Retrieving your system’s environment variables in FlowHeater
The functionality of FlowHeater has been enhanced with a new and powerful feature: Environment variables can now be used as placeholders for dynamic configuration settings, in addition to FlowHeater Parameters.
If you wish to use environment variables this way, you enclose them in percent signs. For example, by specifying %TEMP% you refer to the TEMP folder defined in your system settings and you could use “%TEMP%\%USERNAME%_export.csv” as a dynamic path and filename for exporting a CSV file in the TextFile Adapter, etc.
Environment variables can be used anywhere you would otherwise use FlowHeater Parameters and of course you can combine them as you wish, e.g. “%TEMP%\$DATUM$_export .csv”.
Release notes for version 4.0.3 on May 14, 2016
New System Heater/Function
The System Heater makes it possible to select from the system information available and returns a string you can use dynamically in an import/export Definition. At present the Heater can deliver the following information.
- The FlowHeater version number currently in use
- Whether it is a 32-bit or 64-bit FlowHeater variant (x86 | x64)
- Environment variables: you select one of the variables available
- The filenames presently in use on one of the Adapters. Not only does it return the filename for CSV, Excel or XML files, but also, for example, the Access database file or the effectively used SQLite database file. Naturally, this does not extend to server-based databases!
- The currently used FlowHeater Definition filename (.fhd | .fhrt)
New Path Heater/Function
With the Path Heater you can be used to concatenate several incoming elements into a complete path and filename string as well as making it possible to extract particular components of a path and filename string. The following components can be extracted:- Complete (absolute) path
- Filename (with extension)
- Filename (without extension)
- Extension (such as .csv)
- Folder (directory) name
Further enhancements
- The Batch Module (FHBatch.exe) now issues a warning when a parameter name is defined using the option “/SetParameter name=value” that has not previously been defined for the FlowHeater Definition using the Designer “Menu -> Edit -> Parameter ” option. Of course, the batch run will continue with the Parameter added automatically to the list of Parameters.
- In the String Split Heater you can now decide whether or not the string search is applied case sensitive. In addition, the String Split Heater settings have been extended to support embedded FlowHeater Parameters and environment variables. Moreover, you are now able to select whether a warning is given when the returned column size exceeds the column width defined.
