Import & Upload functions using BULK APIs.

Hi Team,

I have couple of queries regarding Import & Upload functions using BULK APIs.

For Import function to work - file should already exists in Anaplan. However, if I want to import fresh files then I need to upload the files first as per my understanding.

Now in order to upload files, Anaplan says that the file must be uploaded first using Anaplan UI. I'm not able to understand this part -

A. If I have to upload file using Anaplan UI, then I will be able to perform other functions like Import etc. using UI, so what's the need of BULK API then?

B. Anaplan document also talks about subsequent upload of that file using API - What if I wanted to upload the same file with different data. How will the API work?

Is there any concept of uploading files manually from local computer or streaming using BULK APIs (excl. Anaplan Connect). Can anyone explain me any scenario/process.

Currently, I'm using POSTMAN to test all these requests. Do I need to use any other tool to test files upload/download?

Best,

Accepted answers

All comments

M.Kierepka

Hi @CommunityMember111277,

Firstly, you need to understand how "imports" work:
1. Import is action that involves loading some data into Anaplan. It can have a) file (csv) data as source, but also b) other Anaplan saved view/module/list. But to define/create import, just as any other action, you need to do it as Workspace Administrator in Anaplan UI, using your browser. If you choose the file option (a), then duirng creation mentioned in previous sentence, you need to upload some file. This file will become template, it gets "file ID" assigned etc. This is what decumentation refers to as "file should already exists in Anaplan" - it means definition should exist.

2. Only after above step you are able to upload some file and run an import. And each time you can obviously upload different version of this file (for different items, time etc), but it has to have the same structure as template/definition file that you uploaded during import creation mentioned in 1.

3. So the whole concept/scenario is that Admin defines import with template, and i.e. each day/month some automation tool uploads current, different version of this file (but in the same format), then runs the import.
Postman should be enough to learn API.

CommunityMember111277

Hi M.Kierepka

Can you tell me more around automation tool which can be used to run these APIs? Correct me, if I wrong, but I think POSTMAN is generally used for testing purpose, hence what should be the normal approach to run these requests? In case, of any tool, what automation tool do you suggest which can used to run these APIs automatically.

Thanks

alexpavel

@CommunityMember111277 to run the REST API's in a script and to automate, it can be used Python or Java script or curl utility. Maybe there are other options...

CommunityMember111277

alexpavel - can I use Anaplan connect as its also based on java script

alexpavel

yes, sure.. to import or export from Anaplan

CommunityMember111277

Hi alexpavel - one last question, can I also use Anaplan Connect for Transactional APIs?

M.Kierepka

@CommunityMember111277,

Yes, you can use Anaplan Connect, you can even use it with connection to databases etc. Note that it is written in Java (not JavaScript, which is used for web programming).

mokhtariadis

Can I import data from cloud services directly? I use cloud storage extensively, and I would even say that most of my important files are stored there. That’s why it would be very convenient to be able to import them directly and avoid downloading them to my PC and then uploading them again. It would be too time-consuming.
I use various online services to store my information, including Google Cloud and fastupload.io. I use many services because they free up a certain amount of information. For example, google cloud offers 15Gb free space, and I use 14.8 of it. This way, I can keep using them and still not pay anything.

CommunityMember111277

Yes, you can. You have to use CloudWorks.

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