A Flow model file (.flowMdl) may be imported into any Flow instance, whether it is a new/blank instance or contains an existing configuration. See Exporting a Flow Model to learn about creating a Flow model file.
To initiate an import, select the Import option in the System Menu.
A standard Windows "Open" dialog will open, allowing you to browse to and select the Flow model file that you want to import.
Select the file and double-click, or click Open.
The Import Configuration window will open, with options for you to determine how to proceed.
At the top/header of the Import Configuration window, there is information pertaining to where this Flow Model file was exported from, and by whom. Use this information to confirm that you are about to import the correct model.
The only option for Import Type is Full Import - what was included during the export process will be imported.
However, you can specify what to do if a duplicate is found between what you're importing and what exists in your Flow system.
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If a duplicate is found, the object being imported will be ignored |
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If a duplicate is found, the object from the import model will be imported, but given a new name ("- Copy" will be added as a suffix) |
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If a duplicate is found, the existing object will be replaced by the object from the import model |
For each of the following major Flow components, there are mapping options presented:
- Engines
- Calendars
- Data Sources
- Integration Engines
- Data Consumers
- Palettes
- Groups
By default, Flow will attempt to match the component from the model file with one that exists in your Flow system. Matching is done based on the name and type of the component (for example, a data source/consumer must match on both name and type)
If Flow cannot locate a match, it will default to creating a new instance of that component in your Flow system.
In the example of the Calendar mapping above, Flow found both Finance and Production calendars in the existing system but recognized that it must likely map to the Production calendar since the exported model used a Production Calendar.
As a user, you can still override that mapping - for example, you could choose to map to the Finance calendar, or even create a new calendar during the import.
Once you have confirmed the mapping, select the Import button in the top right of the window.
You will be presented with a confirmation dialog indicating how many objects are about to be imported. Selecting Yes will initiate the import process.
Possible Issues
At times, such as when a mapping error wasn't resolved, the import may fail. A message similar to below may appear:
The error message is self-explanatory - in this example, there was a problem with the mapping for the InfluxDB data source.
Restart the Import process to detect/resolve the problem with the mapping. Expand the Map Data Sources panel:
Notice the message next to the InfluxDB data source: "No Compatible Data Source Types Found"
This means that Flow could not find a data source module of the type InfluxDB in the instance that you are attempting to import into. To resolve, you will need to stop the Import process by closing the window and importing any missing modules. This error usually occurs with data sources and consumers, especially if you have previously removed unused modules.
Once you have imported the necessary modules, reinitiate the Import process outlined above.