Listen For Text Files and import the data within

John Davison

I am trying to find out in V9 if there is anything to "listen" out for a text file landing in a certain directory and once it has landed to extract the information into my process..... by the looks of it it all has to be scripted??  I was hoping like in some other BPM applications I have used you might be able to automatically pick up the fact a new file is there and fire off a flag.

 

 

Robert Vignerot

I'm afraid there is nothing built into the product for this.  I think most people just end up writing a small "service" process to poll the directory on a timed basis.  I'm afraid I don't have a v9 sample at my fingertips, but perhaps someone out there will be kind enough to share one.

Jerome_Pearce

We do this quite a lot, so have added a function to our Library. The example here shows you how you can easily use this to process files in a directory:

http://metastorm.processmapping.com.au/post/Scan-a-directory-for-files-5747907

Tony Wheeler

An alternative to periodically polling for new files would be to rely on the operating system's event model. Every time a file or folder is created, renamed, deleted or modified, an operating system event is raised. You can handle these events in a standard windows service by exploiting the FileSystemWatcher class.

 

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.io.filesystemwatcher(v=vs.90).aspx

 

In handling those file/folder events you can call into the ECL.WS to start/submit an action or raise a flag. This would take the "watching" out of the BPM process though, and put it into a windows service that you would have to manage.