Secure File Transport Protocol
All batch files are sent to Extole using Secure File Transport Protocol (SFTP). This is a generally available protocol that provides strong encryption when transferring files to and from Extole. There are many programs you can download that will allow you to directly connect to Extole, upload and download files, and that make it easy for your IT department to create processes that will automatically upload and download files.Why use SFTP?
SFTP provides a method for securely exchanging information with Extole, and preventing third parties from looking at the transfer. Many clients wish to transfer data via email, SendIt, Ge.tt, or other services. While these transfers may be convenient, they are not appropriate for sensitive information such as Personally Identifiable Information (PII). Sending information through less-secure services is analogous to sending mail in an unsealed envelope; while you can generally assume your postal workers will safely deliver and not look at your mail, there is no way to be sure. While you can generally assume the IT systems will safely deliver an email without anyone looking at it, there is no way to be sure.Access the Extole SFTP server
To learn how to access the SFTP Server please review: How do I access and use SFTP?Additional Resources
To learn more about how to send reports to an external SFTP server, please see this article.General File Conventions
The following conventions are used by almost all files at Extole to ensure file transfer consistency:- All files follow a standard naming convention: clientid_filetype_YYYYMMDDHHMMSS.csv
- Each file type goes into its own directory on the Extole SFTP system
- All files are encoded as UTF-8.
- Files may contain Unix (\n) or Dos (\r\n).
- All batch files contain a column header row.
- Column order is never important, as Extole determines the order based on the header row.
- Extra columns in the file that Extole does not recognize are ignored.
- Extole stores 30 days worth of file history and files older than 30 days are deleted.
-
Extole follows standard CSV quoting conventions:
- A comma can be included by quoting the values: First Name, “Last Name, Jr.”, Gift Message
- A quote can be included by escaping the quote: First Name, Last Name, “Thanks for the “help”
- For conventions related to CSV files that Extole generates, see: https://docs.extole.com/docs/csv-encoding
Validation and Balancing
Validation and balancing assure that all the files you are providing are being properly formatted and sent to Extole. In return, it assures that Extole provides confirmation of the files being processing. The following conventions are used to balance the file submission/processing activity:- After Extole processes files, it moves them into an “archive” folder on the SFTP server to indicate it has been processed.
- After Extole processes files, it creates a results file in a “results” folder on the SFTP server which contains success and failure messages for all records.