Allowed Values

General

Allowed values are used to convert a property value by using a look-up. The look-up can be entered statically or based on an external source.

The look-up values will be presented in the Lookup Values dialog. 

The column "Name" contains the property values to be converted. The column "Value" contains the converted value. 

External Source

The Allowed Values from External Source feature is used to import and maintain allowed values for properties using external files rather than entering them manually. Supported formats include JSON, CSV, Excel (.xlsx), and XML. This functionality improves consistency and reduces maintenance by allowing values to be sourced from external systems such as ERP exports or configuration files.

The look-up values may be updated by either a manual import or by a scheduled import job that automatically updates values at defined intervals.

Accessing the Feature

1. Navigate to Settings → Properties.

2. Select Article, Operation, Structure, or Change order.

3. Under the Values column, click the button for an existing or new property.

4. In the popup, choose External source.

5. Select the Source Type (JSON, CSV, Excel, XML) and desired Replace mode.

6. Configure import settings, upload a file to preview, and perform a one-time import or set up a scheduled import.

Replace Modes

Mode	Behavior
Replace all	Clears all existing allowed values and substitutes imported values.
Replace none	Retains existing values and adds only new key/value pairs from the import.

Manual vs. Scheduled Import

Mode	Description
Manual import	Used when Scheduled Import is disabled. The user uploads a file and performs a single import.
Scheduled import	When enabled, the system reads the file path on a schedule and imports automatically. The scheduler checks every minute to determine whether an import should run.

Note: All import settings must be configured before uploading a file.

JSON Import

Supported Formats

JSON imports support key–value mappings in multiple structural forms, including arrays, objects, and nested structures.

Example JSON

{
  "data": {
    "allowedValues": [
      { "origin": "article-1", "mappedValue": "art1" },
      { "origin": "article-2", "mappedValue": "art2" }
    ]
  },
  "lookupValues": [
    { "mappedValue": "art-no-1" },
    { "mappedValue": "art-no-2" }
  ],
  "source1": ["article-1", "article-2"],
  "values1": ["art-nr-1", "art-nr-2"],
  "keyValueArray": [
    { "article-1": "articleNo1" },
    { "article-3": "articleNo2" }
  ]
}

Field Definitions

• data.allowedValues — Array of origin → mappedValue pairs.

• origin — External source value.

• mappedValue — Internal normalized value.

• lookupValues — Optional list for target-only lookups.

• source1 / values1 — Plain arrays representing key/value pairs with matching index positions.

• keyValueArray — Array of objects where each object contains a single key–value mapping.

Inputs

Input	Description
JSON path to keys	Path to the list/object containing keys.
Key property	Property name inside an object representing the key (empty for plain arrays).
JSON path to values	Path to list/object containing values.
Value property	Property name holding the value (empty for plain arrays).

Examples

• Keys from data.allowedValues[*].origin

  • JSON path: data.allowedValues

  • Key property: origin

• Using plain arrays (source1/values1):

  • Leave Key/Value property empty.

• Using object map (keyValueArray):

  • Leave Key/Value property empty.

CSV Import

Supported Formats

CSV files may contain headers or rely on column indexes.

Example With Header

rowId;artNo;descr;mappedArtNo;quant
1;art-1;Article one;article-1-mapped;4

Example Without Header

1;art-1;Article one;article-1-mapped;4

Inputs

Input	Description
Has header?	Indicates whether the first row contains column names.
Delimiter	Character separating values (e.g., ;, ,, tab).

When Header = On

• Key column — name of the key field (example: artNo)

• Value column — name of the value field (example: mappedArtNo)

When Header = Off

• Key column index — zero-based index (example: 1)

• Value column index — zero-based index (example: 3)

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Excel (.xlsx) Import

Supported Formats

Only .xlsx is supported. Keys and values are read from a specified worksheet and cell ranges.

Inputs

Input	Description
Sheet name	Defaults to first sheet if unspecified.
Key starting cell	First key cell (e.g., A2).
Key ending cell	Optional; if empty, parsing continues until first empty key.
Value starting cell	First value cell (e.g., B2).
Value ending cell	Optional; must align with key range if provided.

Parsing Behavior

• Supports vertical or horizontal ranges.

• Single cells produce a single pair.

• Empty keys are skipped; empty values are allowed.

• Errors produce descriptive messages.

Example Result

{
  "art-1": "article-1-mapped",
  "art-2": "article-2-mapped",
  "art-3": "article-3-mapped"
}

XML Import

Example XML

<articles>
  <article>
    <artNo>art-1</artNo>
    <mappedArtNo name="artNo1">article-1-mapped</mappedArtNo>
  </article>
</articles>

Inputs

Input	Description
Key list path	XPath selecting key nodes (e.g., /articles/article).
Key property	Element or attribute representing key (artNo, artNo/@id).
Value list path	XPath selecting value nodes (optional).
Value property	Element or attribute for value (mappedArtNo, mappedArtNo/@name).

Parsing Behavior

• Node lists from Key and Value paths must match in count.

• Supports element text and attributes.

• Empty keys are skipped.

• Errors for invalid paths or mismatched node counts.

Example Mapping

{
  "art-1": "artNo1",
  "art-2": "artNo2"
}

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Scheduled Import Configuration

Overview

When Scheduled Import is enabled, the system reads an external file path and re-imports allowed values automatically based on a configurable schedule. The scheduler evaluates trigger conditions every minute.

Inputs

Input	Description
File path	Local or network file path to source file.
Select schedule type	Interval, Daily, Weekly, Monthly.

Schedule Options

Interval

• Specify interval unit (e.g., 5)

• Choose Minutes, Hours, or Days

Daily

• Set a 24h time (e.g., 14:00)

Weekly

• Choose one or more days (e.g., Wednesday, Friday)

• Set time (e.g., 09:30)

Monthly

• Select a day of month (e.g., 8)

• Provide time (e.g., 11:00)