(Optional) Defining a Global XML Schema

You can use the Convert XML to RecordsetClosed The Convert XML to Recordset tool is used to convert XML data into a flat-format BPA Platform recordset, allowing the data to be used by recordset-only consuming tools. This could then be used to power alerts via fax, email, or SMS, create reports, power a workflow, perform FTP transfer, and so on. tool immediately in a task step. However, if the task step consumes a variable containing XML rather than an XML document from a previous task step, you must define a XML schema to validate against. You can choose to define the schema local to the task step only, or create a library of schemas for all Convert XML to Recordset tasks steps to share.

You do this in the Convert XML to Recordset Global Configuration interface. You open this interface from the resources tree — expand System > Tools > Format and double-click Convert XML to Recordset in the items list.

  1. Click Add to add a new XML schema.
  2. You can either import existing XML schema or XML document, or manually create the schema to validate the XML source for the Convert XML to Recordset task step.

    An XML schema defines the structure of the XML — what elements are present and the nesting of said elements. The format used by the Convert XML to Recordset tool is the industry standard XSD format.

    If you have an existing XSD file, click Open File to import and make it available to Convert XML to Recordset task steps. If you do not have an existing XSD file but do have an XML file with the same structure as that being converted, you can import it (Open File) and Convert XML to Recordset can infer the schema from it.

    Alternatively, click Manual Entry to either enter the XML schema yourself, or copy and paste an XSD or XML file's contents into the provided text box.

    For more information, go to the main schema configuration topic.

  3. Click OK to save the schema.

Adding a New Task Step

To add a new Convert XML to Recordset step to an existing task:

  1. Open the relevant task (if creating a new task, see How to Create a Basic Task).
  2. Either:
► Click and drag the Convert XML to Recordset icon from the Task Browser to the task Design area.

–OR–

► From the task's Design tab, right-click on empty space and select New > Format > Convert XML to Recordset.
  1. Configure the General tab parameters.

    The General tab is used to Name and describe (Description) this task step.

    Tip: If this task instance makes use of two or more Convert XML to Recordset steps, ensure the Name used is unique for each individual step.

  2. Go to the Main tab and select the XML document to convert.

    You source your XML from either:

    ►A previous Task step — If consuming from a previous task step, choose the relevant XML document from the provided drop-down.
    ►A Variable populated by another task step — If consuming from a variable, a few extra configuration steps are required.

    Because the XML from a task or global variableClosed Variables are created and used extensively throughout and can either have fixed values or values that are dynamically populated when a task is run. Global variables are available for all tasks in this BPA Platform installation. Once created, global variables can be used by any task. has not been validated yet, you must also provide the XML schema which the Convert XML to Recordset tool uses to validate the XML at task run-time. You can either choose:

    ■A Predefined schema created in the global configuration for this tool
    ■To create a Custom schema — Click Define and either manually define the schema or input an existing one into the Schema Configuration interface.

    Finally, from the Task Browser, drag-and-drop the variable which contains the required XML at run-time into Data source variable.

    By default, all elements from the consumed XML or XML schema are provided as potential columns from the output recordset. Either select those elements to output to the recordset, or click All to have all elements in the recordset.

    Note: If consuming XML from a previous task step, be aware that some steps can output two XML documents — Output Data and Error Data — so care should be taken when selecting the task step data source.

    For more information, go to the main Main tab topic.

  3. Go to the Options tab and select the relevant error handling options for this task step.

    The Options tab allows you to define how errors in this step are handled at task runtime.

    If an error occurs, you can decide whether the step should Continue processing, or terminate the step immediately (Abort Step).

    If the step is aborted, you can choose to Continue processing onto the next step in the task, or terminate the whole task immediately (Abort Task).

  4. Click  to save the task step.