File
The File Connector supports reading and writing files locally on the file system, via SMB (Server Message Block), FTP, and SFTP.
Connection Settings
Communication Protocol
Specifies the communication protocol used to access the files. The following options are supported.
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| File Protocol | Used for local directory access. Local in this context means on the same machine the Intelligence Hub is running on. |
| SMB | Used to access shared network directories. |
| FTP | Access files on an FTP server. |
| SFTP | Access files over |
Communication Protocol: SMB
The following connection settings are available for the SMB protocol.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Share | Specifies the server and share name of the access shared network directory. Ex. \ServerName\ShareName |
| Domain | Specifies the domain of the server used to access the shared network directory. |
| Username | Username required to authenticate with the share. Leave this blank for anonymous access. |
| Password | Password required to authenticate with the share. Leave this blank for anonymous access. |
Communication Protocol: FTP
The following connection settings are available for the FTP protocol.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Server Type | In most cases this should be set to Unix. In some cases, Windows specific FTP servers may need the Windows option selected. |
| Use Passive Mode | In most cases passive mode should be used. Active mode requires the FTP server to connect back to the FTP Client, and is more difficult to configure securely. |
| Host | Specifies the hostname of the FTP server. |
| Port | Specifies the port of the FTP server. |
| Username | Username required to authenticate with the share. Leave this blank for anonymous access. |
| Password | Password required to authenticate with the share. Leave this blank for anonymous access. |
Communication Protocol: SFTP
The following connection settings are available for the SFTP protocol.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Host | Specifies the hostname of the SFTP server. |
| Port | Specifies the port of the SFTP server. |
| Username | Username required to authenticate with the server. |
| Password | Password required to authenticate with the server. |
Common Connection Settings
The following settings are applicable to all protocols.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| File Directory | Specifies the root directory for file processing. |
| Processed File Directory | Specifies the directory where files are moved to after processing successfully. This is only used by inputs that enable “Process File”. |
| Error Directory | Specifies the directory where files are moved to after processing unsuccessfully. This is only used by inputs that enable “Process File”. |
Browse
Input and Output Browsing
After the connection has been configured, the browse button can be used to navigate through the file system and create an Input or Output for any file or directory.
Input Settings
File Input Type
The File input type returns the content of a single file and has the following settings
File Name
The file name to read. This can be the full name of a single file or a regular expression. As an example, (.+) matches any file in the directory.
Use the References panel on the left to explore and drag-and-drop references to other inputs.
File Encoding
The character set used to decode the contents of the file.
Process File
When enabled, the file is moved to the connection’s processed directory after being read.
Include Metadata
Include metadata in the read, including file name, relative file path, creation and update times (if available), and file size.
Directory Input Type
The Directory input returns a list of the contents of a directory and has the following settings
Recursive
Designates whether the directory input should recursively explore sub directories.
Common settings
Relative Path
The relative path of the starting directory in regards to the connection level File Directory setting.
Time Filter
The time filter can be set to filter on either creation or update time, and will cause the input to return only files or directories which have been either created or updated after a provided ISO 8601 time.
Note: Time filter is dependent on both the protocol and server operating system. Protocols such as FTP and SFTP which don’t support creation time will not be able to be filtered on creation.
Output Settings
File Name
Specifies the name of the file to write to. This includes the file
extension and directories. The file path can include dynamic outputs (e.g., /{{this.site}}/file.bin)
Relative Path
The relative path of the starting directory in regard to the connection level File Directory setting.
Payload Reference
When working with complex payloads, this setting uses dynamic outputs to specify the attribute that contains the file payload (e.g. {{this.filePayload}}).
Note: If left blank, the file connector will write the entire payload out to a file.
Base64 Decoding
When enabled, payloads are base64 decoded before being output as a file. This is used in when receiving Base64 encoded file payloads over other connections such as REST or MQTT.