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Salesforce Data Migration - Data Transformation

Using MS-Access

Using Salesforce Ids

Salesforce record ids are case-sensitive values. However, MS-Access string comparisons are typically not case-sensitive.

Because of this, record ids exported from SF cannot be reliably used for table joins within MS-Access databases. Although it is rare to encounter problems, there is a clear possibility of incorrect results.

We typically use a VisualBasic function to create hexidecimal conversions of Salesforce Id values, guaranteeing that equi-joins always return the correct result.

Large Data Volumes

As of early 2018, MS-Access limits the size of individual databases to 2Gb.

We have observed problems sometimes occur when MS-Access databases reach sizes below this value - typically around 1.6Gb. Because MS-Access databases do not relinquish space unless the user performs a compact and repair operation, even the act of deleting and reloading the same data repeatedly during development can cause problems.

As a result, we typically use a linked system of MS-Access databases during data transformation work:

• Legacy data exported from data source
• Data output of data transformation system - candidate records for loading into Salesforce
• Reference data that is often reused between projects and in both test and final data loadings within a single project

Last modified: 14:15:05 27-Feb-2018