Bommer supports importing bulk data from an Excel spreadsheet or CSV file in nearly any column configuration you may have.  To learn how to configure an import format, which is how Bommer knows how to map columns from your file to properties configured within Bommer, click here.  Read on below to walk through the process of importing data, including possible errors or problems that can occur.

The Import data... dropdown button

To start the import process, select an import format from the  Import data... button in the toolbar above the Bommer live view.

Press the button and you will see your existing import formats there. Select the particular import you wish to carry out.

Once you select an import format, Bommer will ask you for the file or files that are necessary for that import.  For each file needed for the import, the "File name" field will be pre-populated with the "file" name (specified when configuring the format).  If that file is present in the directory you can just press Open without typing or selecting anything; if not, navigate to the location of your file, select it, then press open.

After selecting the necessary files, Bommer will load the data and then perform the edits as defined in the import format.  This may take some time, especially on larger models, but once it's completed successfully, you'll see a summary of the import which includes information about how many values were imported, how many components were edited, and the specific file paths used.  This is so you can quality check the import; if something looks wrong, you can hit the  Undo button in Bommer, check your source files and import format, and try again.

Possible errors when importing data

There are a handful of potential errors that Bommer can run into when trying to perform an import, from being unable to access an import file to not finding any matching line items within the BOM.  These problems are generally fixable, after which you can re-run the import process.

Unable to access a file

This error can occur if a file you have selected cannot be read by Bommer, which can occur if a file is missing, locked for reading, or corrupted.

One of the most common causes of this error is simply having the file open in Excel (Excel will lock a file so that other programs cannot read it).  In this case, simply close the file in Excel and re-run the import.  In all other cases, you can try copying the file to a different location, or selecting a different file (if the original file is now missing).

No matching line items found

Bommer will try to utilize the step conditions defined within the import format to find eligible line items to update; if it cannot find any line items that can be updated, this will cause Bommer to display an error.

It is likely that this is the result of selecting the wrong import format for the file(s) selected or the wrong file(s) for the desired import format.

No values imported

Similarly, Bommer will try to utilize the column/property mappings defined within each import step to determine which Bommer properties to update with imported data.  If Bommer cannot find any properties that can be updated, this will cause an error as well.

This could also be the result of selecting the wrong import format for the file(s) selected or the wrong file(s) for the desired import format.  The difference between this error and the "No matching line items found" errors is, in this case, Bommer was able to find some eligible line items but no properties that could be updated.  This could also be caused by changes to the process that generated the imported files, or other changes to your Bommer configuration.