External Link not Working

[TMV]

Hi

I'm running v9.0.4 JFJA of Actinic and can’t get the external link functionality to work correctly.

The source system is a MS SQL server 2008 database with a single table and two fields. The two fields are product_referaence a vchar(20) and short_description a vchar(255).

I have established an ODBC System DSN which is working fine and the Actinic mapping of the two fields is set correctly.

The two products I have created in the database appear in Actinic under the Unallocated External Products node in the content tree and I can see that the two fields of data are being correctly retrieved. Also when I create a linked table in an empty Access database and use the same DSN the data is retrieved correctly.

The problem is that when I try to drag and drop the unallocated product into the content tree nothing happens.

Has anyone got any ideas?

Regards
William

[TMV]

Update on Issue

Here are the bugs that I have found with the Actinic Functionality for linking to external data sources and some workarounds: -

BUG1:
If in the source system the Product Reference or the Short Description fields are of the data type Varchar(x) then Actinic can retrieve the data into the content tree as an unallocated product but it cannot create a link to an internal product.

Workaround:
Create the Product Reference and Short Description fields as a Char(x) data type in the source. Create a link and map to the external products. Actinic can now retrieve the data into the content tree as an unallocated product and create a link to an internal product as expected. Unfortunately all of the padding associated with the use of a Char(x) data type is also brought into Actinic. If you then return to the source system and change the data type of the two fields to a Varchar(x), re-enter the data keeping the same primary key and then return to Actinic and refresh the external link the internally linked product is still in the content tree and the padding has been removed. From this point onward any new fields added in the source system can be established as a Varchar(x) without first having to establish them as a Char(x).

BUG2:
Once an internal product is linked to an external product in the content tree if a new field is added to the source system the complete link from Source to Actinic is broken and all previously linked fields are now shown in Actinic as not linked.

Workaround:
Refreshing the mapping, exiting and restarting Actinic or refreshing the link does nothing to restore the link. The internal product must be marked for deletion and the catalog content purged before re-establishing a link between the internal and external products.

BUG3:
When a field is mapped from the source system to a field presented as a drop down box on the product Actinic throws an error saying it cannot update the source system and the complete link from Source to Actinic is broken and all previously linked fields are now shown in Actinic as not linked.

Partial Workaround:
The internal product must be marked for deletion and the catalog content purged before enabling updates to external data on the external data mapping screen. You can now re-establishing a link between the internal and external products and the dropdown field is now linked. Unfortunately the link established will not update the source when the field is changed in Actinic nor will changes in the source be reflected in Actinic but at least the link stays up and you can continue to add fields to the mapping. It should be noted that at this stage the link is very fragile and if you exit and return to Actinic the link collapses requiring the workaround for bug 2 to be re-preformed.

These have all been communicated to Actinic Support who are working on upgrading the partial workaround to a fully working solution.

I have posted the details here in order that others may benefit from the many hours I have spent trying to get this functionality to work.

Regards
William