Importing contracts

Using the contract import feature, a large number of contracts, including their file attachments, can be imported into Onventis at once.

In order to be able to import contracts, ready-made contract templates are first required. It also requires permissions to create contracts.

In the contract list (menu item Contracts & Documents > Contract Management > Contracts) click on More and on Import Contracts.

The contract import wizard opens and guides you through the necessary steps.

Step 1

First, select the contract template for which you want to import contracts. Then click the Download button.

A zip file will be downloaded containing all the necessary files to prepare the import.

The zip file contains the following files and directories:

File data.csv
The contract data must be entered in this file.
File system-do-not-delete.ini
This file is of a purely technical nature and may not be modified.
Folder attachmentsAll file attachments that are to be attached to the contracts to be imported are to be stored in this folder.

Editing the data.csv file

The data.csv file contains semicolon-separated columns.
In row 1 of the CSV file, each column represents exactly one field defined in the contract template. This line must not be changed.

The columns are displayed as follows: Area name|Field name

Enter the contracts to be imported into the CSV file, use a new line per contract.

When populating the CSV file, note the field types defined in the contract template.
For example, if a field was defined as a number field, only numbers may be entered in the CSV file for this field. Otherwise the import will fail.

Depending on the different field types, the columns of the CSV file are to be filled as follows:

Status: Text Active or Inactive (English spelling)
Text field: Text
Number field: number; decimal separators are to be entered as comma; leading zeros are removed during import
Selection field (simple): selected option is to be entered as text
Selection field (multiple): selected options are to be entered as text and separated by the | symbol (“Pipe”)
Lookup field: The internal number of the corresponding object in Onventis (e.g. supplier number, user number, etc.), including leading zeros if applicable.
Date field: Date in the form dd.mm.yyyy, e.g. 15.02.2020
Dynamic date:
The different options of the dynamic date are to be entered as follows:

Option	Enter	Note
by the end of the year	0\|1\|1\|1\|0\|0
End of the month	1\|1\|1\|1\|0\|0
end of a given month	2\|1\|5\|1\|0\|0	The bold digit defines the month (from 0 – January to 11 – December). In the example on the left, the month June is selected.
End of the quarter	3\|1\|1\|1\|0\|0
Reference date	4\|1\|1\|Area name:Field name\|0\|0	The range and field name of the reference date must be entered separated by :.
Specified day	5\|9\|4\|1\|0\|0	The numbers in bold define the day (from 1 to 31) and the month (from 0 – January to 11 – December). In the example on the left, day 9 and month May are selected.
Calculation “n days/weeks/months” before	0\|1\|1\|1\|3\|2	The two digits in bold define the number and unit of the calculation. The unit is defined as 0 = days, 1 = weeks and 2 = months. In the example on the left, the date is moved forward by 3 months. The shift can be applied to any of the options listed earlier in this table.

Unsupported or partially supported characters

The following characters cannot be imported or can only be partially imported in a contract field:

Characters	Used for	Support
\|	Separators for selection fields, dynamic date fields, and file attachments	character can be used in all fields except select fields and dynamic date fields
;	CSV separator	Character cannot be used in any field
:	Separator for reference date in dynamic date fields	character can be used in all fields except dynamic date fields
“		Character cannot be used in any field
‘		Character cannot be used in any field

Adding file attachments

File attachments must be stored in the attachments directory.

If several files with the same name are to be uploaded, additional subdirectories can be created in the attachments directory.

In the data.csv file, the file attachments belonging to a contract must be specified in the attachments column in the following form:

Example 1

contract.pdf

Example 2

subdirectory/contract.pdf

If several files are to be attached to a single contract, they must be separated by the | symbol (“pipe”) in the following form:

Example 1

contract-file-1.pdf|contract-file-2.pdf

Example 2

subdirectory/contract-file-1.pdf|subdirectory/contract-file-2.pdf

Schritt 2

The edited CSV file and all file attachments must be added back to the zip file.

The zip file can then be dragged to the File to upload here… field. can be dragged. By clicking on this field you can alternatively open the browse dialog.

After selecting the file, it is immediately uploaded and processed.

Schritt 3

If all information has been processed successfully, this is confirmed by a corresponding status message.

If errors occurred during processing, they are displayed in the Error Details area.

If the contract data was entered correctly in the data.csv file, but problems occurred when assigning the file attachments, the contracts will still be created.

Restrictions

The import of contracts is currently subject to the following restrictions:

Importing rules and reminders for contracts is not possible.
It is not possible to update existing contracts via the import. A contract contained in the import is always created anew.