tFileInputDelimited using header name to order column

[Careau]

I have To import a csv file in a table.
I use a tFileInputDelimited -> tMap -> tDbOutput
It's working well. But the system that provided me with the file cannot assure me that the columns will always be in the same order.

Is there a way to parse the csv using the column header name instead of the fixed column order specified in the tMap?

[gvarun_arthasolutions]

Hello,

tFileInputDelimited maps columns by position, not by header name.

Even if you tick “Set heading row as column names,” that only helps with metadata display — it doesn’t dynamically reorder the data.

Talend doesn’t have a built‑in “map by header name” option in tFileInputDelimited.

Workarounds

1. Use tFileInputDelimited + tSchemaComplianceCheck

• Read the file as raw strings (e.g., all columns as String).
• Use the header row to detect column positions.
• Then remap dynamically in a tMap or tJavaRow.

1. Read as a single line and parse yourself

• Configure tFileInputDelimited with only one column (the whole line).
• In a tJavaRow or tExtractDelimitedFields, split the line by delimiter.
• Use the header row to build a map of headerName → index.
• Then extract values by header name, regardless of order.

Example in tJavaRow:

String[] headers = (String[])globalMap.get("headers"); // stored earlier

String[] values = input_row.line.split(";");

output_row.myColumn = values[findIndex(headers, "myColumnHeader")];

1. Use tFileInputFullRow + custom parsing

• Similar to above, but gives you the entire row as a string.
• You can then parse with Java or Talend routines, using header names.

1. Switch to tFileInputPositional or tFileInputRegex

• If the file format is flexible, regex or positional parsing can give you more control.
• Still requires custom logic to align headers with values.

1. Pre‑process the file

• Run a small preprocessing job that:
• Reads the header row
• Reorders the columns into a fixed order
• Writes out a “normalized” CSV
• Then feed that normalized CSV into your existing Talend flow.
  Thanks