ABL Data tools use a contents file that you specify to load table data into the database. A contents file contains all the data for a table.

Note: Table definitions must be in the database before you can load table contents.

To load table contents into a database:

  1. Access the appropriate Data tool (the Data Administration tool if you are using a graphical interface or the Data Dictionary if you are using a character interface).
  2. Make sure that the working database is the target database where you want to load the table contents.
  3. Choose Admin > Load Data and Definitions > Table Contents (.d files). The Data tool alphabetically lists all the tables defined for the database.
  4. Mark the tables whose contents you want to copy. Use the Select Some and Deselect Some buttons to select or deselect groups of tables. For a character interface, use F5 and F6 to select table names.

    The Data tool prompts you for the name of the contents file (or the directory that contains the contents files) you want to load into the current database.

  5. Specify the directory name, filename, or use the default value.

    When you load the contents of an entire database, enter a directory where you want to load the contents files. If you do not specify a directory, the Data tool loads the files from the current directory. The Data tool loads each table from the corresponding table-dumpname.d filename. If you choose a single table to load, the Data tool displays a default name for the file where you can load the table contents. This default file is always the name of the table definition file, with a .df extension.

  6. Specify if you are loading LOBs by checking Include LOB.
  7. If you are including LOBs, specify the directory in the Lob Directory field. If you don't specify a directory, the current directory is assumed.
  8. Specify an acceptable error rate.

    As the Data tool loads records from any files you designate, it might encounter data that cannot be loaded. For example, a record might have data in one of its fields that is too long for that field's defined format. The Data tool does not load the record. If you specify an error rate of 10 percent, the Data tool must successfully load 90 records from every set of 100 records loaded. If you use the graphical interface to load table contents, you can choose to output the errors to a file or output the errors to the screen. After loading the table contents, the Data tool prompts you to continue.

  9. Check Output Errors to Screen, if you want errors reported to the screen as they occur.
  10. Choose OK to return to the Data Administration or Data Dictionary main window.
Note: You must load the sequence values separately. See Load sequence values using a Data tool for information about loading sequence values.