When importing a Report/View/Datasource into Yellowfin with the aim of replacing an existing Report/View/Datasource, Yellowfin will look to match what is in the export file with what is in the current Yellowfin Config Database. This process is the same regardless of if you are importing into the same Yellowfin or another Yellowfin instance.
To be able to replace all elements of a Report/View/Datasource, Yellowfin needs to find a link between the existing content and the content being imported. The first and most direct link is the UUID (universally unique identifier), which will match directly. This number is created in one of two ways:
- For newly created content, it is generated on by that Yellowfin instance and is unique to that instance alone.
- Imported content, when it is not replacing existing content, adds the UUID from the yfx file.
For teams who are handling multiple environments and Yellowfin installs, the preferred method for creating content is to create all initial content in one system (Dev) and the import that content into the other environments, ensuring all changes are made in the initial environment for future import and replace actions.
In the absence of a matching UUID, Yellowfin will attempt to match a series of the below items of each content type to find the most likely match:
- COLUMN_NAME
- SHORT_DESC
- LONG_DESC
- FIELD_TYPE_CODE
- DATA_TYPE_CODE
- CONVERTED_DATA_TYPE
- REF_RLTSHP_TYPE_CODE
- ACCESS_FILTER_CODE
- CUSTOM_DATA_TYPE
- DIMENSION_TYPE_CODE
In order to increase the accuracy of the content matching it is advised to refrain from using identical information in the above references. For example, if you have 5 columns in a view, all with the name Column Name "Date" and Short Description "Date field" and all other data types and codes identical, use a unique Long Description for each of the five columns (eg "Date1", "Date2", etc or "Date for reports: Sales Info, Monthly Sales Charts", "Date for reports: Staff roster, Team reporting", etc). This will ensure Yellowfin can find at least 1 unique identifier and replace the correct content.
If Yellowfin does detect issues with matching, a warning will always be displayed. You can continue to import in these situations, however unless the matching issues are rectified you may not get the expected outcome of the replace.