Welcome! My name is Steve George and I'm a Senior Solution Engineer of SAP with a focus on Gold Client. I hope that you have already watched the Client Construct Introduction video, but if not, I recommend taking a few minutes to watch it first because it provides some meaningful content with respect to what is shared in this video.
This video provides content about the Client Exporter function with the primary focus on how-to execute the export process. I will also share important content about the various processing methods that are available and note their differences. I will conclude with a summary of the best practices shared in this video and where to locate additional resources. Let us begin by first starting with the various processing methods.
Client Construct has multiple processing methods available simply due to the evolution of this component. In many of the early versions of Gold Client, only the 'Transport Request' method was available; the 'R3Trans Method' came along later, and the 'Direct Export' process has been available for few years now. Let me share some specifics about each method:
The 'Transport Request' process generates SAP transports, and the user can optionally release them using the Gold Client user interface, or they can be released using standard SAP functionality. One transport is generated for each Data Type that is included in the export which means that if the user selects all data types that the creation of eighty, ninety, or more transports is possible. The transports' data files have the potential to be quite large if there are significant volumes of data being exported which may then consume a lot of space within your transport directory. So, you may have reached the conclusion that using this process introduces some potential risks, and you would be right, which is why it is Qlik's best practice recommendation not to use the 'Transport Request' process.
The 'R3 Trans' process uses SAP's R3 technology for processing, but it does not generate transports. Instead, the files from this process are written to the designated Gold Client file directory and not to your Transport directory.
The 'Direct Export' process uses only Qlik's proprietary code, and all files are written to the designated Gold Client file directory. Additionally, this process is typically the fastest of the three. And finally, this process is the default setting in the Gold Client user interface because it is Qlik's best practice recommendation to always use it.
The table on this slide shows the differences between the three options. And because Qlik recommends using the 'Direct' method, that is the only one which will be covered in this video. If you would like to learn more about the other two options, please reference the content located in the Client Construct User Guide. Let's now move on to the how-to content.
Initiating an export using the Client Exporter function is actually very straight forward. Allow me to narrate the steps while walking through the process using the Gold Client user interface.
Go to t-code ZGOLD (Z-G-O-L-D). From the Gold Client dashboard, select the Client Exporter button.
Notice that the 'Direct' method is selected by default, so no actions need to be taken in this section.
The 'Export Scope' section cannot be edited when using the 'Direct' method, so no actions are needed here either.
The 'Data Selection Criteria' section can be left as is, with the 'All Master Data Type' option selected, or the user can choose the 'Select Data Type(s)' option and input which data types must be used. Qlik's best practice recommendation is to copy all master data when filling an empty client because using that approach will lead to a higher level of data integrity versus selecting only certain data types; however, the selective approach may work for exceptional use cases. For the purposes of this video, I will use the selective approach so that these additional screens are visible in this demo.
The 'Select Data Type(s)' option is chosen which provides an input field; I will use the 'multiple selection' option to choose which data types to include. Use whatever input methods you prefer and close this window when done.
The user has two options for initiating the export as there are 'Execute in Foreground' and 'Schedule Job' buttons on the toolbar. If the user knows that the amount of data being exported is small and should finish quickly, then using the foreground option is okay, but if the amount is significant or unknown, then it is best not to use it because it may timeout and the process will fail. In that case, the user must start the process over again using the 'Schedule Job' option. Knowing this, you can see why it is Qlik's recommendation to always use the 'Schedule Job' option which initiates the process in background and will not timeout.
I will click the 'Schedule Job' button and populate the new window with a job name. It is also Qlik's recommendation to select the 'Parallel Processing' option as doing so should commit multiple jobs versus just a single job thereby leading to the process to finish more quickly. Be advised that the number of jobs that are initiated are based on the settings defined within the Gold Client Parallel Processing config and the number of background jobs available within your respective environment. Select the 'Accept' button to close the window and initiate the export; then close the subsequent message.
The user will probably want to monitor the job and can do so using t-code SM37, but the option exists to select the 'Job Monitor' button which will open SM37 in a separate SAPGUI session. The benefit of using this shortcut is that a filter is applied so that only Gold Client jobs are displayed.
At this point, the process is running and will finish in due time. Once done, the import can be initiated and this content is covered in the next video.
This slide contains a list of best practices that have been shared within this video and are provided again as a reminder.
With respect to the available processing options, use the 'Direct Export' method to avoid risks and to have the best runtimes.
For the highest levels of data integrity, it is best to typically execute the export process using the 'All Master Data Types' data selection option.
Use the 'Schedule Job' function to initiate the export using background jobs as this will avoid the process timing out.
Use the 'Parallel Processing' option to initiate the export using multiple jobs versus only one as this will help expedite the process.
For additional details regarding the Client Exporter function, please reference the Gold Client - Client Construct User Guide located on the Qlik Help website. This user guide contains all relevant content for Client Exporter, including all three processing methods, as well as a couple of nice-to-have features that were not included in this video.
We have reached the end of this presentation and I appreciate you taking the time to watch it. I hope that you now have a basic understanding for using the Client Exporter function and its best practice recommendations. When you are ready, I recommend watching the next training video to learn how to use the Client Importer function to initiate master data imports.
