Upload data sources file to Adobe
Sending a data sources file to Adobe involves a typical authenticated FTP workflow. You can use Windows Explorer, Finder, or a dedicated FTP client to upload the desired files to Adobe’s FTP location.
Locate the FTP credentials in the Data sources manager. Each data source has a link to its FTP Info. Each FTP location is dedicated to that specific data source; you cannot use the same FTP location for multiple data sources.
For security reasons, FTP locations without any activity for 30+ days are disabled.
The .fin
file
A vital part of successfully ingesting a data sources file is the inclusion of a .fin
file. This file indicates to Adobe that the data file is ready for processing. If you upload a data sources file without a corresponding .fin
file, Adobe never processes that data.
The .fin
file has the following properties:
- The file has a
.fin
extension. Make sure that your operating system allows you to see and edit file types. - The file is empty. Do not store data inside the
.fin
file. - The file has the exact same name as the data sources file. For example, if you upload a data sources file named
example.txt
, the.fin
file must be namedexample.fin
. If they are not identically named, Adobe never processes the data sources file.
Once both the data source file and .fin
file are uploaded to the FTP site, Adobe processes the file. Do not upload the .fin
file until the data sources file is fully uploaded. If the .fin
file is prematurely uploaded, Adobe retrieves and ingests the partially uploaded file, throwing possible errors.
Processing order
If you upload multiple files at the same time to the FTP site, Adobe ingests them in alphanumeric order. If your organization requires files to be ingested in a specific order, make sure that their file names are named alphanumerically.
Processing time
To ensure the fastest processing of files, Adobe recommends aggregating metric data into a single row per date. For example, this data sources file, while valid, would be processed slower:
date
eVar1
event1
event2
event3
07/24/YYYY
red
1
07/24/YYYY
red
1
07/24/YYYY
red
1
07/24/YYYY
red
1
This file would be processed faster, which contains the same data:
date
eVar1
event1
event2
event3
07/24/YYYY
red
2
1
1