Upload data sources file to Adobe

Last update: February 1, 2024

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Sending a data sources file to Adobe involves a typical authenticated FTP workflow. You can use Windows Explorer, Finder, or a dedicated FTP client to upload the desired files to Adobe’s FTP location.

Locate the FTP credentials in the Data sources manager. Each data source has a link to its FTP Info. Each FTP location is dedicated to that specific data source; you cannot use the same FTP location for multiple data sources.

For security reasons, FTP locations without any activity for 30+ days are disabled.

The .fin file

A vital part of successfully ingesting a data sources file is the inclusion of a .fin file. This file indicates to Adobe that the data file is ready for processing. If you upload a data sources file without a corresponding .fin file, Adobe never processes that data.

The .fin file has the following properties:

  • The file has a .fin extension. Make sure that your operating system allows you to see and edit file types.
  • The file is empty. Do not store data inside the .fin file.
  • The file has the exact same name as the data sources file. For example, if you upload a data sources file named example.txt, the .fin file must be named example.fin. If they are not identically named, Adobe never processes the data sources file.

Once both the data source file and .fin file are uploaded to the FTP site, Adobe processes the file. Do not upload the .fin file until the data sources file is fully uploaded. If the .fin file is prematurely uploaded, Adobe retrieves and ingests the partially uploaded file, throwing possible errors.

Processing order

If you upload multiple files at the same time to the FTP site, Adobe ingests them in alphanumeric order. If your organization requires files to be ingested in a specific order, make sure that their file names are named alphanumerically.

Processing time

To ensure the fastest processing of files, Adobe recommends aggregating metric data into a single row per date. For example, this data sources file, while valid, would be processed slower:

dateeVar1event1event2event3
07/24/YYYYred1
07/24/YYYYred1
07/24/YYYYred1
07/24/YYYYred1

This file would be processed faster, which contains the same data:

dateeVar1event1event2event3
07/24/YYYYred211