How to handle a date/time stamp in a filename for Box

Hey Dojo Folks,

 

I have a question, one of our data sources (doubleclick) only sends files to Box with a date/time stamp in the filename.  With the existing Box connector is it possible to strip out the date in the file name so that I can set up a consistent dataset import for Domo?  Or does anyone have another work around for this - maybe workbench?

 

If you've run into something similiar I'd love to hear how you worked around it.  Maybe that info could help me figure out a way around this complication.

 

Thanks!

Matt

 

 

Best Answer

  • PEAKS_valleys
    PEAKS_valleys Member
    Answer ✓

    Hey Matt - 

     

    I just worked through a solution for this using Box. The Box connector I'm using is:
    yourdomain.domo.com/connectors/com.domo.connector.boxfileservice

    Just enter your domain and follow the setup process.

     

    Within the 'Details' section of the setup, the first field is called 'File Name'. The frontend of DCM report names never changes, it's just appended with the date. Since the Box connector searches for the most recent Box file you only need to provide the consistent portion of the file name.

     

    For example, lets say my report from DCM is called: '1111_SouthFaceCo_Daily_Raw_Data_20160518_043007_245405514.csv'

    Your 'File Name' in the connector would be: '1111_SouthFaceCo_Daily_Raw_Data'. 

     

    Hope this helps! 

     

    Thanks, 

    Aaron

Answers

  • PEAKS_valleys
    PEAKS_valleys Member
    Answer ✓

    Hey Matt - 

     

    I just worked through a solution for this using Box. The Box connector I'm using is:
    yourdomain.domo.com/connectors/com.domo.connector.boxfileservice

    Just enter your domain and follow the setup process.

     

    Within the 'Details' section of the setup, the first field is called 'File Name'. The frontend of DCM report names never changes, it's just appended with the date. Since the Box connector searches for the most recent Box file you only need to provide the consistent portion of the file name.

     

    For example, lets say my report from DCM is called: '1111_SouthFaceCo_Daily_Raw_Data_20160518_043007_245405514.csv'

    Your 'File Name' in the connector would be: '1111_SouthFaceCo_Daily_Raw_Data'. 

     

    Hope this helps! 

     

    Thanks, 

    Aaron

  • NewsomSolutions
    NewsomSolutions Domo Employee

    Aaron, thanks for the reply.  I'll try that out and let you know how it goes.  Thanks again!

  • Hey Matt - 

     

    Any luck with this?

  • NewsomSolutions
    NewsomSolutions Domo Employee

    Yes.  I took Aaron's sugestion above and that worked for me.  The Box connector in Domo does only select the most recent file so if you have the file name in the connector (the part that doesn't change) it should grab it without a problem.  

     

    Something to keep in mind.  As I have multiple files going from 3rd party sources to Box before they go into Domo, you need to make sure your naming convetions are set so they don't overlap.  For example, I had files being emailed into Box (which has a file limitation on it) instead of using the FTP option (which I don't think does).  And it kept erroring out b/c I had files coming in that were too big.  Unfortuanately Domo was still looking at the last one that was there (which was old) and Box wasn't showing any errors b/c I only used the email address for Box.  So now I use the FTP option for Box which just drops files in the main folder and I can't use any organization there really so I have to make sure my files are named correctly to not overlap.  Like Client1_A_date, Client2_A_date...etc.  Hope that make sense and saves you some time.