Introduction

A snapshot is a combination of the most recently fetched dataset from each of your configured source systems. Thus, the most recent snapshot determines the current set of Persons, which are used during business rule evaluation and enforcement.

A new snapshot is created when:

• A manual import is performed
• A scheduled import occurs
• A manual snapshot is performed (see below)

View an existing snapshot

To view your snapshot history, go to Source > Snapshots. 

Information tab

Select a snapshot in the Snapshots list to view its details in the Information tab. The first snapshot in the list is the current (most recent) snapshot.

The Imports section shows which source systems are included in the selected snapshot. For example, the snapshot shown above contains an import from just one source system.

It is not possible to restore previous snapshots. The purpose of the snapshot list is only to provide historical data. 

Compare a Person across snapshots

To compare a Person in a given snapshot with the same Person in the previous snapshot, select a snapshot in the Snapshots list and then select the eye button next to Persons.

Select a Person in the Persons list.

The New column contains the value of the Person's given Field in the current (selected) snapshot. The Old column contains the value of the same field in the previous snapshot. The only fields included are those which were altered during the selected snapshot. A green plus sign indicates that the person was newly added to the current snapshot and did not exist in the previous snapshot.

You can perform the inverse operation (compare snapshots across a Person) on the History tab of the Persons Overview.

Filter Persons

Select the Filter button to filter Persons by:

• Added
• Deleted
• Changed
• Aggregated (see Merge and unmerge persons (aggregation))

Logging tab

The Logging tab displays system messages that may be useful for troubleshooting. For example, to help debug scripts used in a custom PowerShell source system.

The import-specific information contained in snapshot logs is also available on the Logging tab of the source system itself.

Manually create a snapshot

A manual snapshot re-applies all source system configurations to the Persons from the relevant system, without fetching any new data from that system. Before using this feature, you must first have performed at least one manual import for the system.

For example, if you alter mappings, display name formatting, or primary contract / manager determinants, these changes are not applied to your Persons until a new snapshot is created.

Although a manual import will create a new snapshot and apply these changes, it will also add, remove, or modify Persons if the source data has changed since the last import. To say it again, creating a manual snapshot does not fetch any new source data. It only applies configuration changes to existing data.

To manually create a snapshot, select the New snapshot button on the source system configuration screen:

When the snapshot is finished, it becomes the current snapshot and a new row is added to the top of the list in Source > Snapshots. Only the data for the relevant source system is modified. The data for all other systems included in the snapshot remains unchanged.

A complementary feature is import raw data, which fetches new data from a source system without creating a snapshot or modifying your Persons. 

Export a snapshot to JSON

To export a snapshot to JSON, select its row in the Snapshots list and then select the Export button. The resulting JSON file includes all Persons and their Contracts from the selected snapshot.

A JSON export cannot be re-imported. Its purpose is only to help you inspect a snapshot's data, using your preferred JSON viewer/editor.

Special situations

• If a scheduled import (which includes a snapshot) starts while a manual snapshot is in progress, the manual snapshot is automatically canceled. Only the scheduled import runs. To ensure that a manual snapshot succeeds without being interrupted, you can disable the relevant scheduled import using its Enable Schedule toggle.