Member mapping types

When importing data, member mappings define relationships between source members from source systems, such as, ERPs and General Ledgers, and target dimension members within the system. 

You can create a map with mappings for a specific dimension or alternatively you can create a map with mappings for multiple dimensions.

For example:

In cases where the member names in your import file don't match the member names in the system, you need to create member maps. In the sample data import file:

• The accounts may need to be mapped to account members that exist in the system, for example, 10000 may need to be mapped to a member A10000.
• The entity may need to be mapped to entity codes that are in the system.
• Use SKIP in the Mapped Value to ignore the corresponding source record.

For example, in this Sample Data Import File, USA may need to be mapped to USA100.

There are four types of Member Mappings available:

• Exact: Map a specific source value to a target value.
• Range: A range of source values is mapped to a single target value.
• In: A list of non-sequential source values to be mapped to one target value.
• Wildcard: Use * and ? Wildcard characters to map to one or more target values.

Exact mappings are one-to-one mappings. Range, In, and Wildcard are advanced mapping types that can be used to reduce on-going maintenance when new members are added to source systems.

When the mapping engine processes the source values, multiple mappings may apply to a specific source value. The order that the mappings appear in the Map determines the order of precedence. You can drag and drop the mappings using the row selector in the Mapping Editor to change the order of precedence. 

The first mapping that matches the source value is the mapping that'll be applied.

Use Exact mappings to map a specific source value to a target value. The mapping engine looks for the exact source value and map it to a specific member of the system.

This type of mapping is the simplest of all four types of mappings. This mapping type can be useful in these scenarios:

• You need to specify an explicit mapping.
• Range, In, and Wildcard mappings don't apply.
• The mapping contains spaces and other special characters.

For example:

Use Range mappings to map a range of source values ‌to a single target value. The range consists of an alphanumeric minimum and maximum separated by a hyphen (-).

You may find this mapping type useful in these scenarios:

• There are a range of source product SKUs to be mapped to a single product within the system.

This example shows a sample source file followed by examples of the corresponding Range Mappings in the Mappings Editor.

Use In mappings to map a list of non-sequential source values to one target value. The In clause is a comma-separated list of source items.

This mapping type is useful in these scenarios:

• Several disparate source members need to be mapped to a single member.
• Several source members that may be referred to by slightly different names depending on the import file.

The example shows a sample source file followed by examples of the corresponding In Mappings in the Mappings Editor.

Use * (asterisk) and ? (question mark) wildcard characters to map to one or more target values. 

The wildcard characters * and ? can be used together and multiple time within the source value, for example, A??100-* maps to A10000.

The wildcard character * can be used in both the source and target values. In this case, the mapped value is the equivalent of the source value after the wildcard characters have been stripped. 

For example, the source accounts may contain the prefix A1000, A2000, A3000 and these need to be mapped to the accounts 1,000, 2000, 3000 in the system. You can use these wildcard mapping to achieve this:

This mapping type is useful in these scenarios:

• Several similarly formatted source members need to be mapped to a single member.
• The source members closely match the member names in the system but may contain a prefix or suffix that needs to be stripped.
• The * wildcard can be used to catch any unmapped members. 

This example shows a sample source file followed by examples of the corresponding Wildcard Mappings in the Mappings Editor.