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Filling custom columns from a snapshot

  • June 12, 2023
  • 7 replies
  • 279 views
T
Jr Varsity II
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I am trying to create a new instance from a large snapshot. I have to do it through the configuration wizard due to its size and am using this method which states that it does not import custom columns. How to import a large snapshot using the Acumatica ERP Configuration Wizard | Community

I have additionally found this information which claims that using this method will allow you to import custom tables and columns. Using this method, I have been able to create and fill custom tables and create custom columns on existing tables. However, the custom columns on the existing tables are all filled with NULL values rather than the imported values from the snapshot. Does anyone have a workaround for this? I don’t understand why the values aren’t being copied over.

Snapping the Acumatica Snapshot Restrictions | Acumatica Cloud ERP

Best answer by tararosenthal

Hello ​@Colin MacMillan, supposedly this problem was finally fixed as of 24R1. I have not tested however, as I am working exclusively with database backups currently. 

If you are working on an older version of Acumatica, the solution I found was to prepare two different snapshots using the two different methods and combine them using SQL scripts to add back in the custom data.

Specifically, I created two different instances: one with only the tables with custom data created through the UI in Acumatica and then one with all but the custom columns created through the wizard. I then merged the data into one whole instance using queries in SQL Server. It took a long time to do this.

You could also export the custom data from the production environment and do an import on the restored snapshot environment.

However, I would not recommend using either of these methods when creating something you plan to use as a production environment as these are not perfectly reliable methods. If you have views on your database, you will lose those and obviously there’s the potential for error when creating the SQL scripts. I used the snapshot merging method to create a test environment, and then I requested a database backup to recreate our production environment.

darylbowman
J
C

7 replies

Colin MacMillan
Jr Varsity II
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Hello, I have the same problem.  Did you find a solution?

darylbowman
Captain II
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Do the custom columns exist before the snapshot is restored? If it's a new instance, the columns won't exist until customizations are published.

Daryl ⚡Freelance Acumatica Developer (MVP🏆) for hire ⏩ linkedin.com/in/darylbowman
Chris Hackett
Colin MacMillan
Jr Varsity II
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it’s not the process of importing a snapshot through the UI, it’s this method - https://www.acumatica.com/blog/snapping-the-acumatica-snapshot-restrictions/

Or do you suggest adding a new tenant and using ‘Insert Data’?

 

darylbowman
Captain II
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Did you add the custom columns to the existing tables' schema?

Daryl ⚡Freelance Acumatica Developer (MVP🏆) for hire ⏩ linkedin.com/in/darylbowman
Chris Hackett
T
Jr Varsity II
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  • tararosenthal
  • Author
  • Jr Varsity II
  • Answer
  • June 7, 2025

Hello ​@Colin MacMillan, supposedly this problem was finally fixed as of 24R1. I have not tested however, as I am working exclusively with database backups currently. 

If you are working on an older version of Acumatica, the solution I found was to prepare two different snapshots using the two different methods and combine them using SQL scripts to add back in the custom data.

Specifically, I created two different instances: one with only the tables with custom data created through the UI in Acumatica and then one with all but the custom columns created through the wizard. I then merged the data into one whole instance using queries in SQL Server. It took a long time to do this.

You could also export the custom data from the production environment and do an import on the restored snapshot environment.

However, I would not recommend using either of these methods when creating something you plan to use as a production environment as these are not perfectly reliable methods. If you have views on your database, you will lose those and obviously there’s the potential for error when creating the SQL scripts. I used the snapshot merging method to create a test environment, and then I requested a database backup to recreate our production environment.

Chris Hackett
Colin MacMillan
Jr Varsity II
Forum|alt.badge.img+1

thank for your replies.

​@tararosenthal - I have exactly the problem you describe in the original post.

I will get around it with SQL queries

Chris Hackett
Joe Schmucker
Captain II
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  • Joe Schmucker
  • Captain II
  • September 22, 2025

Here’s one thing I did to populate my custom tables and Usr fields in Acumatica (for smaller tables). 

  1. Create the snapshot in XML
  2. Open the xml file for my custom table in Excel..
  3. Create formulas to do a SQL update of the table using the VALUES from the data in the various columns.  
  4. If there is an identity field, use SET IDENTITY_INSERT “TABLENAME” OFF
  5. Run the formulas to do the inserts.
  6. Turn ON Identity_insert.  

This is convenient for smaller tables.

If you have a Usr field in an Acumatica table and the rows are less that a few thousand, you can do the same thing for the Usr fields.  However, if the Acumatica table has 10,000 rows for example, this is not a good solution.

I tried hard to get this Snapping the Acumatica Snapshot Restrictions | Acumatica Cloud ERP to work, but I just get errors.  After many hours of trying, I gave up.

The easiest thing would be to restore a DB taken from the DB on the cloud, but Acumatica charges a lot of money to create a backup.  Creating a backup of a SQL db is so easy, I’m not sure why it is so expensive.  

Feature request...Add functionality to Acumatica to allow us to create a db backup that we can download.  

I had a snapshot that was over 20GB.  It was due to the snapshot including file attachments.  I tried to open the UploadFiles xml file to try to delete the records, but the XML file was so large, I could find a way to open it in any editor that I have.  Does anyone know of a way to open a MONSTER sized xml text file so it can be edited?  I know I can create a snapshot excluding attachments, but the customer was sensitive about creating snapshots and I was just grateful to get what I could get.

 

Joe Schmucker, CPA | Software Engineer | Acumatica ERP Developer
Chris Hackett
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