Exporting/importing data in RapidStart Config. Packages

BorisK

Very simple question.
What is the difference between exporting/importing package and exporting to/importing from Excel?

Many thanks

bilalrai

Answer #2
Regarding your question about importing/exporting packages. A package contains a number of tables along with config templates for master tables(may be). We may include data in packages or may not. Options are available. These are used when you have to replicate one company data to other. There are many others uses as well.
You just create a package add all the necessary tables to it and may/may not add data. When you export the package a .rapidstart file is created on your computer. Then for a new company you import that package file. After import all the tables that you have added will come in this new company with data. Then if you apply that package this data would be inserted to new company tables.
There are a huge number of options while importing package like you may only import some columns of a table or all. Similarly NAV itself create a dependency tree and first copy data from those tables on which other tables are dependent. Like we may need No. Series before Customer if Customer is using No. Series to assign numbers.
Regards,
Bilal Haider

bilalrai

Answer # 1:
Using the Rapid Start Services in NAV we can export data to excel files but these files are templated/formatted and then we can make changes in them or add data to them from some legacy system etc and then we can import them in NAV. This approach is mainly used to make bulk changes or add bulk data insted of editing/ typing each and every record.
Note: We can only import those excel files which are templated/formated by NAV.
Description:
I have attached images. The first image is the one which contains data for bank accounts from some old system and we want to import it to NAV instead of typing. So for this purpose we export an empty excel file of specific table(Bank Accounts) from config worksheet which contains all fields as columns with datatypes. Copy the data to it and then import that excel file to NAV.
We cannot import an ordinary excel files to NAV. Hope this will give you some understanding. Regards,
Bilal Haider
[img][/img]

BorisK

Thank you Bilal,
But to answer my question - is the difference that you can
- export data into Excel, edit it there and then import the edited data into another company;
- but if you export a package you can't edit it and have to import the whole package?

bilalrai

Answer #2
Regarding your question about importing/exporting packages. A package contains a number of tables along with config templates for master tables(may be). We may include data in packages or may not. Options are available. These are used when you have to replicate one company data to other. There are many others uses as well.
You just create a package add all the necessary tables to it and may/may not add data. When you export the package a .rapidstart file is created on your computer. Then for a new company you import that package file. After import all the tables that you have added will come in this new company with data. Then if you apply that package this data would be inserted to new company tables.
There are a huge number of options while importing package like you may only import some columns of a table or all. Similarly NAV itself create a dependency tree and first copy data from those tables on which other tables are dependent. Like we may need No. Series before Customer if Customer is using No. Series to assign numbers.
Regards,
Bilal Haider

bilalrai

@BorisK Check my Answer#2 and when you import package you dont need to apply data for all the tables. Just select those table lines in the list and apply data only for those. I have attached an image. I have imported a package and then select only those lines in the Config Worksheet for which I need data.

bilalrai

Some addition to your recent comment. If you import a package to another company then you can edit it using excel. Same as you mentioned earlier "export data into Excel, edit it there and then import the edited data into another company;"