Custom Mappings for Source ODBC and CSV connections

As of UnitySync v2.4, handling of ODBC/CSV Source headers has been enhanced.

This enhancement allows the column names exported from ODBC/CSV to be LDIF compliant, making the headers easier to handle at Sync time. Now, UnitySync converts any non-alphanumeric character to a dash, including spaces and underscores.

Previously, underscores and spaces were commonly used in ODBC column headers, and UnitySync, at the time, converted all to underscores. These non-alphanumeric values must be changed when upgrading to the latest UnitySync.

Specifically, underscores and other non-alpha numeric values are no longer allowed:

• in Field Definitions on the Source tab, or
• in the Join Queries on the Destination tab (if applicable), or
• in custom Object and List map files on the right side of the equal sign in an ODBC or CSV source connection

The sole exception is the dash (-) character.

IMPORTANT NOTE: You do not need to change any of the column headers in your ODBC/CSV Source. Instead, review and make the following adjustments.

To determine if this applies to your connections, and to fix the affected connections, follow the steps below:

1. Proceed with your upgrade as detailed in the Release Notes - Install Guide, including copying over all \connections, \map\custom, etc.
2. Determine if you have any ODBC connections. Use our knowledge base article on using findstr to help you identify connections. Search for “ODBC-” and “csv-” as detailed in the instructions. This will tell you which connections use an ODBC or CSV source.
3. Once you have determined which connections are effected, go to the UnitySync User Interface (UI) and look at each connection in turn.

On the Source tab:

• If column headers are disabled, no change needs to be made to this connection.
• If column headers are enabled, review the Source Data column headers. You may need to scroll right to view them all.
• Take note of any header that includes a dash character (-).
• If none of your column headers contain a dash, no change needs to be made to this connection.
• In the Field Definitions, For any column header that contains a dash, you must ensure that exact column header name, with the dash, is shown in the Field Definitions (if used).
• For any column header that contains a dash, you must also ensure your custom map file shows this exact column header. Make note of any affected column headers and see next steps.

On the Destination tab:

• If you are using Join functionality - that is, if you’ve selected either Join or Both for the Sync/Join Mode - you may need to update your join queries.
• Review your join query entries, located in the Join With Existing Objects box.
• For any column header name that is included in a join query, you must ensure the exact column header name as shown in the Field Definitions on the Source tab is included.

On the Custom tab:

• Open the custom Object map file for this connection.
• Review all values on the right side of the mapping syntax - anything to the right of the = sign.
• Update any mapping that show the affected columns headers.
• Once finished updating the mappings, click Save to close the map file.

For example, if your source column header in the ODBC or CSV Source actually contains a space, like “email address”, prior versions converted the space to an underscore, like “email_address”. Therefore, your mapping would have looked like this:

mail=^email_address^

You should have seen on the Source tab that this column now shows as “email-address”. Therefore, you must change the mapping to match:

mail=^email-address^

Make sure to review all column names on the right side of the mapping syntax. If any contain a space, underscore or non-alphanumeric value other than a dash, you must update the value to match the value noted while you were on the Source tab (which should include a dash).

If you require any assistance with these connection modifications, please contact Support.