Simon Help Portal

FTP Upload Feature (Exports Plus)

The FTP Upload Feature (Exports Plus) is an optional feature that allows for export reports to be configured to automatically export to a location of your organisation's choosing. The reports can be exported daily, weekly, or monthly at a specified time to a specified location. This feature removes the requirement to manually export reports from the system. Access to modify the configuration of these exports is granted to specific administrators chosen by your organisation.

There are fees associated with enabling this feature - to enquire about enabling this for your organisation, please e-mail help@thinksimon.com.au.

Configuring and Editing Exports Plus

To access the configuration menu, log in to the Control Panel from the Simon home page located at https://<yoursubdomain>.exphub.com.au/manager. Navigate to the Global Site Configuration menu and click to expand. Click Custom settings, then Export Settings, and finally Configure Export Layouts. Select Configure in the Actions menu next to the relevant Export Report, and then click on “2. Upload server config” in the configuration menu on the left.

 

Follow the steps below to configure the export:

1. In the Connection Type field, select whether the connection is an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) or an SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol) connection. If you are using an SFTP connection, it is important to ensure that the IP address or domain is secure. If you are unsure, please speak to your organisation's IT team.

2. In the Host field, enter the IP address, domain name or URL for the location that the file will be exported to. If you are unsure, please speak to your organisation's IT team.

3. In the Username field, enter the username that the system will use to log in to the host. If you are unsure, please speak to your organisation's IT team.

4. In the Password field, enter the password that the system will use to log in to the host. If you are unsure, please speak to your organisation's IT team.

5. In the Port field, choose the port that should be used to access the FTP or SFTP. FTP's port is generally 21, and SFTP's port is generally 22, however organisations may have different ports set up to access this, so please speak with your organisation's IT department.

6. In the Schedule field, select the frequency of which you would like the report exported. The export can be Daily, Weekly or Monthly.

7. In the Schedule Date field, select the date that you would like the first export to run.

8. In the Schedule Time field, select the time of day you would like the export to run. This time is in the timezone that your organisation's platform is using. To check the current time your organisation's platform is using, check the clock at the top of the page.

9. In the Drop File Location field, choose the location where the export should be saved, e.g. M:/Simon/Export Report Folder. Leaving this as / will automatically save the export in the "home" folder.

10. In the Send Files field, select Send New or Send Changes.

The Send New option will only send new data. If a user's data has already been exported, and no changes have been made to their profile (including their forms), their data will not be included in the next export. If any changes have been made to the user's profile (including changes by the user due to a form reset or changes to the user's profile by an administrator), the system will treat this as new, and will export the data again.

 

The Send All option will send data for all selected users each export regardless of whether or not any changes have been made to the user's profile.

11. Finally, test the connection. Before enabling the configuration, we recommend testing the connection by pressing the "Test Connection" button. This will ensure that the connection has been set up successfully and will check to make sure the domain can be accessed and that the file can be transferred to the specified location. If all information is correct and the specified location can be accessed, the test will be successful. If there is any incorrect information or if the specified location cannot be accessed, the test will fail, and the configuration will need to be revised. If the test is failing and you are unsure why, please speak to your organisation's IT department.

12. After the connection has been successfully tested, click "Submit". The first export for that report will run at the time and date specified.

Note - Configuration must be completed separately for each report that is to be automatically exported.

Selecting the users to export

For a user’s data to be included in the export, the "Ready to Export" box must be ticked in Employee Administration > Manage Employees > Edit (from the Actions menu) for that user. If a user’s data is not exporting, please check to make sure this box has been ticked. If all user information should be exported by default, this box should be ticked each time a new user is created by navigating to the Employee Administration > Manage Employees > Edit (from the Actions menu) screen after the experience has been delivered.

Tip - If the export is set up as "Send New" but an user's data needs to be exported again despite no changes being made, follow the below instructions:

1. Navigate to Employee Administration > Manage Employees from your Control Panel.

2. Click on "Edit" in the "Actions" menu next to the user you need to export.

3. Scroll to the bottom of the user's profile and untick the "Ready to Export" box.

4. Click Save.

5. Navigate back to the user's profile.

6. Re-tick the "Ready to Export" box.

7. Click save.

The user's data will now be re-uploaded in the next scheduled export.

Export Logs

Every time an SFTP/FTP export runs, a log is recorded. These logs can be found by navigating to Global Site Configuration > Custom Settings > Export Settings > Export Logs. If an export has not successfully run as expected, the Logs should be checked first to begin the troubleshooting process.

Export Logs field definitions

Field Name	Description	Tips and information
Layout	The configured name of the Export Report that was run.	To check the configuration of this report, please refer to the Custom Settings – Export Settings guide.
File Location	The location of where the file was saved.	For more information about configuring the save location, please refer to the Configuring and Editing Exports Plus section above.
File Sends	Shows whether the export has been configured to send New data or Changes only.	For more information on this field, please refer to the Configuring and Editing Exports Plus section above.
Date	The date that the export was sent.	For more information about configuring the frequency of exports, please refer to the Configuring and Editing Exports Plus section above.