SS> Maintenance > Export Configuration

Export Configuration

 

Summary

 

The Export Configuration tool is used to set up an export file format in Cirrus that matches an import file you would like to import into a third-party application. For example, if your organization uses Cirrus UB to generate and process utility bills but uses a third-party application to handle General Ledger duties, the Export Configuration tool can be used to export Cirrus UB journal entries in a format acceptable to your third-party GL application.

 

Step by Step

 

1     View the existing configurations. 

 

  • Open the Export Configuration Selection window (SS> Maintenance> Export Configuration).
  • The Export Configuration Selection window displays all of the export file configurations that have been created in the application.
  • Select a Definition or enter a Name and click the Search button to locate a specific export file configuration.
  • Select a configuration and click DELETE to delete the selected record.
  • Select a configuration and click EDIT to edit the selected record.
  • Select a configuration and click COPY to create a renamed copy of the export file configuration.
  • The EXPORT CONFIG and IMPORT CONFIG buttons are used to export and import file configurations shared between agencies.
  • Click CREATE to create a new export file configuration. This will open the Export Configuration Maintenance window.

 

2     Create or modify an export file configuration. 

 

  • The New Export Configuration window is used to create a new export file configuration.
  • Enter a Name for the new export configuration.
    • This is a required field and is limited to 40 alphanumeric characters.
  • Select a Definition from the drop-down list. This will determine where the export file will be used.
    • Export configuration definitions are created by Cirrus and are designed to export data out of specific processes. As more Cirrus processes are exposed to the Export Configuration tool, they will be made available in the Definition drop-down list.
    • Once a Definition is selected, the Description and Properties fields will automatically populate with the associated details.
  • The Type field is used to set up the export file as Delimited or Fixed Width.
    • When Delimited is selected, use the Delimiter field to select Comma, Pipe, Tab or User Defined to create a delimited export file that displays the included data fields in rows separated by the specified delimiter character.
      • If Comma, Pipe, or Tab, is selected, the Delimiter Character field below will display the selected delimiter.
      • If User Defined is selected, use the Delimiter Character field to enter the delimiter characters that will be used to separate fields on each line. This will be determined by the delimiter used in the file you are attempting to export. Commas are the most commonly used delimiters.
    • Select Fixed Width to create an export file that displays the included data fields in rows with specified width and padding values for each field.
      • The Delimiter and Delimiter Character fields will not be displayed if Fixed Width is selected.
  • The File Extension Setting field can be used to manually specify the extension for the export configuration file.
    • When this field is set to Default, the File Extension field below will display the read-only file extension associated with the Type and Delimiter combination selected to the left.
      • The Type field is set to Delimited and the Delimiter field is set to Comma, the File Extension field will display .csv.
      • For all other Type and Delimiter combinations, the File Extension field will display .txt.
    • When this field is set to Custom, the File Extension field can be edited and .csv, .dat, or .txt can be selected.
  • The Generate header labels toggle is used to include a header row in the export file that displays the Name value for each property included on the Properties tab.
    • This toggle will only be enabled if Delimited is selected in the Type field above.
  • Check the Default toggle to save the new configuration as the default export file configuration.
    • Only one export file configuration can be marked as Default.
  • Check the Include in Collection toggle if the new configuration should be eligible for inclusion in an Export Collection.
  • Once the export file configuration is complete, click the Export button to export the file configuration so it can be shared with other Cirrus users.

 

3     Complete the Properties tab. 

 

  • The Properties tab is used to set up which of the available properties will be included in the export file configuration and how those properties will be organized.
  • Click ADD PROPERTY to open the Property Selection screen.
  • Select a property and click the Select button to add the property to the export file.
  • Once a property has been added to the Selected Properties section it can be edited. Delimited and Fixed Width file types will display unique options.
  • When creating a Delimited export file configuration:
    • Specify a Position for the selected property.
      • Properties will automatically be placed in the last position as they are added. When the value is edited in the Position field, the Selected Properties will update to display the new property position.
      • Each property must occupy a different position. If two properties share the same position value, an error will occur when the export file configuration is saved.
    • The Multiplier field is used to set a recalculation multiplier for the selected property.
      • For example, if a third-party application does not import decimal values, any dollar values exported out of Cirrus must be multiplied by 100. So $57.25 would be multiplied by 100 in order to display 5725 in the export file. This value would then be imported and recalculated by the third-party application.
      • This field will only be enabled for decimal and integer properties.
    • The Format field is used to specify how data exported from Cirrus will be converted to a string representation and how that string will appear to the user.
      • When exporting data from Cirrus to a third-party application, the format requirements of that third-party application will determine how Cirrus data should be formatted. Please refer to your third-party application requirements before formatting exported Cirrus data.
      • Here are a few common format examples:
        • Date Examples - Please note that you MUST use an uppercase "M" when including months in a date format. A lowercase "m" will result in the format including the minutes value:
          Cirrus DataFormatResulting String
          6/6/2026MM/dd/yyyy06/06/2026
          6/6/2026M/d/yy6/6/26
          6/6/2026MMddyy060626
          6/6/2026MMyyyy062026

         

        • Number Examples:
          Cirrus DataFormatResulting String
          1234.567C$1234.56
          1234.567C3$1234.567
          1234.567F1234.57
          1234.567F31234.567
          1234.567N1,234.57
          1234.567N11,234.6
          1234.56#123456
          0.98765P98.77%
          0.98765P498.7650%

         

        • Integer Examples:
          Cirrus DataFormatResulting String
          1234D1234
          1234D6001234

         

        • ServicePointID:
          Cirrus DataFormat
          Compound Indicator - last character of the Full Serial NumberC or c
          Lot Number - formatted as xxxxxxL or l
          Service PointN or n
          Partial Serial Number - all but the last character of the Full Serial NumberP or p
          Sequence NumberQ or q
          Route NumberR or r
          Full Serial NumberS or s
          Note: Other formatting characters are allowed. For example, LN would display the Lot Number and Service Point as LLLLLLN while L-N would display as LLLLLL-N.

       

    • The Null Substitute field is used to specify a substitute term or character for any NULL values that are included in the export file.
    • Check the Exclude Text Qualifiers toggle to exclude the standard text qualifiers that the system includes in the export file. When creating a delimited export type file, the system automatically wraps string values in quotes in order to avoid invalid character issues. When checked, those qualifiers will be excluded.
      • This toggle will be unchecked by default.
  • When creating a Fixed Width export file configuration:
    • Specify a Position for the selected property.
      • Properties will automatically be placed in the last position as they are added. When the value is edited in the Position field, the Selected Properties will update to display the new property position.
      • Each property must occupy a different position. If two properties share the same position value, an error will occur when the export file configuration is saved.
      • Fixed width export files use a combination of property position and maximum length to determine how properties are displayed. For example, if Property A is in position 1 and has a maximum length of 5, Property B must have a position value of at least 6 in order to prevent overlap. If Property B is in position 6 and has a maximum length of 4, Property C must have a position value of at least 10.
      • Because of this relationship, setting the length values for each property before adding the next property is suggested.
    • The Maximum and Minimum Length fields are used to determine the length of the fields included in the export file.
      • If a property value included in the export file exceeds the specified Maximum Length, the value will be trimmed based on the Pad Direction specified below.
      • If a property value included in the export file does not meet the specified Minimum Length, the value will be padded based on the Padding and Pad Direction specified below.
    • The Padding field and the Pad Direction drop-down field are used to specify the character that will be used when including padding in the property value and where that padding will be added.
      • For example, a user could enter "x" in the Padding field and select "Left" in the Pad Direction field. If the value exported from Cirrus for that property was "75" and the Minimum Length for that property was set at "6", the value displayed in the export file would be "xxxx75".
      • The Pad Direction field will also determine how the value is trimmed if it exceeds the Maximum Length for the property. If the value exported from Cirrus is "john.smith" but the Maximum Length for the property is set at "8", the value will need to be trimmed. If "Right" is selected in the Pad Direction field, the value in the export file will be "john.smi". If "Left" is selected, the value will be "hn.smith".
    • The Multiplier field is used to set a recalculation multiplier for the selected property.
      • This Fixed Width multiplier field behaves the same as the Delimited multiplier field described above.
    • The Format field is used to specify how data exported from Cirrus will be converted to a string representation and how that string will appear to the user.
      • This Fixed Width format field behaves the same as the Delimited format field described above.
    • The Null Substitute field is used to specify a substitute term or character for any NULL values that are included in the export file.
  • Click ADD CONSTANT to add a constant value to the export file. This will add a constant line item to the Properties data grid below.
    • Constants can be added to export configurations to include things like bank-mandated codes in positive pay files or city codes in meter reading files.
    • Once a constant has been added, the section to the right will be enabled.
      • The Position field is used to set the position for the constant. This field works as described above.
      • The Constant field is used to enter the constant that will display in the export file. This field is limited to 256 alphanumeric characters.

 

4     Setting up the Positive Pay Payee Name format on the Properties tab. 

 

  • NOTE: This section deals with the specific process for specifying a Format for the Payee Name property on a Positive Pay export configuration. Please ignore this section if you are working with any other properties or configurations.
  • The Payee Name property allows users to control exactly how payee name data is displayed on the Positive Pay export configuration. This is achieved by using the characters included in the table below:

 

Character Exported Value
  F First name
  f First letter of first name
  L Last name
  l First letter of last name
  M Middle name
  m First letter of middle name
  % Conditional space only shown when the next character is valid
  , Conditional comma only shown when the next character is valid
  . Conditional period only shown when the next character is valid
  \ Escape character (will be removed and always print the character following)
  G General format "L,%F%M" (last name, first name middle name)

 

  • Any combination of these characters can be used in the Format field to determine how the payee name data is displayed.
    • Many organizations will choose the general format (last name, first name middle name), and will only need to enter "G" in the Format field.
    • If your organization would like to use a different format, use the characters in the table above to configure the field. For example, entering "F%m.%L" will display (first name) (first letter of middle name). (last name) for the payee name field. If a payee named John William Doe was included in the export, his name would display as "John W. Doe".
    • If your organization would like to include a label, such as "Employee:", at the beginning of the Payee Name field, you will need to use the escape character "\". When using the John William Doe example above, if you entered "Employee:%F%m.%L" in the Format field, the export file would actually display "EWpDoyee: John J. Doe", because the "m" and "l" in "Employee" are conditional characters and will be replaced with the first letter of the middle name and the first letter of the last name. In order to display those letters properly, you would enter "E\mp\loyee:%F%m.%L" in the Format field. The escape character "\" will tell the system to print the character that immediately follows it, rather than treat that character like a conditional character that needs to be replaced with payee data.

 

5     Complete the Mapping tab. 

 

  • The Mapping tab is used to map specific property values that are exported from Cirrus to match specific values that need to be imported into a third-party application.
  • Click CREATE MAPPING to create a new value mapping. This will open the Property Selection screen.
  • Select a property and click the Select button to add the property to the mapping.
  • The Property column is used to determine which property value will be mapped.
  • The From column is used to enter the value exported from Cirrus.
  • The To field is used to enter the value that will be included in the export file.
    • For example, if a property value for a logical field is exported from Cirrus as "TRUE", but the third-party application needs to read this value as "YES", entering "TRUE" in the From field and "YES" in the To field will create the required mapping. When the system generates the export file, "TRUE" will be converted to "YES" for the selected property.
    • Each property can include a number of mappings. One property could include "TRUE" → "YES" and "FALSE" → "NO". But each From and To value must be unique, so including "TRUE" → "YES" and "TRUE" → "YOU BET" will cause an error.
  • Select a property mapping and click REMOVE to delete the selected mapping.

 

6     Complete the Sorts tab. 

 

  • The Sorts tab is used to set up sort properties, orders, and directions on export configurations. These sort properties can then be used to sort related export configurations, improving the user's ability to quickly find and select the desired configuration.
  • Click CREATE SORT to create a new sort property. This will open the Property Selection screen.
    • The available properties displayed on the Property Selection screen is determined by the export configuration definition.
  • Select a property and click the Select button to add it to the Sort tab data grid.
  • The Property column displays which property the sort will be based on.
    • Once a property is selected for a sort, it cannot be selected for another sort on the same export configuration.
  • The Sort Order and Sort Direction fields are used to specify how the properties will be sorted.
    • The Sort Order field will determine the order in which the system sorts the properties on the export configuration. A property with a sorter order of "1" will be sorted before a property of a sort order of "2". If, for example, the Bank Account property has a sort order of 1 and the Amount property has a sort order of 2, the export configuration will be generally sorted by Bank Account the Amount values will be sorted within each Bank Account section.
    • The Sort Direction field will determine if the sort property begins with a low number or letter and ascends to a higher number or letter or if it descends from higher to lower.
  • Select a sort property and click REMOVE to delete the selected property.

 

7     Complete the Groups tab. 

 

  • The Groups tab is used to configure optional headers and footers on the export file.
  • Click CREATE GROUP add a group to the export configuration. This will open the Property Selection screen.
    • The Property Selection screen will display all the properties that can be used for grouping in the export file. Which groups are available is determined by the export file Definition selected on the Settings tab.

  • Select a Property and click the Select button to add it to the Groups tab data grid.

  • Expand the property to display the Group Properties section to specify group properties and constants.
  • Click the
    • Click ADD PROPERTY to specify a property for the group. Once a property is selected, the Edit Group Property window will open.
    • The Location field is used to specify if the data will be displayed in the header or the footer of the file. You can add multiple groups to the same header or footer.
    • The Operation field is used to select an operation for the group. See the table below for an explanation of how the different operations will calculate the value included in the export file. This field will be enabled or disabled based on the value selected in the Property filed above.
      OperationExport Function

      Average

      		Average of values in the file
      CountCount of rows in the file
      FirstFirst value in the file
      KeyKey associated with selected property
      LastLast value in the file
      MaxMaximum value in the file
      MinMinimum value in the file
      SumSum of values in the file

     

  • When creating a Delimited export file configuration:
    • Specify a Position for the selected property.
      • Properties will automatically be placed in the last position as they are added. When the value is edited in the Position field, the Selected Properties will update to display the new property position.
      • Each property must occupy a different position. If two properties share the same position value, an error will occur when the export file configuration is saved.
    • The Multiplier field is used to set a recalculation multiplier for the selected property.
      • For example, if a third-party application does not import decimal values, any dollar values exported out of Cirrus must be multiplied by 100. So $57.25 would be multiplied by 100 in order to display 5725 in the export file. This value would then be imported and recalculated by the third-party application.
      • This field will only be enabled for decimal and integer properties.
    • The Format field is used to specify how data exported from Cirrus will be converted to a string representation and how that string will appear to the user.
      • When exporting data from Cirrus to a third-party application, the format requirements of that third-party application will determine how Cirrus data should be formatted. Please refer to your third-party application requirements before formatting exported Cirrus data.
      • Here are a few common format examples:
        • Date Examples - Please note that you MUST use an uppercase "M" when including months in a date format. A lowercase "m" will result in the format including the minutes value:
          Cirrus DataFormatResulting String
          6/6/2025MM/dd/yyyy06/06/2025
          6/6/2025M/d/yy6/6/25
          6/6/2025MMddyy060625
          6/6/2025MMyyyy062025

         

        • Number Examples:
          Cirrus DataFormatResulting String
          1234.567C$1234.56
          1234.567C3$1234.567
          1234.567F1234.57
          1234.567F31234.567
          1234.567N1,234.57
          1234.567N11,234.6
          1234.56#123456
          0.98765P98.77%
          0.98765P498.7650%

         

        • Integer Examples:
          Cirrus DataFormatResulting String
          1234D1234
          1234D6001234

           

      • For more information on using .NET format strings, please refer to the Microsoft Developer Network section on Formatting Types - http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/26etazsy(v=vs.110).aspx
    • The Null Substitute field is used to specify a substitute term or character for any NULL values that are included in the export file.
  • When creating a Fixed Width export file configuration:
    • Specify a Position for the selected property.
      • Properties will automatically be placed in the last position as they are added. When the value is edited in the Position field, the Selected Properties will update to display the new property position.
      • Each property must occupy a different position. If two properties share the same position value, an error will occur when the export file configuration is saved.
      • Fixed width export files use a combination of property position and maximum length to determine how properties are displayed. For example, if Property A is in position 1 and has a maximum length of 5, Property B must have a position value of at least 6 in order to prevent overlap. If Property B is in position 6 and has a maximum length of 4, Property C must have a position value of at least 10.
      • Because of this relationship, setting the length values for each property before adding the next property is suggested.
    • The Maximum and Minimum Length fields are used to determine the length of the fields included in the export file.
      • If a property value included in the export file exceeds the specified Maximum Length, the value will be trimmed based on the Pad Direction specified below.
      • If a property value included in the export file does not meet the specified Minimum Length, the value will be padded based on the Padding and Pad Direction specified below.
    • The Padding field and the Pad Direction drop-down field are used to specify the character that will be used when including padding in the property value and where that padding will be added.
      • For example, a user could enter "x" in the Padding field and select "Left" in the Pad Direction field. If the value exported from Cirrus for that property was "75" and the Minimum Length for that property was set at "6", the value displayed in the export file would be "xxxx75".
      • The Pad Direction field will also determine how the value is trimmed if it exceeds the Maximum Length for the property. If the value exported from Cirrus is "john.smith" but the Maximum Length for the property is set at "8", the value will need to be trimmed. If "Right" is selected in the Pad Direction field, the value in the export file will be "john.smi". If "Left" is selected, the value will be "hn.smith".
    • The Multiplier field is used to set a recalculation multiplier for the selected property.
      • This Fixed Width multiplier field behaves the same as the Delimited multiplier field described above.
    • The Format field is used to specify how data exported from Cirrus will be converted to a string representation and how that string will appear to the user.
      • This Fixed Width format field behaves the same as the Delimited format field described above.
    • The Null Substitute field is used to specify a substitute term or character for any NULL values that are included in the export file.
    • Click the Save button to save the group property.
  • Click ADD CONSTANT to add a constant value to the export file. This will add a constant line item to the Selected Properties section below.
    • Constants can be added to export configurations to include things like bank-mandated codes in positive pay files or city codes in meter reading files.
    • Once a constant has been added, the Edit Group Property window will open.
      • The Property field will be populated with (Constant) and cannot be edited.
      • The Location and Position fields are used to set the position within the header or footer for the constant. These fields work as described above.
      • When creating a fixed width file, the Maximum Length, Minimum Length, Padding and Pad Direction fields should be completed as described above.
      • The Constant field is used to enter the constant that will display in the export file. The Maximum Length and Minimum Length values entered above will dictate the size of the Constant value that displays on the export file.
        • This field is limited to 256 alphanumeric characters.
    • Click the Save button when complete to save the Constant and return to the Groups tab.
  • Use the Edit and Remove icons in the Group Properties section to update or remove properties and constants from the group.
  • Use the Delete icon to delete an entire group from the export configuration.

 

8     Preview the export file configuration. 

 

  • The Preview tab is used to preview the export file configuration.
  • Check the positioning, padding, formatting and mapping of the export file. If the Export File Preview section does not display the data as intended, return to the Properties and Mapping tabs to make the required changes.

 

9     Track any changes made to the export file configuration. 

 

  • Click the Audit Trail icon to open the Audit Trail window.
  • Use the Search Criteria section to sort the displayed audit history.
  • The Audit Trail section will provide details about any changes made to an export file configuration record including the date of the change, type of change made, user that made the change, and data table that was edited.