Writers¶

A writer takes the dataset an integration has built and puts it somewhere: a file, a database, a URL or the response to the WebAPI request that started the integration. Each writer knows one format. Where it writes is set by its IO controller, which you choose in the Target section of its Setup tab. The table there shows which targets each writer offers: a file, a URL, a parent field or a WebAPI caller.

Every writer handles hierarchical data, writing a parent transaction and its children as the format allows. You configure every writer the same way: a Setup tab for the target and the writer's own options, and a Field Mapping tab for what goes out and under what name.

CSV Writer ¶

Writes the dataset out as character-separated values: one line per record, with a choice of delimiter, quoting and header, and optionally one file per transaction.

Database Writer ¶

Inserts or updates rows in any ODBC or OleDB compliant database. Each transaction maps to a table and each field to a column, and the writer commits the database transaction at the level you choose.

Excel Writer ¶

Writes the dataset out as an Excel workbook. Use it when presentation matters, such as forms, reports and alert distributions, because it can write into a template workbook and keep its formatting.

Fixed Width Text Writer ¶

Writes lines of text in which every field occupies a fixed range of character positions, for systems that expect columns by position rather than by delimiter.

Form URL Writer ¶

Posts a record's fields to a webservice as form-encoded key/value pairs, as URL parameters or as a multipart request carrying files. When writing to a WebAPI caller, it can return a file as a download.

JSON Writer ¶

Builds a JSON document from the dataset, shaped by JPath expressions, and writes it to a file or sends it as the body of an HTTP request, optionally reading the service's response back onto the dataset.

Http Redirect Writer ¶

Answers the WebAPI request that started the integration with an HTTP redirect to a URL taken from the data, with the status code of your choosing. It works only with WebAPI.

XML Writer ¶

Builds an XML document from the dataset, shaped by XPath expressions, and writes it to a file or sends it as the body of an HTTP request, optionally reading the service's response back onto the dataset.

Errors and auditing¶

Each writer's Audit tab carries the same Action on Transform Error setting as every other transform. On Abort, the first failed record stops the integration. Reject Record and Continue mean the same thing for a writer, because it has nothing downstream to reject the record from. What they do depends on the writer's commit setting, Commit Transaction or Generate File Per Transaction. With it set, IMan logs the failure, discards the failed record's unit and moves on to the next. With it empty, one database transaction or document covers the whole run, and the transform stops. The Database and XML writer pages give the detail. Transform > Audit describes the setting, the audit log check boxes and the summary. The counters differ between writers and are listed at the foot of each writer's page.