When uploading data to Pepperi via FTP or using the upload option in the Pepperi Web Admin there are 3 files types that exist for various data types: regular, overwrite, and selective overwrite.

This article will explain by example what the result of uploading each file type is. 

The table at the end of the article details the file types that each data type supports, including the file naming convention required. Some data types allow for overwrite and selective overwrite, while others overwrite only.

The only difference between these three file types is their file name. The data contained in them follows the same format as the template for the regular file.

• Regular file name

When loading files with their regular file name (example: API_Accounts-Catalogs_2016-04-15_114327_Distributor_12345.csv):

1. All new lines will be appended to your Pepperi data
2. All lines which already exist in your Pepperi data will be updated with any new values.
3. Lines that exist in your Pepperi data and do not exist in the file will remain untouched.

• Overwrite file name

When loading files with their overwrite file name (example: API_Accounts-Catalogs_Overwrite_2016-04-15_114327_Distributor_12345.csv):

1. All new lines will be appended to your Pepperi data
2. All lines which already exist in your Pepperi data will be updated. 
3. Lines that exist in your Pepperi data and do not exist in the file will be hidden.

Essentially, the overwrite process hides all the existing Pepperi data of this type and then loads the overwrite file data.

• Selective overwrite file name

When loading files with their selective overwrite file name (example: API_Accounts-Catalogs_SelectiveOverwrite_2016-04-15_114327_Distributor_12345.csv),

1. All new lines will be appended to your Pepperi data.
2. Lines which already exist in your Pepperi data will be selectively overwritten - meaning any associations with a certain object (Account, Price, etc) will be updated with the values that exist in the file, while values that are not associated in the selective overwrite file will be hidden.

This is best explained by example.

If existing data in Pepperi is as follows:

You load the following selective overwrite file 

API_Accounts-Catalogs_SelectiveOverwrite_2016-04-15_114327_Distributor_12345.csv

In this file, Account xxx's association with CatC is not present, and neither are any of Account yyy's associations.

The resulting data in Pepperi:

xxx's asociation to CatC has been removed from your Pepperi data

yyy's association to CatC has not been modified, because Account yyy was not referenced in the uploaded selective overwrite file.

The following table details which file types are supported by Pepperi data type.

Data types not listed in the table support regular file only (no overwrite or selective overwrite).

For details on all data types, templates and sample files see: Upload data to Pepperi via FTP using csv files.