Importing jobs

If you need to create jobs with multiple test types or with a complex naming convention, you can define these in a CSV format and easily import them into EXFO Exchange from the web application.

  If you already have a CMS (Construction Management System), you can probably export data from this system in CSV format, and easily convert it into a valid format for Exchange

Prepare the CSV file

File format

The CSV file format supported by EXFO Exchange has a few specifications that need to be taken into consideration to correctly import jobs.

Here is a sample file for reference.

import-jobs-sample.xlsx

Mandatory columns

The following columns are required. If you omit any one of them, the CSV cannot be imported

• name
• testPointName
• testType_01

Additional and optional columns

The columns below are optional:

• assignees
• company
• customer
• dueDate
• customProperty_xx
• identifier_xx
• testType_xx
• testConfiguration

Note: all optional and additional columns can have “blank” values, if required.

Assignees

• The assignees column can contain the email address of the members you want to assign the corresponding job to.
• You can include more than one assignee per job by using the vertical line ( | ).

p  If a user is NOT visible in the Members page, you need to invite him/her to EXFO Exchange first.

Please refer to Members and roles for more details on how to invite users.

Due date

You can specify a due date for each job you want to import, by including a date in the dueDate column.

Here are the date formats currently supported:

• yyyy-mm-dd (e.g. 2022-11-25)
• mm/dd/yyyy (e.g. 11/25/2022)

If defined, the number of days until the job is “due” will appear in the web application, in the Jobs page.

Note: This date will also appear on the MaxTester, FTB and mobile application

Custom properties

Aside from company and customer, which are standard properties, you can define additional properties for the jobs you want to import.

Job properties are useful to identify location, region, or the part or section of the network that will be tested, for instance.

To define a new custom property, you need to add an extra column with the pattern customProperty_My property, where “My property” would be the name of your custom property.

p  All jobs you will define in your CSV file must have the same custom properties, but some of them can be blank

Test point and identifiers

The testPointName is displayed in the list of tests on the MaxTester, FTB and Mobile client applications. It is also used to define the filenames of the result files (e.g. Cable001 – Fiber01.iolm)

Aside from the testPointName, you can optionally define custom test identifiers to document the tests to be executed.

Test identifiers are a good way to identify the network assets and ports to be tested (e.g. Cable ID, Fiber ID, Cabinet, ONT).

To define a new identifier, add an extra column with the pattern identifier_My ID, where “My ID” would be the name of your identifier.

p  Once defined in the job, each identifier name/value will be stored as part of the test results and included in reports generated from those results.

Test types

For each job and test point, specify at least one test type. You may also add other test types as needed.

To define a new test type, add an extra column with the pattern testType_xx, where XX is the number/count of the new test type (i.e. 01, 02, 03, etc.)

The value you specify for each test point row / test type column will associate the two together.

Currently supported test types (case sensitive)

• FIP
• iOLM
• OTDR
• OPM
• OLTS
• OLX

p  Depending on the type of test, a specific test device could be required.
For instance, only the Optical Explorer (OX1) can execute OLX tests.

Anything else is considered a “generic” test, which can be executed only on the mobile application (e.g. GPS, Picture, Check VFL).

You can also optionally define “sub types”, which are additional labels displayed in client applications to further identify the test to be executed (e.g. Endface, A->B, Bidir).

Test types and sub types need to be separated by  a vertical line | (without spaces)

Furthermore, some sub types can trigger specific behaviors, depending on the test application used to execute the test.

For instance, the iOLM app supports the following sub types:

• A->B : The direction will be set to AB
• B->A : The direction will be set to BA
• Bidir : The Bidirectional checkbox will be checked automatically

Test configurations

You can associate one or more test configurations to a job when importing them by CSV.

However, you cannot associate a configuration to a particular test point (e.g. Cable001 – Fiber02). Hence the same test configuration(s) will be used for all test points of the same job.

To associate a particular configuration to a job, specify its filename in the testConfiguration column, on the same row as the corresponding job name.

Note: You can specify more than one test configurations by separating them with a vertical line | (without spaces)

To know more on how to import you own test configuration in your organization, please refer to the Test configurations section.

Import the CSV file

Once your CSV is ready, you can import it into EXFO Exchange by following these steps.

1. Select the appropriate workspace where you want to import the job(s).
2. Navigate to the Jobs page
3. Click on the dropdown arrow next to the Add button and select Import
   
4. Browse to select the CSV file you wish to import and click Import
   
5. The list will refresh and the new jobs you imported should be visible.
6. If there is any problem with your CSV file format, an error message will be displayed with the possible cause of the failure.