Collectors
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      BlackLine Collectors

      Overview

      DataBlend collects BlackLine data types through available reports. Available reports may include:

      • Account Balances

      • Subledger Balances

      • Data Sources

      • Journals
      • Journal Details
      • Journal Documents
      • Journal Line Items
      • Reports

      Many users choose to also implement Blackline Data Targets. Sending data to BlackLine is simple with DataBlend Data Targets. To learn more about BlackLine Data Targets, please visit BlackLine Data Targets.

      Configuration

      Field

       

      Required/ Optional

       

      Comments

       

      Type

      Required

      BlackLine

      Name

      Required

      Descriptive free-text name for the collector

      Data Source

      Required

      Choose a pre-configured data source from the drop down or click Create New to create a new data source.

      Schema

      Required

      Enter a name for the schema where the collected data will be stored. This can be a pre-configured schema or a new schema which will be created the first time the collector is run.

      Credential

      Required

      Choose a pre-configured BlackLine credential from the drop-down.

       

      A BlackLine collector requires a credential with the ReportsAPI scope.

      Report Name

      Required

      Enter the name of the BlackLine report.

      Use Bookmark

      Optional

      If false, the most recently generated report will be collected. The same report run may be collected multiple times.

      If true, the bookmark value is set to the generation timestamp of the report collected. On each collection, the most recently generated report is collected if was generated more recently than the bookmark.
       
       Please note that to collect a report in DataBlend, the report must first be ran in BlackLine.

      Bookmarks

      Bookmarks can be used on certain collectors to set a dynamic value each time the collector runs. A field from the collector source will need to be selected to be associated with the Bookmark function. For example, ‘WHENMODIFIED’ is a field in the Sage Intacct GL Detail object that can be used as a Bookmark:

      image-20220816-144337

      Once the Bookmark Field is set, every collection will save the value based on the latest run time. In the example above, the Bookmark is stored as a 'WHENMODIFIED' date of '05/17/2022 04:22:10'. The next time the Collector runs, it will only pull values with a different value, and then will update the Current Value field dynamically.

      Other Notes about Bookmarks:

      • Most commonly set as date fields, the Bookmark Field can also be a non-date field.

      • Filters on the collector can still be applied, so even though a Bookmark may be set, if a filter is present it will still only collect data with both the Bookmark value and filters in mind.

      • Data gets collected into a new stream even when Bookmarks are present, the data does not automatically consolidate into one stream. Consolidation would need to be done in a query.

        • To accomplish this consolidation in the query, your FROM section will need to leverage ‘All Streams’. This will also carry a risk that if the bookmark’s ‘Current Value’ is cleared or the bookmark is removed, the same data can be included into a new stream and therefore overstate the dataset that is being used in the query. It is important to be mindful of which collectors and queries are relying on the bookmark functionality and avoid modifying the bookmark while in use. To reset the bookmarked data, make sure to clear the ‘Current Value’ and also purge all streams or create a new Schema so that you’re starting from an empty dataset.

      Details

      Screenshot (150)-20211029-194503

      The details section documents who the Collector was created and updated by and the corresponding times. This allows for easy tracking of multiple Collectors.

      Latest Collection

      Screenshot (138)-20211028-153206

      The latest collection section documents the state of the collector, created time, and the status of the query. States include complete and error.

      Collections

      Screenshot (137)-20211028-153229

      The Collections section documents when the Collector was created, started, completed and the total amount of data scanned. The status includes information regarding the state of the Collector. This allows for easy tracking of multiple collections.

       

      To learn more about BlackLine API requirements, please visit https://developer.blackline.com/apis.