Transferring File Entries

Transferring Entries Between Files

You can use the Transfer Entries option to move all or a group of entries from one file to an entirely separate file. To do this:

1. Answer the "INPUT TO WHAT FILE:" prompt and the "TRANSFER FROM FILE:" prompt with different file names.
   
   
2. Specify whether transferred entries should be added all as new, or whether they should be merged with existing entries.
   
   
3. Specify whether transferred entries should be deleted in the original file.
   
   
4. Specify which entries to transfer, by entering a sort criteria.

For transfer to occur, the NAME fields (#.01) of both files must have matching LABELs and DATA TYPEs. In this way VA FileMan can identify corresponding entries. Values of the fields can then be transferred. Only those fields where the field LABEL and DATA TYPE match will be transferred. Before the transfer is done, you are told which fields will have their data transferred.

The dialogue presented when transferring entries to another file is presented below. In this instance, you are transferring the contents of the SCHOLAR file to the NEW SCHOLAR file. The NEW SCHOLAR file already exists, and it does have some entries whose NAME field matches those in the SCHOLAR file.

Select OPTION: TRANSFER ENTRIES   

Select TRANSFER OPTION: TRANSFER FILE ENTRIES   
 
INPUT TO WHAT FILE: NEW SCHOLAR
TRANSFER FROM FILE: NEW SCHOLAR// SCHOLAR
'NAME' FIELDS, 'SSN' FIELDS, 'DATE OF BIRTH' FIELDS, 'SUBJECT AREA' 
FIELDS,'TOPICS' FIELDS, WILL BE TRANSFERRED 
 
WANT TO MERGE TRANSFERRED ENTRIES WITH ONES ALREADY THERE? NO// YES 
WANT EACH ENTRY TO BE DELETED AS IT'S TRANSFERRED? NO
TRANSFER ENTRIES BY: NAME// 
START WITH NAME: FIRST// 
DEVICE: HOME// 

You can specify whether you want entries with the same NAME field to be merged when the transfers are made, or whether each transferred entry and subentry should become a distinct new entry in the target file. (In this case, the answer was YES to merge.) You can also specify whether or not the entries should be deleted from the "from" file as they are transferred. (In this case, the answer was NO to delete.)

A simple report is created that lists the entries that were transferred. You have the ability to route that list to a printer using the "DEVICE:" prompt.

In addition, you have considerable control over which entries are transferred. Your answers to the "TRANSFER ENTRIES BY:" and "START WITH:" prompts select entries in the same way that you specify sort criteria when describing a print output. (See the "Print: How to Print Reports from Files" chapter of the "VA FileMan Getting Started Manual.")

For example, if you only wanted to transfer scholars born after 1900 to the NEW SCHOLAR file, you could answer the "TRANSFER ENTRIES BY:" prompt like this:

    TRANSFER ENTRIES BY: NAME// DATE OF BIRTH>1900
    WITHIN DATE OF BIRTH>1900, TRANSFER ENTRIES BY: 

NOTE: The Transfer Entries option can be used to purge files. You can define a SCHOLAR ARCHIVE file containing a subset of the fields that are in the original file (perhaps the fields: NAME, SSN, and DATE OF BIRTH); you can then simply transfer into this separate file all or a selected group of entries from the original file, deleting the entries as they are transferred.

Reviewed/Updated: March 4, 2007