Flat File Destination Connector
The Flat File destination connector in DataSync lets you write extracted data into CSV or TXT flat files for storage, sharing, or processing. For large files, you can adjust row scanning or override automatic detection using a custom Schema.ini file. You can also connect to local, network, or cloud‑hosted CSV resources by setting the URL parameter and any required authentication properties.
After creating all required destination connections, create your extraction.
Create a destination connection in DataSync
- Log in to DataSync.
- From the welcome screen, select Connections.
- Next to Destination Connections, click New.
- Select Flat File.
- In the Connection Properties panel, enter the connection properties.
- (Optional) In the Additional Connection Properties panel, select Add property and enter the parameters for each property.
- Click Save.
Parameters
Connection properties
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Description | Unique name for the connection. Example: Flat File |
| URI | File location for the destination flat file(s). Can be a single CSV/TXT file or a folder containing multiple files. Local and network paths are supported. Example: C:\Exports\Data.csv |
| File extension | File type to include in the output. Options: CSV, TXT. |
| Add date and time to the filename | .. |
| Delimiter | Format used for parsing: Comma, Tab, or Custom. |
| Custom Delimiter | Character used when delimiter is set to Custom. Example: ; |
| Quote Character | Character used to quote values in the file. |
| First row contains header | Header row setting where the first row is treated as column headers. |
| Verbosity |
|
| Enable Pooling | Connection pooling option for performance. |
| Pool idle timeout | Maximum idle time for connections before returning them to the pool, in seconds. |
| Max Pool Size | Maximum number of connections allowed in the pool. |
| Pool wait time | Maximum wait time for connection allocation before error is thrown, in seconds. |
Additional connection properties
Additional connection string properties not specified in the Connection Properties panel. For each property added, you can choose Visible or Encrypted. Selecting Encrypted hides the value from the interface and stores it encrypted in the back end, such as when defining passwords. Typical properties are listed below.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
Charset | Character encoding for the source file when encoded in ANSI. No parameter is needed for UTF‑8 encoded files. Example: windows-1252 |
Culture | Regional format determining decimal and thousands separators. Must match between source/destination files and DataSync configuration. Examples: fr-FR for commas or en-US for periods. |
RowScanDepth | Number of rows scanned to determine table column data types. Default: 100. Examples:
|
AggregateFiles | All files combined from the URI directory into a single table called AggregatedFiles. Default schema is from the first file unless MetadataDiscoveryURI is set.Example: aggregating multiple product inventory CSVs. |
IncludeFiles | Comma-separated list of allowed file extensions. Default: CSV,TXT,TAB. Supports NOEXT for files without extensions and archives (ZIP, TAR, GZ). Can also filter by file masks and date/time attributes. Examples: IncludeFiles="TXT,CreatedDate<='2020-11-26T07:39:34-05:00'" or IncludeFiles=2020*.csv,TXT |
ExcludeFiles | Comma-separated list of excluded file extensions. Supports date/time filters similar to IncludeFiles. Example: ExcludeFiles="TXT,CreatedDate<='2020-11-26T07:39:34-05:00'" |
InsertMode | Mode for inserting into CSV files:
|
CreateBatchFolder | Option to create a folder when InsertMode is set to FilePerBatch. Default: true. |
BatchNamingConvention | Naming format for batch files:
|