This feature is used to develop ETL definitions.

You must navigate from the ETL - Definitions menu option. 

The page is rendered on a new page as shown below. 

Create Definition.

Select the Actions - Create menu option to initiate on the ETL Definitions page. 

A pop-up window is displayed for configuration. Provide a new name for the definition. Select the checkbox for the designer canvas. Click the Create button.

The definition is rendered on the new page, with an empty designer canvas in the center, a tool menu on the left, and statistics information on the right. 

You must drag and drop some ETL steps to create a definition. By design, the definition should start with an input file, followed by one or more transformation steps, and conclude with an output step, as shown below.  Connect the steps, starting from the input step and moving through other steps to the output step. 

Click the CSV Input File step to configure its “Settings” properties. Provide a step name. Provide the input file path on the application server. Select the data schema from the drop-down list. Click the Save button.

Click the transformation step to configure its “Settings” properties. Provide a step name. Click the button for more configuration. A pop-up window is rendered. Click the Add Row (+) button to insert an empty row. Provide the reference to the In and Out columns. Here, the IN column from the input file is mapped to the OUT column defined in the schema file. Click the Save button to confirm. You may insert more items into the list as necessary. 

Click the CSV Output File step to configure its “Settings” properties. Provide a step name. Provide the output file path on the application server. Click the Save button.

Your ETL definition is now ready for execution. 

Design Definition.

This function is used to modify the ETL definition.

On the ETL Definitions page, select the definition from the table and click on the Actions-Design menu option.  

The definition is rendered on a new page and is locked for other users. 

The following pop-up window is displayed to open a definition locked by other users. Select the Render button to view the definition in read-only mode. 

Select the Save button to confirm the changes to the definition. A confirmation message is displayed in the top-right hand corner as shown below. 

Rename Definition.

This function is used to rename the ETL definition.

On the ETL Definitions page, select the definition from the table and click on the Actions-Rename menu option.  

A pop-up window is displayed for configuration. Provide a new name and click the Update button to confirm. 

The definition is renamed, and A confirmation message is displayed in the top-right hand corner. 

Copy Definition.

This function makes a copy of the ETL definition.

On the ETL Definitions page, select the definition from the table and click the Actions - Copy menu option.  

A pop-up window is displayed for configuration. Provide a new name and click the Copy button to confirm. 

A copy of the definition is created, and a confirmation message is displayed in the top-right hand corner. 

Remove Definition.

This function removes a definition permanently.

On the ETL Definitions page, select the definition from the table and click the Actions-Remove menu option.  

A pop-up window is displayed for confirmation. Click the OK button.

The definition is removed permanently, and a confirmation message is displayed in the top-right hand corner. 

Manage Snapshots.

This function helps you manage the snapshots of the definition. 

Let's create a few definition snapshots to start with. 

On the ETL Process Designer page, select the Actions - Snapshot Management menu option. 

The right-side pane renders the snapshot management functions as follows. Provide a snapshot name, OR use the Generate button to create a unique name for you. Click the Create button to initiate. 

The snapshot is created, and a confirmation message is displayed in the top-right hand corner. 

Now, make some changes to the definition, like removing an ETL process step. Select the process step and right-click to remove it from the designer canvas. 

The ETL process step is removed as below. Navigate to the snapshot management menu option. Provide a different snapshot name, OR use the Generate button to create a unique name for you. Click the Create button to initiate. 

The second snapshot is created, and a confirmation message is displayed in the top-right hand corner. 

On the ETL Definitions page, select the definition from the table and click on the Actions - Manage Snapshots menu option.  

The ETL Definition Snapshots are rendered on a new page. The list of snapshots created by the user and the system is listed in the table below. 

Use the drop-down list to select the source and target snapshots, and then click the Compare button.

The snapshots are compared, and the differences are listed in the table below. You may use the button to switch between Table View and Image View. 

The Image View renders the snapshot differences using color legends as shown below. 

Validate Definition.

This function validates an ETL definition.

On the ETL Definitions page, select the definition from the table and click the Actions - Validate - Selected menu option.  Select the All menu option to validate all ETL definitions. 

The system validates the definition for ETL step configuration settings, and a confirmation message is displayed in the top-right hand corner. Validating an ETL process workflow involves ensuring that the steps, unique variables and globals, logic, and outcomes of a process effectively and accurately achieve the intended goal.

Remove Instances.

This function removes selected instances by their status or all for an ETL definition.

On the ETL Definitions page, select the definition that has instances from the table and click the Actions - Remove Instances menu option. 

A pop-up window is rendered for configuration. The drop-down list provides options to select all instances or by their status, as shown below. 

Select the Remove instance status option and click the Remove button to initiate.  

Click the OK button to confirm the removal of instances. 

The instances are removed permanently, and a confirmation message is displayed in the top right-hand corner. 

Favorites.

This function marks an ETL definition as a favorite and moves it to the favorite folder.

On the ETL Definitions page, select the definition from the table and click the Actions - Favorite - Add menu option. 

The ETL Definition is marked and moved to the Favorites folder, and a confirmation message is displayed in the top-right hand corner.  

In the Favorites folder, select the ETL Definition and click on the Actions—Favorites—Remove menu option. 

The ETL Definition is removed from the Favorites and moved back to the All folder, and a confirmation message is displayed in the top-right hand corner. 

Render Definition.

This function renders the ETL definition, which helps us to visualize the design workflow.

On the ETL Definitions page, select the definition from the table and click the View - Render menu option. 

The ETL Definition is rendered on the new page. You notice the definition created and modified information, and the count of instances. You can use the search text box to find a specific process step. 

View Definition History.

This function displays the history of changes for an ETL definition.

On the ETL Definitions page, select the definition from the table and click the View - History menu option. 

The history of changes is displayed in a table on a new page as below. 

Export - XML.

This function downloads the ETL Definition as an XML file.  

On the ETL Definitions page, select the definition from the table list and click on the Export—XML menu option.  The XML file is generated and downloaded to the local folder. You may move the ETL Definitions between FlowWright environments using the Export-Import functions. 

Export - PNG.

This function downloads the ETL Definition as a PNG file.  

On the ETL Definitions page, select the definition from the table list and click the Export—PNG menu option.  The PNG file is generated and downloaded to the local folder. 

The PNG file is included below for reference.

Export - SQL.

This function downloads the ETL Definition as an SQL file.  

Select the definition from the table list on the ETL Definitions page and click on the Export—SQL menu option.  The SQL file is generated and downloaded to the local folder. You may execute this SQL syntax in SQL Server Management Studio to insert the ETL Definition in the FlowWright target database.

The SQL content is included below for reference.

Import - XML.

This function imports and overwrites the ETL Definition as an XML file.  

Select the definition from the table list on the ETL Definitions page and click the Import—XML menu option.  

A pop-up window is displayed for configuration. Select the XML file from the local folder and click the Import XML button. The definition file is imported and overwrites the selected ETL Definition item in the table list. 

After successfully importing the definition, a confirmation message is displayed in the top-right hand corner. 

Definition Locks.

This function identifies the ETL Definitions locked for design modifications and permits the FlowWright Admin user to unlock the specific or all definitions.   

Attempting to modify (design) an existing ETL Definition locked by another user results in an alert message as shown below. 

Select the Security—Definition Locks menu option on the ETL Definitions page. 

The locked ETL definitions are listed on a new page as below.

Select the locked definition and right-click to unlock it. 

Select the FlowWright user and right-click to unlock all the definitions. 

Usage.

This function generates a graph representing the usage count of the ETL Definitions.   

Select the Utils—Usage menu option on the ETL Definitions page. 

The usage graph is rendered as below. Use the mouse cursor on the graph to understand the count.