Products > TREX > How To Use


> How To Use
> Installation Guide
> Privacy Policy
> End User License Agreement

Install the app...

Detailed help with installing can be found here.
Install the app from Appsource and apply the permission set to any user(groups) as required.

Overview

(This Help Page was last updated for the 1.0.0.5 release)

The TREX (TRansfer EXport Import) App will provide two reports and one page in the Business Central menu. The reports allow export or import of tabledata from/to Business Central, whilst the page is a list of saved log files.



Transfer File Format

The TREX transfer file format consists of many JSON files compressed in a ZIP archive. Table records and fields with their values are intuitively formatted hierarchically as JSON. There is usually one JSON file entry within the zip archive per table exported - but can be more as each entry will only hold up to one thousand records. The JSON entry names are composed from the table name, table id, and a number indicating the index of the starting record (eg. 1 or 1001 or 2001 etc. - in cases where the table has more than one thousand records). One Additional JSON file, 'RecordExtractionOverview.json', contains some details on the export.

Export UI

The export report form allows filters to be added to a reduced view of the All Objects list limiting which tabledata objects will be included in the export. The export automatically saves the RecordTransfer.trex.zip file and prompts the user to save the accompanying Log File: a text file explaining why some tables are skipped and how many records were exported from each table etc. Saving of files can be handled by OneDrive but defaults to use the local download folder. (The Log file is tab separated into columns for best viewing in excel or equivalent).

It should be noted that record links (and notes) will be exported, and any media/media-set fields can be exported if the parent record is exported, but no other effort has been made to extract connected tables together (users must ensure exports include all necessary desired tables). For instance, attached documents for sales invoices will only be exported if the "Document Attachment" table is also included in the export.

Blob, Media and MediaSet fields can all be excluded or included from imports/exports. Naturally if they are not exported, then importing that file will leave those fields blank on imported records.



Import UI

The import report form enables the user to select a transfer file (---.zip or ---.trex) to import from. There is an option for overwriting existing records on import (by default any existing records by primary key are skipped in the import). The import will attempt to import all tables in the file unless filters are added by the user. (The file can be manually edited to remove certain JSON files or even records from JSON files so long as correct format is preserved). After import the user will be prompted to save the Log File detailing if records or tables were skipped/overwritten and why, this can be handled by OneDrive but defaults to a local download. (The Log file is tab separated into columns for best viewing in excel or equivalent).



Log List

The Log List Page keeps a record of each log file produced by the TREX app for future download. The TREX export and import reports can be launched from actions on the Log List Page.

If you need further guidance please do not hesitate to contact us.



FAQs
Some Users have experienced issues attempting to import from TREX files which are 'too large' for upload.

The simplest solution would be to change your service settings to allow larger uploads but if this cannot be done...

A simple solution is to split the trex archive into multiple trex archives and import each one separately. This can be done by duplicating the trex archive as many times as necessary. Then, thanks to the zip archive file format, use 7Zip (or equivalent) to quickly remove entries from each to leave unique sets of JSON files in each archive. Then import just as you would have but for each new reduced archive.

More questions will be added with solutions after users have contacted us.