Contents:

Introduction

Installation

Configuration

Scheduling

• Create a Windows User for the Scheduled Task
• Configure the Scheduled Task to run CDI

Centage Data Integrator (CDI) is a 32-bit Windows application used to facilitate a transfer of General Ledger data to Centage’s web-based application, Centage. In this document, we will cover installation, configuration, and automation for CIF file upload-only integrations. 

 

Please Note - This integration path requires that your organization create CIF files for upload to Centage. It is important to note that the CDI upload can not be performed until CIF files have been created.

Please Note - proper CIF file formatting is especially important for CIF-only uploads. You can find detailed information about CIF files and how they need to be formatted in this guide article: Creating CIF Files

 

Installation

CDI will need access to your General Ledger data. CDI should be installed on a Windows Server, preferably one hosting the General Ledger data such as a SQL Server.

Step 1. Download the CDI installer from a Centage-provided download link.

Step 2. Extract the CDI installer from the ZIP folder.

Step 3. Run the CDI installer on desired install location(s), preferably as an Administrator.

Step 4. A small window will appear.  Click Setup to begin.

Step 5. Click Next.

Step 6. Review and accept the terms in the license agreement to proceed, then click Next.

Step 7. Specify the desired installation path (default setting recommended) and click Next.

Step 8. Click Install.

Step 9. Click Finish.

 

Configuration

Create a Preferences folder for CDI.

This can be done within CDI but due to potential permissions conflicts, it is easier to do through File Explorer.

Open File Explorer and navigate to the CDI installation path. If you used the default for installation, go to C:\Program Files (x86)\Centage\Centage Data Integrator

Add a new folder named Preferences.

 

Open the CDI application

It is recommended to run CDI as Administrator. CDI may not be able to save files unless it is explicitly run as Administrator (right-click > Run as Administrator) even if you are logged into the server as a user with Administrator privileges.

Step 1. Launch CDI as Administrator. On the Configuration tab, click the Create button.

Step 2. A “Save As” window will appear. Navigate to the Preferences folder you created if it does not automatically open to that folder. Enter your company name as the File Name and click Save.

Please note - If you get an error message prompting you to save the Preferences file to your Documents folder, try closing CDI and re-opening it as Administrator. If that fails, it is ok to save the Preferences file to the Documents folder. However, if it is deleted, CDI will need to be re-configured.

 

Step 3. Once the File Location text box has populated with the file path, click the Source tab in the CDI tool bar.

Step 4. Check the Upload Files Only box.

 

Step 5. Skip the Extract Data tab and click on the Upload tab (Extract data is not needed for CIF file-only uploads)

 

Step 6. On the upload tab, for Folder to Upload, click the ... button and select the Folder or Directory where your CIF files are saved. This exact location will depend on where you have chosen to save the CIF files your organization is generating for Centage.

 

Step 7. The Centage site, Username, and password will be supplied to you directly and securely by our Centage Support team. If you do not have access to this information, please reach out to us directly at support@centage.com 

Step 8. Once you have entered the information provided by the Centage Support team, click Connect.

Step 9. Under the Connect button, the connection status should appear indicating a success or failure.

Step 10. If the Connection was successful you should be able to click on the drop-down list under “Centage Profile” and select your Centage Profile name. This will usually be your company name.

Please note - The Profile is set up by Centage for you.

 

Step 11. Once the Profile is selected, click the Upload button to start the Data Upload.

Please note - The upload can take some time depending on your data and environment. You should receive a confirmation notification when the Upload has been completed. If more than one Upload runs at the same time it will fail. Please wait until your Upload completes before re-attempting an upload.

 

Step 12. Once you have received confirmation of the Upload, you can move on to scheduling the Upload.

 

Scheduling

For CDI to automatically extract and upload on a schedule, you will need to configure a Windows User to act as a Service Account and a Windows Scheduled Task to start the CDI program.

There are multiple ways to set up the Windows User and Scheduled Task. These features are standardized across Windows Environments and will probably already be familiar to most readers.

Please note - The following will be an overview of a simple way to do so at a relatively high level.

• The Windows User needs the following:
  • A non-expiring password
  • Log on as Batch Job permissions
  • Full Control permission to the Centage Data Integrator installation folder
• The Scheduled Task will need the following:
  • Start a ProgramProgram/Script:
  • <file path to CDI application file>

Default -

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Centage\Centage Data Integrator\CDI.exe"

• Arguments: “<path to the CDI preferences file>” -u
  • Default example –

 "C:\Program Files (x86)\Centage\Centage Data Integrator\Preferences\Test.xml" -u

• In the Scheduled Task Properties:
  • Set the Task to Run whether the user is logged on or not
  • DO NOT set to Run with Highest Privileges
  • Change the running user to the Windows user your created
  • Set Configure for to the most recent version of windows allowed for your server

Create a Windows User for the Scheduled Task

We recommend using a dedicated User to run the Scheduled Task for automatic CDI uploads. This can be a domain or local user. *This user will need a non-expiring password.*

This User will need the Log on as Batch Job permission. This permission can be found in the Windows environment CDI is installed on under Local Security Policy (secpol.msc)

• Then Local Policies > User Rights Assignment
• Find Log on as Batch Job close to the bottom of the list and right click to access Properties.
• Use the Add User or Group button to add the user you created.              

This User will need Full Control permissions to the CDI installation folder. One way to assign this is to open Windows File Explorer and find the CDI installation folder.

Right-click the folder named Centage Data Integrator (in which the .exe and other files reside). The default file path for this folder will be C:\Program Files (x86)\Centage

• Select Properties, then the Security tab.
• Click Edit, then Add and add the user you created.
• Once added, select the user in the list and ensure that Full Control is checked off for the User.

 

Configure the Scheduled Task to run CDI

Step 1. Open Task Scheduler and Click Create a Basic Task.

Step 2. Set the Name to CDI Connection and enter a description that will help you remember, then click Next.

Step 3. Set the Trigger to Daily, then click Next.

Step 4. Select a Start time. We recommend around midnight but you can set it to any time that avoids times when high-resource services are running on the server, or backups.

Step 5. Leave the Recur every option on 1 day.

Step 6. Click Next to move to the Action tab.

Step 7. Select the radio button for Start a program and click Next.

In the next window:

 

Step 8. For Program/script: Click Browse and navigate to the CDI application file.

Step 9. If you used the default installation path it will be in C:\Program Files (x86)\Centage\Centage Data Integrator:

 

Step 10. In Add Arguments enter the path to the Preferences file you created in quotation marks, then -u

Example using default installation file – "C:\Program Files (x86)\Centage\Centage Data Integrator\Preferences\Test.xml" -u               Make sure to replace the Test.xml above with the name of your Preferences file:

 

Step 11. Once you are ready, click Next.

Step 12. Check the Open Properties option and click Finish.

Step 13. On General:

• Set the task to Run whether the user is logged on or not.
• DO NOT set to Run with Highest Privileges.
• Change the running user to the Windows User your created.
• Set Configure for to the most recent version of windows allowed for your server.
• Then click OK to save the settings.

You will be prompted for the username and password for the Windows user you created for this task.

At this point, the scheduled task should be set and the CDI data extract and upload should run at the next scheduled time.