Set Date, Time, and Decimal Formats

In Target Design, on the Targets page’s Vertical View, users define formats for date, time, and decimal fields. This functionality allows the Target Design fields to be set to a data type of NVARCHAR as an open standard to allow all data to flow through the migration. The validation rules written in Data Services check that the Target data is in the correct format to load in to the Target system.

The Data Services AutoGen process uses the specifications defined in Target Design on the Target page’s Vertical View to define the validation in Data Services if the field is identified as a field requiring this format validation checking. The user can enter any ISO standard Date or Time definition and specify whether the decimal separator is a ‘.’ or ‘,’.

Refer to Data Services AutoGen for more information.

Field formats are set at the Target level. There can be one date, time, or decimal format per Target.

NOTE: These formats can be updated from within Data Services AutoGen on the Target Data Services Rule Global Variables page. Refer to Configure Target Data Services Rule Global Variables for more information.

There are two steps to applying a format to Target fields:

  1. Define the format on the Targets page.
  2. Set the Field format for a field on the Target Fields page.

To define the field format to be used in Data Services validation rules in Target Design:

  1. Select Design in the Context bar.

  2. Click the Targetsicon on the Design page.

  3. Click the Vertical View icon for a Target.

  4. Click Edit.

    View the field descriptions for the Targets page’s Vertical View

  5. Enter the format for date fields in the Date Format field.

    NOTE: Any ISO standard Date format is allowed.

  6. Enter the format for time fields in the Time Format field.

    NOTE: Any ISO standard Time format is allowed.

  7. Specify the separator (either “.” or “,”) for decimal fields in the Decimal Format field.

  8. Click Save.

To set the field format for a field in Target Design:

  1. Select Design in the Context bar.

  2. Click the Targetsicon on the Design page.

  3. Click the Fields icon for a Target.

  4. Click the Vertical View icon for a field.

  5. Click Edit.

    View the field descriptions for the Target Fields page’s Vertical View

  6. Select the format (Date, Time, or Decimal) in the Field Format list box.

  7. Click Save.