Files & Cloud Storage
File Integration
Zynk's File integration is a set of Workflow tasks for the files that pass through your integrations. It lists, copies, moves, zips, unzips, cleans and archives files in local or network folders, so order files bound for Sage 200, exports from Business Central and documents from trading partners are picked up, processed and tidied away without anyone touching them.
Capabilities may differ depending on the product.
Benefits
Why businesses connect File
Every file in a folder, processed in turn
File Repeater loops through a folder and runs the same group of tasks for each file it finds. It can stick to files created or changed since the last run, so a drop folder of orders is worked through once and only once.
Files routed to the right place
Copy, move and delete tasks send each file where it belongs, with an optional timestamp on the name and a choice about overwriting. List-based versions handle many files in one step using a search pattern such as *.xml.
Content cleaned before import
Find And Replace Text and Remove Characters From File fix awkward content before an import task reads it, such as a stray character added by a partner's system or a code that needs swapping for the one Sage uses.
Zip, unzip and archive
Zip outgoing files, with a password where needed, and unpack archives that arrive from suppliers. Archive Workflow Data bundles each run's working files at the end of a workflow, leaving a record of what was processed.
Only run when there is work to do
If File Exists checks for a file before the rest of the workflow runs, and can insist on a minimum size. An empty export holding nothing but an XML header no longer triggers an import or an upload.
A way in for systems without an API
Plenty of older ERPs, warehouse systems and trading partners only send and receive files. File tasks give those systems a dependable route into Zynk without anyone building an API on their side.
Capabilities
What you can do with File
Every task the Zynk File connector can run, grouped by the direction data moves.
Actions in File
Tasks Zynk can automate in File
15 tasks
- Archive workflow data → in File
- Copy file → in File
- Delete file → in File
- File repeater → in File
- Find and replace text → in File
- If file exists → in File
- List and copy files → in File
- List and delete files → in File
- List and move files → in File
- List and zip files → in File
- List files → in File
- Move file → in File
- Remove characters from file → in File
- Unzip files → in File
- Zip files → in File
Need something that isn't listed?
Most File projects include at least one custom step. Our team builds it for you.
The problem
Why integrate File?
A surprising amount of business data still travels as files: order exports from a website, stock files from a 3PL, invoice batches for a customer, price files from a supplier. When nobody automates the handling, people copy files between folders, rename them, open zips and delete old ones by hand, and mistakes creep in.
Without integration
- Someone checks a shared folder each morning and imports whatever is there
- The same order file imported twice because nobody moved it afterwards
- Imports failing on a character or code the target system rejects
- Supplier zip files opened and unpacked by hand
- Working folders that fill up until nobody knows which files matter
With Zynk
- File Repeater works through new files on a schedule and runs the import for each
- Processed files move to a done folder, timestamped, as soon as they are imported
- Text is cleaned with find and replace before the import task reads it
- Archives unzip into the right folder automatically, even with a password
- Each run's files are archived and old ones deleted by search pattern
How it works
How the File integration works
Step 1: Point Zynk at your folders
Decide which local or network folders Zynk watches, where processed files go and where archives are kept. Search patterns such as *.csv narrow each task to the files it should touch.
Step 2: Wrap the tasks that do the real work
File tasks sit around the imports and exports. A typical chain repeats over incoming files, cleans each one, passes it to an import into Sage or Business Central, then moves it on.
Step 3: Settle the edge cases
Use If File Exists to skip empty runs, choose whether copies overwrite or gain a timestamp, and decide whether deleted files go to the recycle bin or are removed for good.
Step 4: Schedule and keep a record
The workflow runs on the schedule you set. Ending it with Archive Workflow Data keeps a copy of each run's files, which makes it simple to check what came in and what went out.
Integrations
What can you connect to File?
Example use cases for File integration
File and Remote File Transfer (FTP, SFTP)
Download files from a partner's FTP or SFTP server, unzip and sort them locally, then zip outgoing exports before they are uploaded back to the server.
File and CSV
Repeat over every CSV file in a drop folder, convert each one to XML for the next task, then move the original to a processed folder so it is never picked up again.
File and PGP
Decrypt files that arrive PGP encrypted from a bank or partner, confirm they hold data, and encrypt outgoing files before they leave your network.
File and Sage 200
Pick up sales order files from a web shop or EDI partner, import each one into Sage 200, and copy invoice exports to the folder a customer or 3PL collects from.
File and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
Work through a folder of supplier invoice files, import each into Business Central as a purchase invoice, then archive the batch so finance can trace every document to its source.
View the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central integration →
File integration FAQs
What can the Zynk File connector do?
Can Zynk pick up files from a shared network folder?
How do I stop the same file being imported twice?
Can Zynk unzip files that arrive from suppliers?
Does the File connector work with FTP and SFTP servers?
Can Zynk connect a system that has no API?
Do I need a developer to use File tasks?
See what Zynk can automate for your File setup
Book a 20-minute call. We'll review your systems, flag the quick wins and outline a practical route to going live.
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