Platform: Improvements to the XML Import and Export Functionality

MYOB Acumatica 2025.1 introduces the improved import of records by using the XML import and export functionality.

Changes to the Export Template

For certain records in MYOB Acumatica, the primary keys on the database level differ from the primary keys on the application level. For example, a Dashboard record has the Name primary key in the data access class (DAC) and the DashboardID primary key in the database table. In previous versions, if a customizer used the XML import and export functionality to import records that had the same key fields as the existing records, the system added the records without checking for duplicates. If the customizer then tried to view, modify, or delete any of these duplicate records, an error occurred. To resolve this issue, the customizer had to remove the records from the database.

In MYOB Acumatica 2025.1, the export template has been modified to prevent the duplication of records during import. Version 4 (the format-version="4" attribute; see Item 1 in the following screenshot) of the XML schema provided with MYOB Acumatica now supports the new unique-key attribute (Item 2). The system uses this attribute to check for duplicate records. The attribute can be specified for parent and child tables.

Figure 1. The updated elements of the XML definition

Tip: A unique key can contain multiple fields if it is a composite key.

Updates to the Import of Records

The changes described in this section have been made to all forms that support the XML import and export functionality.

When a customizer imports an XML file, the system now verifies whether this file contains any of the unique keys of the database tables from the export template. If the file does not contain a unique key, the system adds this key. The system then checks whether a record with the same unique key exists in the system. The system searches for these records by using the primary key and the unique index from the database (as in the previous versions), as well as by the unique key from the export template.

If only one record is found in a parent table, the system displays a warning that this record will be overwritten (see the following screenshot). If the customizer confirms the operation, the system replaces the unique key of the existing record with the unique key of the imported record.

Figure 2. The overwriting of an existing record during import

If multiple duplicate records are found, the system displays a warning about these records (see the following screenshot). If the customizer clicks Yes in the Import dialog box, the system then processes the duplicate records depending on the link type and attributes specified for the parent and child tables in the XML schema.

Figure 3. Detection of duplicate records

Changes to the Publication of a Customization Project

The system also checks for duplicate records during the publication of customization projects.

Suppose that an item in a customization project has the same key (the primary key, the unique index, or the unique key) as the records that exist in the system. When the customizer publishes such a project, the system displays a warning and overwrites the existing records with the item from the project (see the following screenshot).

Figure 4. Warning during the publication of the customization project

Additional Information

For more information about XML import and export functionality, see XML Import and Export.