Based on our experience in integrating solutions with each other we built an importer that picks up XML files generated by the film submission platform reelport.com and imports the data into ISFF’s own Filemaker 11 based solution.
This is how it works:
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User picks up the source file.
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The tool cleans invalid characters from the source data. reelport’s XML files contain non-printable characters, which makes those file unusable without prior removal of those characters.
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The tool imports the raw data from reelports XML files into Filemaker in a temporary repository.
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Now the tool goes through every single film submission and transfers it to a second temporary repository, which is identical to ISFF’s internal database structure. While doing this the user is asked to interact whenever a decision has to be made.
E.g. ISFF Hamburg’s database allows you to store information on only one single screening print but reelport allows you to submit information on multiple screening prints. So whenever multiple prints are available the user must decide which one they wants to import along with the film’s main data. Most of the other data is automatically transformed in the background so that it fits the internal database structure.
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After all submissions have been processed the user is asked to confirm the final transfer of all processed data to the live database.
The tool is extremely easy to use for the user. Necessary user interaction has been reduced to a minimum and it can be used without technical knowledge.
We have also further enhanced this tool to import film submissions from another source formatted as CSV.