Global Updates - Replace / Insert Text in Data Item

As part of the special Database Actions that can be used within the Profiler Installerare options that can be used to replace text or to insert text in any text data item. These can be used, for example, to insert a location code on a stock code prior to an update to stock or to replace part of a stock description with other text.

These options though could only be used manually – requiring you to select the database, the item to update, the value to insert/replace and any selection criteria. Where this is a process that needs to be actioned regularly this can be time-consuming.

Two new Profiler Global Update types have been added for selection when first creating a new global update definition.

Insert Text into Any Item

Update Which Data Item Number From/To – reference the data item number to be updated with the inserted text. Generally, you would only reference the first item but you can reference a range of consecutive text data items to insert text within if needed.

Insert What Value – enter the text to be inserted within the data item.

At What Position – enter the character position the text is to be inserted within. Leave as 0 to append to any existing text. Note the maximum character size of the data item to be updated – inserting text may mean that some existing content could be removed if data inserted means the new text length is greater than the field size allows.

Replace Text in Any Item

Update Which Data Item – reference the data item to be updated.

Replace What Value – enter the text string to be replaced.

With What Value – enter the text string to be updated. Note that if text string to be updated is larger than the text being replaced then the maximum character size of the field may mean that existing content could be removed if the resulting text is greater than maximum size allowed.

After confirming the update parameters for both the insert/replace options the definitions allow you to define any selection criteria for the update and to set, if the database being updated is mirrored to SQL, whether to write individual change records to SQL or to refresh the database (generally quicker on large files where many records are to be updated