9.7.1 Using the MDU Tool

The Multi Data Update tool window may be opened in several different ways. These are:

With the rating period containing the selection tree to be updated selected in the ERE navigator, select Multi Data Update from the rating manager menu.
While having the rating period containing the desired selection tree selected in the ERE navigator, press ctrl + M.

The MDU tool window consists of a message panel, a panel in which the search criteria for the data to be updated is entered and result tabs that show the data returned by the search and in which the data may be updated. Figure 198 shows an example using the tool.

Figure 198 An Example of the MDU Tool.

Table 95 Legend to Fig 198
1	Message panel.
2	Filter criteria are defined here.
3	Result tabs.
4	Action buttons.

The message panel shows error messages and warnings, informs the user of the result of their previous action and gives tips on corrective action if the action has failed. Some of the error messages and warnings are described in Table 98.

The panel Filter selection tree elements based on: is where the criteria for finding the data to be updated is defined. The data may be searched for in three ways. They are:

By. All selection tree elements containing a tag are returned when Tag(s) is chosen. All selection tree elements that support MDU are returned, along with the path to these elements, when Path(s) is chosen.
By expression. The search criteria are defined using the paths or tags of the elements in the selection tree. The criteria take the form of lists of tags or paths, separated by a space. Some examples of how the criteria may be formulated, and the expected results are shown in Table 96.
By file. A compatible file may be imported, creating a filter based on either paths or tags of selection tree elements. If the Import data found in file check box is chosen, both the filter and the data values in the file are imported.

Table 96 Common Criteria Used in the Filter by Field
Description of Filter	Criteria	Results in
Several elements with tags, separated by a space.	Tag1 Tag2	Elements with the specific tags Tag1 and Tag2.
An element with a space in its tag or node name.	"A descriptive text"	The elements with the tag "A descriptive text".
Elements, the path of which is known.	/node/modifier	The elements with the specified path. The root node of the tree is not needed when defining a path.
Elements whose tag parameter begins with "Tag" . In other words the character '*' is a wildcard.	Tag*	All elements with a tag name beginning with "Tag".
Elements whose tag parameter ends with "Tag"	*Tag	All elements with a tag name ending with "Tag".
Elements whose tag parameter contains "Tag"	Tag	All elements with a tag name containing "Tag".
Elements, where the start of the path is known.	/node/**/	The elements with a path starting at the specified node. The root node of the tree is not needed when defining a path.
Elements, where the start of the path and the elements name is known.	/node/**/modifier	The elements with the name "modifier", with a path starting at the specified node.
If the element should have the character '*' in its path or tag, this combination is not read as a wildcard.	\*	Allows the definition of an expression containing the character '' as a part of the path or tag. In other words, '' is not considered as a wildcard.

The filter is applied to the selection tree when the Show button is selected.

The Result panel displays the elements returned by the filters. Each element type returned has a separate tab in the panel. Each tab is presented as a table. The columns are explained in Table 97.

Table 97 MDU Result Panel
Column	Description
Tag or Path	The tag name for the selection tree elements returned by the filter, if the filter criteria are based on tags. If several selection tree elements have the same tag name, the row in the table is marked with an (insert icon pic here) icon. All elements with the same tag will be updated at the same time. The path name for the selection tree elements returned by the filter, if the filter criteria are based on paths. If several selection tree elements have the same path, the row in the table is marked with an (insert icon pic here) icon.
Old value	The current values of the data from the selection tree. If there are more than one unique value for selection tree elements with the same tag, a mouse-over tooltip shows the values of the different values.
New value	The new values for the data for the selection tree. The values may be entered manually or imported from a file. They do not take effect on the selection tree until the Save button is selected, and the action is confirmed from the subsequent dialog. Right-clicking on the new values column gives the option to restore the values from the old value column.

It is possible to copy the values from a result tab to the computers clipboard. These may then be pasted to a spreadsheet program. Likewise, it is possible to paste the values from a spreadsheet into a result tab. The table in the result tab and the spreadsheet program must have the same format for this to work, this is ensured by only using files or clipboard data which have been exported from the MDU.

If the data in the New values have been edited without being saved, and an attempt is made to paste in values from the clipboard, a warning similar to that in Figure 199 is shown. Choosing Yes overwrites the values in the columns with the values from the clipboard. Choosing No stops the paste, and retains the values in the New values columns.

Figure 199 Warning Message when Importing MDU Values

There are a number of buttons which perform actions using the values in the results tab. These are:

Import. This imports a CSV file containing a table of values to the current result tab. The layout of the values in the import file must be identical to the table in the results tab. One way to ensure this is to create the table in the MDU tool and export it, editing only the values later in a spreadsheet program. The external spreadsheet program may impose formatting on the CSV file when importing the data into cells. To avoid this, the cells in the spreadsheet should be formatted as text.
If the data in the New values have been edited without being saved, and the import function is started, the warning in Figure 199 is shown. Choosing Yes overwrites the values in the columns with the values in the imported file. Choosing No stops the import, and retains the values in the New values columns.

When importing a CSV file, some error messages and warnings may be displayed in the message panel if the file has an incorrect layout, or values are in the wrong format. These are described in table Table 98.
Export. This exports the values in the Old values column of the result tab to a CSV file, which may be edited in an external spreadsheet program or imported into another RMA instance. If a row contains several values, only the first value shown in the tooltip is exported.
Save. This saves the values in the New values column to the current selection tree if new values of the data have been entered. Check the message panel to see if any errors occurred while saving the new data.
Save As. Save the values in the New values column to a new selection tree. The new tree has the same logic as the current selection tree. The new selection tree may be compared to the old tree using the selection tree difference detection tool, see Section 9.4.
Discard. Clears the result tabs, and all the values in the columns, without affected the values in the current selection tree.

Table 98 Error Messages and Warnings in MDU Tool.
Message	Severity	Scenario	Meaning
Could not read from file. File not found.	Error	When trying to find selection tree elements by file.	Selected file does not exist on provided path.
Please consult the user guide for information on pasting data in table.	Error	When pasting into MDU from system clipboard.	Data being pasted in has the wrong format.
Failed to paste data from clipboard", "An unexpected error occurred. See log entry [logentry] for more information.	Error	When pasting into MDU from system clipboard.	Data has a format not supported by MDU, for example a faulty date format. Data imported or pasted into MDU must be of the same format as used when the data is exported. The chapter Section 9.7.1 has more information on the format that expected by MDU Tool.
Import failed, Import contents did not match data in current view. See log entry [logentry] for more information.	Error	Importing to MDU.	The content of the file does not match the selection tree MDU was initiated in, or the elements that have been filtered do not match the content of the file.
Save error, Configuration could not be saved, see the log for more information.	Error	Saving in MDU.	The configuration could not be saved, for example because the connection to the server failed. Verify the log.
Found no selection tree elements applicable for update: Possible reason: the selection tree does not contain elements that may be updated with Multi Data Update.	Warning	When trying to find all elements based on tag or path.	If using Find all by path - the selection tree does not contain elements that may be updated with Multi Data Update. If using Find all by tag – no elements have any tag defined OR the selection tree does not contain elements that may be updated with Multi Data Update
Found no selection tree elements applicable for update: Possible reason: faulty path format, or no matching elements were found.	Warning	When trying find elements by expression, based on path.	The format is not followed or no elements matching the criteria were found or the tree does not contain elements that may be updated through MDU. The chapter Section 9.7.1 has more information on the format that expected by MDU Tool.
Found no selection tree elements applicable for update: Possible reason: faulty tag format, or no matching elements were found.	Warning	When trying find elements by expression, based on tag.	The format is not followed or no elements matching the criteria was found or the tree does not have elements with a defined tag or the tree does not contain elements that may be updated through MDU. The chapter Section 9.7.1 has more information on the format that expected by MDU Tool.
Found no selection tree elements applicable for update: Possible reason: selected file has element data that does not match the elements in the selection tree.	Warning	When using find elements by file.	The file has data matching other elements, for example the file is generated from another tree with other tags/paths. Tree configuration may have changed so the tags/paths in the file no longer match. File has been edited manually so the tag/path identifier does not match any longer.
Data pasted with exceptions. All paste contents did not match data in current view. See log entry for more information.	Warning	When pasting into the result table of MDU from system clipboard.	All data in the clipboard did not match the selected view in the result table of MDU. There might have been more, less, faulty or different data on the clipboard than in the result table.
Data imported with exceptions, All import contents did not match data in current view. See log entry [logentry] for more information.	Warning	When importing to MDU.	The file may contain more data than was imported. For example, the filtering may be constrained more specifically than what the file contains.