Step 4 - Run an Extraction

Xtract Universal Designer offers a test run option for extractions. You can define runtime parameters and other options to run an extraction directly from the Xtract Universal Designer.

Run Extraction #

Select an extraction from the list of Extractions and click [Run] to open the “Run Extraction” window.
You can alternatively right-click an extraction or use the main menu bar to open the “Run Extraction” window.

The “Run extraction” window consists of:

• General Info (1)
• Runtime parameters (2)
• URL and command-line (3)
• Logs and Output (4)
• Buttons (5)

General Info (1) #

Info object	Details
Extraction name	Name of the extraction
Source	Information about the source settings chosen for that extraction (Name, Host, Client, User Name, Instance No., Language)
Destination	Name of the destination (Name, Type, Pull destination info)
Execution start	Start date and time stamp of extraction run
Time elapsed	Elapsed time of the extraction run
Rows extracted	Number of extracted rows
Status	Extraction status
Duration	Extraction duration

Runtime parameters (2) #

The three tabs “Extraction”, “Source” and “Custom” contain Extraction Parameters. When you change these parameters, the extraction URL and command-line (3) also change.

Example

1. Select the checkbox of the parameter you want to override.
2. Enter the value and confirm by pressing enter.
   • Extraction URL before changing the parameter:
     http://localhost:8065?name=Plants
   • Extraction URL after editing the parameter rows:
     http://localhost:8065?name=Plants&rows=100

Note: Additional parameters such as Package size, Row limit, etc. are described in Extraction settings.

URL and command-line (3) #

The strings displayed in URL and xu.exe are generated and automatically update when you change the Runtime Parameters (1). Use them to run the extraction outside of the Xtract Universal Designer.

URL

The extraction URL can be used in different integration scenarios and use cases.

• Call the extraction where it is not possible to use the command-line tool xu.exe, e.g. in cloud based environments.
• Call the URL when the extraction is set to a Pull Destination.
• Run the extraction in a web browser, e.g. for testing purposes.
• Other use cases are possible, e.g. calling it in a PowerShell script.

Note: Copying the URL with Ctrl+C or the button on the right side and execute it in a web browser corresponds to the “Run in browser” functionality available by right-clicking an extraction in the Main Window Overview.

xu.exe

This command allows running an extraction with the command-line tool xu.exe, which is installed with Xtract Universal. The tool can be found in the installation folder: C:\Program Files\XtractUniversal\xu.exe
Copy the expression with CTRL+C or the button on the right side.

We recommend using the command-line tool with Push Destinations. It can be called from a Windows script or any scheduler, that can invoke Windows command-line calls.
In the most simple case, the Windows task scheduler can be used for calling and scheduling extractions using xu.exe. For more detailed information about scheduling with xu.exe, see Scheduling an extraction.

By default the parameters “-s” (Server for extraction), “-p” (Listening port of the Xtract Universal Server) and “-n” (Name of the extraction) are generated for any extraction.

Logs and Output (4) #

When an extraction is executed, information about the extraction is displayed in the following section.

Log

In the Log tab the extraction log is displayed in real time. Activate the checkbox Auto scroll to the end to automatically scroll down to the last protocol.

xu.exe

In the xu.exe tab the log of the command-line tool is displayed.

Output

In the Output tab the results of the extraction are displayed. This option is only available for the following destinations:

• HTTP-CSV
• HTTP-JSON
• Alteryx
• Microsoft SQL Server
• Power BI Report Server (SQL Server Reporting Services)
• QlikSense&QlikView

Limiting the number of displayed rows
In the Output tab the extraction results are displayed to a maximum amount of 500 rows. The number of rows to be displayed can be changed using the Display rows from line boxes.

Filtering Results
To filter the results, enter filter values above the columns of the results and click [Display]. To undo the filtering, click [Clear search], followed by [Display].

Buttons (5) #

Run the extraction with [Run], abort it with [Abort] and close the window with [Close].

Note: If the option Request SAP credentials from caller when running extractions is active in the extraction’s source settings, you are prompted to enter your SAP credentials when running an extraction. For this option, extractions must be called via HTTPS - unrestricted.