Using the Management Agent for Delimited Text Files

  • Article

By using the management agent for delimited text files, you can synchronize data that is contained in delimited text files.

Connected data source support

Delimited text files

Management agent type

This is a file-based management agent.

Schema

The schema is generated based on the discovery of the data in the template input file. When you refresh the schema for this management agent, Management Agent Designer starts, reads the template input file, and then updates the management agent schema. Then, you can update the management agent configuration based on the new schema. You cannot edit the schema for delimited text files.

Remarks

  • The delimited text file format consists of one record per line, with each record appearing as a series of attributes that are separated by a character such as a comma, a tab, or a user-specified character. You can specify the first row in the delimited text file as header names. Make sure that all multivalued attributes and their header names are in sequential order. You can use a text qualifier (that is, either a single or double quotation mark) to enclose text in a single attribute. The following is an example of a delimited text file format:

    1,"Cust,1",Jeff,Smith,12 Broad Street,San Francisco,CA,11700
    2,Cust2,Chris,Preston,34 State Street,Anchorage,AK,21002

    For delimited file formats, multivalued attributes and their header names must be in sequential order. A delimited field with any attribute cannot appear between delimited fields that compose a single multivalued attribute. The following is an example of a valid delimited file format containing a single multivalued attribute (Phone), composed of two delimited fields (Phone, Phone).

    Numb FirstName LastName Phone Phone

    1

    Jeff

    Smith

    555-555-1212

    555-555-1234

    1

    Chris

    Preston

    555-555-1313

    555-555-1345

    The following is an example of an invalid delimited file format containing a multivalued attribute (Phone). The LastName delimited field appears between two delimited fields, (Phone) and (Phone), that make a single multivalued attribute (Phone).

    Numb FirstName Phone LastName Phone

    1

    Jeff

    555-555-1212

    Smith

    555-555-1234

    1

    Chris

    555-555-1313

    Preston

    555-555-1345

  • Microsoft® Forefront Identity Manager (FIM) 2010 R2 treats all data as case sensitive.

  • File-based management agents do not export characters that are not in the destination code page. FIM fails when it attempts to export objects that contain any character that is not in the target connected data source code page. If you try to avoid this behavior by converting the file to Unicode and then doing a best-fit translation, FIM cannot confirm the export. As a workaround, you can do your own file translation during export attribute flow.

  • For file-based management agents, the template input file should contain all the object classes and attributes that will be synchronized, and it should be in a full import format.

  • If you use a template input file that is larger than 200 KB, FIM analyzes only the first 100 objects when discovering the schema. As a result, if there are object classes and attributes that you want to synchronize that do not appear in the first 100 objects, manually add those object classes and attributes as connector space object types and attributes. Depending on the size of the file, a delay might occur when FIM reads the entire file.

  • File-based management agents support importing only a single value for the object class (OC) attribute. If you try to import a multivalued OC attribute from a connected data source, the management agent will fail with a multi-single-mismatch error.

  • This management agent supports password management. For more information, see See Also.

See Also

Concepts

Configuring Management Agents
Create a Management Agent
Select a Template Input File
Confirm Delimited Text File Format
Configure Attributes
Map Object Types
Define Object Types
Configure Partitions
Configure Connector Filter Rules
Configure Join and Projection Rules
Configure Attribute Flow Rules
Configure Deprovisioning Rules
Configure Password Management and Specify Rules Extensions
Password Management