Missing XML elements are no longer treated as NULL value (MDM 7.1 SP04)

Question

Hello,
We have a problem with importing XML files with missing XML segments (and hence missing XML fields) in XML file.
In MDM 7.1 SP03 (7.1.03.72), missing fields within a missing segment (so no tags at all for segment and fields) were still represented in the import manager as NULL value in the value mapping, making it possible to do value mapping and to import this NULL value into MDM (overwriting existing values in MDM).
As of MDM 7.1 SP04 (we are running 7.1.04.126) the missing fields within an missing segment are no longer represented in the import manager as NULL value in value mapping!
I don't know if that's a new 'feature' in SP04 but we are now running into following problem:
- We are importing customer data from ECC into MDM, where some segments are optional
- The fields within the (optional) segment are mapped to a multi-valued tuple field
- When we now import a customer that has values for the optional segment, the tuple field gets filled correctly
- When the optional data is now removed completely from the customer in ECC, we don't get that segment anymore in the XML file (this is how the Idoc works on ECC side, if all entries from the optionel segment are deleted then the complete segment is missing in the XML file)
- In SP03 we replaced the existing tuple records with the NULL value (leaving 1 empty tuple record, but this is known issue to SAP, so we've accepted this for the moment)
- In SP04 we cannot replace the existing tuple records anymore, since when complete segment is missing, the fields within that segment gets no value at all (in source values). So we are not able to replace the existing tuple records with NULL/nothing, leaving the 'old' tuple values in MDM!
Does anyone have solution for this (that also works with SP04)?
We already tried to replace the complete record in MDM (instead of updating it, this is possible since we always get the latest (and complete) status of a customer), but we are also mapping the remote key, and hence you are not allowed to replace the record during import!
Other solution could be to have PI add any missing segment into the XML message, but we first want to make sure that this cannot be handled within MDM Import Manager itself.
Thanks in advance,
Marcel Herber
Edited by: P.H.M. Herber on Apr 27, 2010 3:46 PM

Answer 1

Hi Marcel,
I haven't tried it with XML file but i hope it may help you.
long back i need to send one field with value null if it doesn't come in source file and if it comes then original value.
What i did, i loaded a file which does not have this field, so in MDM Import Manager, under source hierarchy i created a field say ABC and map this field with target field and its value Null with Null, i also save this property in map using configuration options-->Automap fields when loading map = Yes
So whenever a file come with missing field ABC, automatically this field get created and mapped with target field and its value Null with target Null.  on the other hand, If this field actually comes in Source File(Delimited, Excel) ABC then this field with its original value gets map with target field value. That time it worked fine.
Just try and revert with result if it helps..
Else, using PI is the best option to create that missing segment into the XML message.
Regards,
Mandeep Saini