should you proceed with the larger process.

Once you’ve correctly defined the task, it can be saved as a shortcut. By saving the task you can re-run the process whenever it’s needed. If it’s a repetitive task it’s worth taking the time to save it as a shortcut.

If your task is one that will be run regularly, you can use Windows Scheduler to run the shortcut automatically. Combined with Integration Manager, Windows Scheduler can be the foundation for a series of automation tasks that manage the import and export of data with no intervention from a user after the initial setup.

OpenAir’s Integration Manager is a powerful tool, but as such, it’s important that it be respected and used properly. To see more about using Integration Manager and watch an example update, check out Top Step’s webinar, OpenAir Integration Manager Tips and Techniques.