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The File connector can:
  • Pull files from external directories into the CData Arc flow
  • Push files from the Arc flow into external directories

Key Capabilities

  • Local and network file system integration with UNC path support
  • Configurable authentication for protected network locations (.NET edition only)
  • Advanced filtering with glob patterns and recursive directory support
  • Temporary file handling with staging and rename operations for reliable transfers
  • Optional caching to ensure only new or updated files are downloaded

Overview

Each File connector is configured with a path on disk that determines what folder it reads files from or writes files to. This can be a local file path or a UNC path to access other file locations on the network. When a File connector receives a file from the configured path, it passes the received file off to the next connector in the Arc flow without modifying the file. In this way, File connectors can be used to poll an external folder location for files to pull into the Arc flow. When a file in the Arc flow is processed by a File connector, that file is written to the folder at the configured path. In this way, File connectors can be used to drop off processed files at a location external to the application. File connectors can be configured with username/password credentials to provide access to external filepaths that otherwise would not be accessible to the application. This allows Arc to pull files from protected folder locations without needing to grant the entire application access to the protected location. The path configured in the File connector can be dynamically populated using macros. For more information, see the Macros section.

Connector Configuration

This section contains all of the configurable connector properties.

Settings Tab

Connector Settings

Settings related to the core operation of the connector.

Receive

Settings related to pulling files from the external filepath.

Authentication

Caching

Settings related to caching and comparing files between multiple downloads.

Arc はリソースキャッシュを自動的にクリーンアップします。この処理はすべての受信サイクルの間にバックグラウンドで実行され、リモートサーバー上にすでに存在しないファイルの古いキャッシュエントリを削除します。これにより、手動での操作を必要とせずにキャッシュサイズを管理可能な状態に保ちます。

デフォルトでは、ファイルは30 日間保持されますが、Advanced タブのOther Settings フィールドにあるResourceCacheRetentionDays 設定を使用して、お使いの環境に合わせて調整できます。例えば、ResourceCacheRetentionDays=15 とすると、ファイルは削除されるまで15 日間保持されます。

When you enable caching, the file names are case-insensitive. For example, the connector cannot distinguish between TEST.TXT and test.txt.

Advanced Tab

Advanced Settings

Settings not included in the previous categories.

Logging

ログの作成と保存を制御する設定です。

設定説明
Log Levelコネクタが生成するログの詳細度です。サポートを依頼する際は、これをDebug に設定してください。
Log Subfolder Scheme選択した間隔に従って、コネクタがLogs フォルダ内のファイルをグループ化するよう指示します。Weekly オプション(デフォルト)は、コネクタが毎週新しいサブフォルダを作成し、その週のすべてのログをそのフォルダに保存するよう指示します。この設定を空白のままにすると、コネクタはすべてのログをLogs フォルダに直接保存します。多数のトランザクションを処理するコネクタでは、サブフォルダを使用することでログを整理しやすくなり、パフォーマンスが向上します。
Log Messages処理したファイルのログエントリにファイル自体のコピーを含めるには、これをオンにします。これを無効にすると、Transactions タブからファイルのコピーをダウンロードできなくなる場合があります。

Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous 設定は、特定のユースケース向けの設定です。

設定説明
Other Settings非表示のコネクタ設定をセミコロン区切りのリストで設定できます(例:setting1=value1;setting2=value2)。通常のコネクタのユースケースや機能では、これらの設定の使用は必要ありません。

Automation Tab

Automation Settings

Settings related to the automatic processing of files by the connector.

Automation Status

Performance

コネクタへのリソースの割り当てに関する設定です。

設定説明
Max Workersこのコネクタでファイルを処理するためにスレッドプールから消費されるワーカースレッドの最大数です。設定すると、Advanced Settings ページのPerformance Settings 部分にあるデフォルト設定が上書きされます。
Max Filesコネクタに割り当てられた各スレッドが送信するファイルの最大数です。設定すると、Advanced Settings ページのPerformance Settings 部分にあるデフォルト設定が上書きされます。

Alerts Tab

SLAs Tab

Establishing a Connection

File connectors must have the appropriate permissions to read/write from the configured path. Permissions issues are primarily a concern when the configured path is a UNC path to another server on the network, but can also arise when pushing or pulling files from a protected folder on the local disk. If the user running Arc does not have permission to access the path, set the Username, Password, and Domain fields in the Authentication section of the Settings tab to a specific user with the appropriate permissions.

Sending and Receiving Files

Sending Files

The File connector sends files from the Transactions tab to the external folder specified in the configured path. Files are automatically sent if Send is enabled on the Automation tab.

Receiving Files

The File connector receives files from the external folder specified in the configured path and places them in the connector’s Transactions tab. If the File connector is connected to another connector in the flow, the file does not remain in this folder and is instead passed along to the next connected connector. The connector automatically polls the external folder for files if Receive is enabled on the Automation tab. The connector only pulls files that match the specified File Mask. If Enable Timestamp Comparison or Enable File Size Comparison is enabled, the connector caches file names pulled from the remote path and only receives files that are new or have been modified since they were last received. When multiple eligible files are available in a single receive operation, the connector processes them in ascending order by last-modified timestamp, so older files enter the flow first. Files with identical timestamps are processed in a consistent, predictable order.

Deferred Finalization

By default, the connector completes a file as soon as it receives it, and any configured cleanup, such as Delete files (after received), happens immediately. If a later step in the flow fails, the source file is already gone. When Defer received-file finalization is enabled, the connector instead holds each received file in a pending state and waits for a downstream Finalize connector to confirm that the flow succeeded. This is the recommended way to use Delete files (after received) when you need to keep the source file until processing is complete. To use deferred finalization:
  1. Enable Defer received-file finalization on the File connector that receives the files.
  2. Add a Finalize connector at the end of the success path of the flow.
While a file is pending:
  • The connector does not receive the file again.
  • If the file reaches the Finalize connector, the connector completes the file and performs the configured cleanup.
  • If the file does not reach the Finalize connector before Receive Pending Timeout (minutes) elapses, the message is marked with a Pending Timeout error and the file is released so that it can be received again. The source file is not deleted. The connector records a Send Failure: Pending Timeout error notification.
  • If the source file changes after it was received, the connector does not delete it, even when the file is finalized.
Deferred finalization applies only to receiving files. It does not change how the connector sends files.

Subfolder Headers

If Recurse Subdirectories is set to True, when receiving a file:
  • The message for the received file contains a Subfolder header in its metadata.
  • This header contains the subfolder, relative to the configured path, that the file was received from.
  • This subfolder header is supported by other connectors that support a Subfolder header in Send operations.
When sending files, if a Subfolder header is present on the message that is sent to the configured path in the File connector:
  • The file is placed in the subfolder (relative to the path setting in the File connector) that is specified in the subfolder header.
  • The subfolder is created if permissions are available.

Macros

Examples