Setting User Preferences

 

User preferences allow you to set up your ibi Data Migrator desktop interface environment. On the Home tab, in the Tools group, click Options to access these settings.

To access the Options dialog, on the Home tab, in the Tools group, click Options.

The Options dialog opens with General settings in the right pane. The available options for each area are detailed in the following sections.

User Preferences - General

General user preferences include using background images, automatically switching and synchronizing trees, determining the location of messages, and controlling scrolling speed.

On the Home tab, in the Tools group, click Options, and then click General to access these settings.

The General settings dialog has two sections: General and Others.

The General section has the following fields and options:

Use background images

Sets a blue background image for the workspace.

Automatically switch filters

Switches filter automatically depending on what flow view is open. Clicking the data flow tab switches on the Synonyms filter, while clicking the process flow tab switches on the Procedures filter.

Enable Notes on the Canvas

Allows you to add detailed comments about the data flow and data flow objects, directly from the workspace. You can add notes, as needed, to any flow object (join, select, source, target, and so on). You can easily edit and manage notes for the data flow and data flow objects within the text box.

Note: If you add notes for a data flow or data flow object, the notes appear when you print the flow report.
Start LOOPBACK server on startup

This option is enabled if you start the ibi Data Migrator desktop interface from a Windows installation. The local LOOPBACK server starts automatically, if it is not already running, when you start the desktop interface. When you close the desktop interface, the LOOPBACK server is stopped. This option is not enabled if you start the desktop interface from a client installation.

Show tabbed view selector at top of each frame

Moves workspace tabs, like Data Flow, process flow, and Text View, to the top. If this option is not selected, by default, the workspace tabs appear at the bottom of the frame.

AutoSave for existing files (in minutes)

You can select the number of elapsed minutes before open files are automatically saved. By default, this feature is not enabled.

The Others section has the following options:

Scrolling speed

Determines the speed at which a flow scrolls when you drag an object outside the viewable window. It can be set in relative units of 1 to 10. The default is 1.

Recently used file list

You can select the number of files to display in the recently used file list from 0 to 16. The default is 4.

Display WebFOCUS Environments*

If not selected, the WebFOCUS Environments option is disabled and does not appear in the navigation pane. This option requires restarting the ibi Data Migrator desktop interface.

Include images when exporting data to Excel

Enables data to be exported with images included.

Clear User Preferences*

Clears all user set preferences and returns them to default values. This option requires restarting the ibi Data Migrator desktop interface.

Save GUI State

Used for diagnostics, this option saves the current state. This file is only needed if requested by customer support.

Ribbon*

Select this option to enable the Ribbon. Deselect it to use the classic toolbar. This option requires restarting the ibi Data Migrator desktop interface.

Use top level menu (Internal)*

For internal use only.

Enable Direct File Rename*

Allows you to rename the file or folder for both Object Browser and Explorer view.

Enable Chromium Edge Web Browser Control*

Enables the Chromium Edge web browser control to display HTML content.

User Preferences - Format

Format user preferences include settings, colors, and fonts for the ibi Data Migrator desktop interface interface.

On the Home tab, in the Tools group, click Options, and then click Format to access these settings.

The Fonts Category section has the following fields and options:

Fonts Category list box

Allows you to set the font for text in the process flow workspace, reports, text views, and log views.

Font

Open a dialog for changing font settings.

Reset Fonts to Defaults

Restores the default fonts.

Display full component names

Allows you to display the full name of a component.

User Preferences - Column Management

Column Management user preferences enable you to select which columns to display on the grids for transformations, column selection, joins, sorts, sources, and targets. You can also set the column display order. The settings apply to all column-related dialoges.

On the Home tab, in the Tools group, click Options, and then click Column Management to access these settings.

The Column Management settings include the following fields and options:

Customize column display

Lists columns that can be added to the grid using the checkboxes.

Column name display strategy

Controls the information that appears in trees and grids. The available options are Name, Title, Description, and Alias. By default, the Title is displayed, but you can change it back to Name, which is more readable for calculations. If no Title or Description exists, the display defaults to the Alias. When the strategy is something other than the Name, this is indicated in the header row. For example, Display Name (Title).

Function display strategy

Controls how functions are identified on the functions tab in the calculators. By default, the function syntax is displayed. It can be changed to a short description, which displays a brief description of what the function does instead.

Use segment to qualify field reference

Enables you to fully qualify field names in the JOIN criteria of a cluster synonym. The available options are Always and For duplicate fields only. The default value is For duplicate fields only, which allows you to maintain compatibility with earlier releases.

The default settings are shown. Not all columns are on every grid. The following are examples of columns that can be added:

Expression

Is the expression for the column.

Type

Is the type of object in an application directory.

Length

Is the column length.

Scale

Is the maximum number of digits to the right of the decimal.

Alias

Assigns an alternative name for a column, or the real column name for a DBMS synonym.

Title

Supplies a title to replace the column name that is normally used in reports.

SCD Type

Is used for processing slowly changing dimensions.

Field Type

Indicates that a field is an index (I) and/or is read-only.

Table

Is the synonym that contains the column.

Format

Is the type and length of column data as stored.

Description

Is a description or comment about the column.

Nulls

Indicates whether the column can contain null data.

Note: You can change the display order of the columns by moving them up or down using the arrows. You can also change the Column Name Display Strategy to control what appears in trees and grids.

User Preferences - Traces

On the Home tab, in the Tools group, click Options, and then click Traces to access these settings.

The Traces settings dialog has the following options:

Enable

Select this option to perform tracing of the application to debug problems. You can choose the components activated in the trace files tscom3.trc and connection.trc. These trace files reflect the operations between the client and the server. You can view these trace files from the ibi Data Migrator desktop interface.

View Trace Files

Select which file to view from the dropdown menu. The options are tscom3.trc and connection.trc.

View

Click this button to view the trace file.

Choose the trace components to activate

Allows you to specify which components are traced, Default Components, Custom Components, or All Components.

User Preferences - Data Flow Designer

Data Flow Designer user preferences include using application directories, automatically selecting and mapping all columns, adding Join objects and conditions, and performing validation.

On the Home tab, in the Tools group, click Options, and expand Data Flow. Then, click Data Flow Designer to access these settings.

The Data Flow Designer settings dialog has two sections: On Add Source and On Add Target.

Use application directory name with flow components

Includes the application directory name for objects in data flows.

Show Notes

Allows you to add comments to data flow objects, directly from the workspace.

Enable Notes on the Canvas

Allows you to add detailed comments about the data flow and data flow objects, directly from the workspace. You can add notes, as needed, to any flow object (join, select, source, target, and so on). You can easily edit and manage notes for the data flow and data flow objects within the text box.

Note: If you add notes for a data flow or data flow object, the notes appear when you print the flow report.
Undo/Redo Limit

Specifies the maximum number of undo operations allowed in the Data Flow Designer.

The On Add Source section has the following fields and options:

Automatically select all columns

Selects all columns in a source.

Automatically connect to SQL Object

Source objects are automatically connected to the SQL Object in the data flow. This option is enabled, by default.

Add Join Object if needed

When two sources are dragged onto the workspace, this option connects the sources to each other and to the SQL Object using Join objects. This is the default.

Automatically add join conditions

Creates an inner join if two data sources have a column with a primary/foreign key relationship or with the same name and format. The column must be a key column in one of the sources. This is the default. This option also creates source/lookup column joins when using the DB_LOOKUP function. This option is available when the Add Join Object if needed option is enabled.

Show adapter type

When selected, the adapter type (for example, Fixed Format File or MS SQL Server) appears under the synonym name. The default is not to show the adapter type label in the data flow. Instead, it shows the adapter icon as the identifier.

Note: On Add Source settings, affect new sources that are added to a flow.

The On Add Target section has the following fields and options:

Automatically map all columns

Automatically maps all source columns to target columns of the same name.

Show adapter type

When selected, the adapter type (for example, Fixed Format File or MS SQL Server) appears under the synonym name. The default is not to show the adapter type label in the data flow. Instead, it shows the adapter icon as the identifier.

Data Flow Line Colors

Is a dropdown menu of available colors for data flow lines.

Reset colors

Restores the default colors.

User Preferences - Target Defaults

Target Defaults user preferences allow you to set default Prior to Load Values for each category of targets. You can also set commit levels for targets. All targets in the current and subsequent flows use the commit level default set here.

On the Home tab, in the Tools group, click Options, and expand Data Flow. Then, click Target Defaults to access these settings.

The Target Defaults settings dialog has two sections: Prior to Load Values and Flow Level.

The Prior to Load Values section has the following fields and options:

Relational
No changes

Does not delete the records already in a data target.

Delete all rows from table

Deletes all rows and then creates a database log.

Truncate table

Deletes all rows from the table but does not generate a database log. This is a faster option than Delete all rows from table because no database log is generated. If the target database does not support truncate, a delete is performed.

Focus
No changes

Does not delete the data target.

Drop Table

Deletes and recreates the data target.

Fixed Format File
No changes

Does not delete the data target.

Delete File

Deletes and recreates the data target.

The Flow Level section has the following fields and options:

Commit every row(s)

Specifies the number of rows to process before issuing a commit to a relational database target or a CHECK to a FOCUS target.

A value of zero (0) means that a COMMIT is only issued when the flow completes.

Note: This setting is applied to all targets in a flow.

When several flows are loading multiple tables, it may be desirable not to issue a COMMIT until all the flows have completed successfully. In this case, a special value of NONE can be used to mean that ibi Data Migrator should not issue any COMMIT commands. This means that it is the responsibility of the user to issue a COMMIT (or ROLLBACK) when appropriate. This can be done by creating a process flow that runs any required data flows and checks the return code for each data flow. When all flows have completed successfully, the process flow should then call a stored procedure that issues the COMMIT command, or if any data flow has failed, a ROLLBACK command.

This option should be used with caution. If no COMMIT or ROLLBACK is issued, the target tables could be locked.

User Preferences - Process Flow Designer

Process Flow Designer user preferences include using application directories.

On the Home tab, in the Tools group, click Options, and click Process Flow Designer to access these settings.

The Process Flow Designer settings dialog has the following options:

Use application directory name with flow components

Includes the application directory name for objects in process flows.

Add flows to run as stored procedures

When flows are added to a process flow, the Run as stored procedure checkbox is automatically selected.

Show Notes

Allows you to add comments to process flow objects, directly from the workspace.

Enable Notes on the Canvas

Allows you to add detailed comments about the data flow and data flow objects, directly from the workspace. You can add notes, as needed, to any flow object (join, select, source, target, and so on). You can easily edit and manage notes for the data flow and data flow objects within the text box.

Note: If you add notes for a data flow or data flow object, the notes appear when you print the flow report.
Process Flow Line Colors list box

Allows you to set colors for connector lines in process flows.

OK Default Condition. Changes the color of the OK connector in process flows.

Failed Default. Changes the color of the Failed connector in process flows.

Unconditional. Changes the color of connectors in data flows, and unconditional connectors in process flows.

Custom Line Color. Changes the color of the custom connector in process flows.

Reset colors

Restores the default colors.

User Preferences - Synonym Editor

Synonym Editor user preferences include using the application name with the synonym, supporting the extended option, and showing parent segments in the Join Editor.

On the Home tab, in the Tools group, click Options, and click Synonym Editor to access these settings.

The Synonym Editor settings dialog has the following fields and options:

Use application directory name with synonym

If selected, an application directory name is used when selecting a synonym name for both referencing an existing synonym, and a transformation with db_lookup.

Undo/Redo Limit

Specifies the maximum number of undo operations allowed in the Synonym Editor.

Support extended options

If selected, the Sort Object and Style buttons appear in the Insert menu on the Metadata tab, in the Insert group.

Enable insert copy of existing synonym

If selected, this option is available in the shortcut menu when a synonym or segment name is selected.

Insert child segment with snowflakes

If selected, when you insert a child segment (dimension), any of its child segments are inserted automatically.

Automatically arrange segments/folders in Modeling View

If you select or drag multiple, or individual, tables while in Modeling View, they are automatically arranged for you.

Show parent segments in Join Editor

If selected, this option controls whether columns in parent segments are displayed in the Join Editor for a cluster join, or for a synonym that references, or includes, other synonyms.

Automatically detect entry segment

If selected, when you create a synonym in the Modeling View of Synonym Editor and select or drag tables into the work area (modeling view), the relationships (joins) is automatically created for you based on the foreign key information in the Access File.

Default Join Type

Allows you to select the default Join type. Options are Multiple or Unique.

Auto Calculate Missing

This option controls the behavior when you insert a DEFINE field into a synonym where at least one operand in the expression has a MISSING=ON attribute. The available options are:

  • PROMPT. Asks Do you want to change MISSING to ON ALL whenever a new DEFINE is added. This is the default value.
  • ON. Expressions are automatically adjusted so that the result of the expression is MISSING if any operand is missing.
  • OFF. Expressions are not adjusted. The result of the expression is MISSING only if all of the operands are missing.
Modeling View Line Colors list box

Allows you to set colors for connector lines in the Modeling View.

Default. Changes the color lines in the Modeling View.

Highlighted. Changes the color of the highlighted lines in the Modeling View.

No Keys. Changes the color of lines with no keys in the Modeling View.

Reset Colors

Restores the default colors.

User Preferences - Run Options

Run Options user preferences include determining the number of rows to retrieve when sampling data and keeping your server connection alive.

On the Home tab, in the Tools group, click Options, and click Run Options to access these settings.

The Run Options settings dialog has the following fields and options:

Maximum number of rows for test reports

Sets the number of rows retrieved to produce sample data when testing transformations or SQL. The default is 50.

Maximum number of columns for test reports

Sets the number of columns retrieved to produce sample data when testing transformations or SQL. The default is to retrieve all columns (with a highest value setting of 999999).

Test reports default format

Sets the format of reports for retrieving sample data when testing transformations, or SQL. The default is Default. The following report formats are available:

  • Default. Formats numeric and date columns based on edit options in the synonym.
  • HTML. Produces the report in HTML format.
  • HTML - plain text. Produces the report in plain text format.
  • Active Report. Produces an HTML active report designed for offline analysis.
  • PDF. Produces the report in PDF format.
  • Unformatted. Does not apply formatting to numeric and date columns.

Omit missing (null) values in Data Profiling charts

Enable this option to generate Data Profiling bar and pie charts that omit missing values.

Show all Values in Data Profiling Reports

Returns all values in a data profiling report, regardless of the sampling size indicated in the Maximum number of columns for test reports field.

Stop processing if 0 rows selected

Allows you to stop processing if no data is returned. This setting is the default for new flows. You can override this option for an individual flow by resetting the execution properties of the flow.

Stop after DBMS errors

Allows you to stop processing the number of DBMS errors received if the number of errors specified is exceeded. This setting is the default for new flows. You can override this option for an individual flow by resetting the flow execution properties for that flow.