Transformations are a powerful feature to transform values from the source before they are handed over to the destination. It’s not only equipped to transform values, like create an uppercase version of one of the source fields, but can also edit values and decide what values to use in any if-then scenario.
Transformations to choose from
| Transformation | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Append text | Adds a value before or after the value from the selected field. |
| Clean text | Cleans the value from the selected field according to the setting. Clean number removes all non-digit characters. Clean text removes all special characters like dashes and dots. Convert to a numeric value removes all non-digit characters and leading zeros from the input value and treats it as a number. |
| Conditional field | Will use the value of the selected field unless that value is empty in which case it will use the value of another field to add to the output. |
| Copy field | Creates an exact copy of the selected field. |
| Current date time | Creates a field with the value of the date and time of the exact moment that DataBridge processes the record. |
| Find pattern | Extracts the value from the selected field that matches a search pattern. Regular expressions (regex) are used for the match. |
| Format text | Formats the value from the selected field based on the setting: uppercase, lowercase, capitalize first, capitalize words or trim. |
| Map list | Converts each possible value of the selected field into an item from a specific list in the destination platform or a text value in a file or database. |
| Merge fields | Merges two or more selected fields into one new output field with a delimiter between the values. |
| Replace | Replaces the value or a part of the value of the selected field with a new value. |
| Skip line | Skip the record if the selected field matches or contains the specified value. |
| Skip line by date | Skip the record if the selected field’s date time value predates the last time the DataBridge integration ran successfully. Available from system to file/database only. Cannot be used with instant jobs. |
| Split field | Splits the value of the selected field into two or more parts and returns the selected part(s) in the output. |
| Static field | Will add a new field to the output with a fixed value. |
| Switch fields | Returns the value of a field or a fixed value based on the value of a field. |
| Write back to source | Updates the source platform with the database ID of the created or updated record in the destination platform. Available for supported system to system configurations only. |
Add a Transformation
Transformations are managed from the Data page.
Click the “+” button to show the Transformations dialog.
Or right-click any of the column headers and select Transform to show the Transformations dialog.
Or, if there are no transformations yet, click the link in the Transformations pane to show the Transformations dialog.
Click on the arrow that is shown behind the title of the dialog. This will open the menu that shows all available transformations for the current type of integration. Select any of the transformations to show the configuration options.
Every transformation has its own configuration. All configuration is done on the left side of the dialog.
The right side of the dialog is reserved to show a preview of the result of the transformation.
The splitter in the middle of the dialog can be used to hide the preview or adjust the width of the preview pane. Click on the arrow icon to hide or unhide the preview. Move the splitter to the left or the right to adjust the width.
Click Apply to add the transformation to the integration. The Preview pane will highlight the added (or updated) column with a fading green background. The newly added transformation is shown in the Transformations pane and is also shown with a fading green background. Click the transformation to edit it.
Input and output
Every transformation shows whether it uses one or more fields for input and if it uses a field for output. This is indicated by the icons 
and 
. When clicked the Preview pane will show the corresponding input or output columns.
These icons are also shown in column headers for fields that are either used as an input for one or more transformations or output of a transformation.
Chaining transformations
Every transformation that creates a new field can be used as input for another transformation. That is what we call chained transformations.
Find a Use Case here: Clean and combine fields
Copy or delete a transformation
Once a transformation is added, the dialog will show a copy icon and a delete icon.
Copying a transformation is similar to creating a new transformation manually. It copies all details from the originating transformation. However, it is not saved until you click Apply.
Deleting a transformation will remove the transformation and -if applicable- also the column that was added by that transformation.
If a transformation is deleted that is used as a source for another transformation, a dialog is shown that indicates such a relation and confirmation is required. It will then also delete the related transformation.
Changes to transformations, including copies and deleted transformations, are saved only by clicking Save on the integration page.