Data sources for processes

When you configure most processes in a flowchart, you must specify the source of the data that the process will act on. The data source for a process can be one or more incoming cells, segments, files, or tables. For example, the data source for a Select process might be a database table where your organization stores customer information such as Name, Address, Age, and Income.

The available tables depend on which data sources your administrator mapped. (Mapping tables is the process of making external customer tables accessible in Unica Campaign. Only tables that an administrator has mapped are available for selection.)

If multiple tables have been mapped, you can select more than one table as input to a process. For example, a Select process can take input from your company's "A" database and "B" database. The tables that you select must have the same audience level, such as Household or Customer.

It is common to use the output of one process as the input to a subsequent process. For example, you might connect a Select process to a Segment process. When you configure the Segment process, the ouput of the Select process would serve as the input to the Segment process.

If you select multiple cells as input, all cells must have the same audience level. For example, if two Select processes provide input to a Merge process, both Select processes must have the same audience level. You cannot mix Household and Customer, for example.

To specify the data source for a process, configure the process in a flowchart. In most cases, you use the Input field on the first tab of the process configuration dialog. The Input field displays all of the base tables that are currently mapped in the table catalog, along with their audience levels. The Input field also indicates any connected (upstream) processes.

If there is an incoming cell (for example, if a Select process is connected to a Segment process), then only tables with the same audience level as the cell are displayed.

For more information about selecting data sources, see the instructions for configuring each process.