Load Data from Text or Excel Files

Rows to Scan for Data Types (default: 10,000)

Determines how many rows Bragi should look at to estimate each column’s data type and size. A higher number gives better accuracy, especially for variable-length strings or mixed content.

Fixed Width File

Enable this if your file uses fixed-width formatting (no delimiters like commas or tabs). Bragi will use predefined column widths instead of splitting by a character. Great for older systems or mainframe exports.

Treat Empty Values as NULL

Switch this on to convert empty strings (e.g. "") into NULLs. Useful for reducing storage and avoiding noise in your dataset.

Treat “NULL” Values as NULL

If your file contains the literal string "NULL" to represent missing values, this will convert those to proper database NULLs.

Has Column Headers

Turn this on if the first row of your file contains field names. Bragi will use those to automatically map columns. If headers are missing, columns are auto-named using their data type and position (e.g. Int_1, Varchar_2).

Only Load Distinct Data

Skips duplicate rows during the load process. Handy for avoiding repeated inserts when source files are noisy or already de-duped upstream.

Ignore Leading Rows

If the top of your file includes non-data lines (e.g. notes, timestamps, metadata), this lets you skip them.
⚠️ Use “Has Column Headers” if your file just includes header names.

Ignore trailing rows

Similar to above, but for the end of the file. Skip totals, footers, or closing comments that aren’t part of your dataset.

Schema

Schema the table belongs to.

Table Name

The actual name of the table in the database.

Display Name

A more friendly name used inside Bragi.

Description

Notes for future you (or someone else) - especially helpful if this load isn’t a typical one.

File Source

Choose from a preconfigured source folder.

Path to Folder

Acts as a base or sub-path within the selected File Source.

File Mask

Use wildcards to match filenames (e.g. Report_*.csv).

File Count

Expected number of files (use if the count varies).

Has Columnn Headers

Lets Bragi know whether headers are present.

Archive File After Load

Moves file once loading is complete.

Archive on Empty Input File

Move the file even if it had no usable data.

Overwrite Archive File If It Already Exists

When on, an existing file with the same name in the archive folder is replaced. When off (default), the new file is kept alongside the old one with a numeric suffix, e.g. myfile (1).csv.

File Source / Path to Folder

Where to send archived files.

Delimiter

The character used to separate columns in the file (e.g. comma, tab, pipe). Defaults to comma; set it before picking the file (or change it here and use Redo Analysis to re-introspect). Use \t for tab or \\ for a literal backslash.

Lookup (default)

Columns matched by name. Best for files with headers or columns that may change order.

Fixed

Columns matched strictly by position. Only use this when Lookup fails or column order is guaranteed.
⚠️ Fixed is an advanced option. Use Lookup unless there’s a specific need.

Fail on Empty Source

Bragi will throw an error if the file is empty. Use this if empty files are unexpected and should halt the process.

Fail on Missing

Stops the load if the number of files doesn’t match the expected File Count. Ideal for strict batch loads.

Rename File After Load

Adds a .Processed_yyyyMMdd suffix after loading, useful for audit trails and avoiding reprocessing.

Truncate Table Before Load

Clears the target table before inserting new rows. The default behaviour for most loads.

Auto Trim Values

Strips leading and trailing whitespace from string fields. Usually a good idea unless whitespace has meaning in your data.

{{Filename}}

File name of the source

{{LoadUpdateTime}}

Timestamp of the load

{{Today}}

Current date

{{Tomorrow}}

Tomorrow’s date

{{Now}}

Current date and time

{{UniqueIdentifier}}

Random GUID

{{IntSequence}}

Auto-incremented integer

{{FileCreatedTime}}

File creation timestamp

{{FileModifiedTime}}

File modification timestamp

{{RecordNumber}}

Incremental row number

{{Null}}

A SQL NULL, whatever the data type