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FTP and File Drop Automation Example

In this use case, learn how to trigger an automation in Automation Studio by dropping a file in an FTP location.

This high-level overview shows the key steps to set up a file drop automation. For more details on each step, such as how to create a file transfer activity, see the relevant topic links.

  1. On your Enhanced SFTP site, create a directory inside the Import directory. For this example, the new directory name is NEWDR.
  2. In Setup, create a file location for the new directory.
    • Name the file location and external key. For example, NEWDR File Location.
    • Select the Relative location under FTP Site type.
    • Enter the path to the new directory. In this example, it's Import\NEWDR. Don't use a leading backslash (\).
  3. To import encrypted or compressed files, create a file transfer activity in Automation Studio. Otherwise, skip this step.
    • Select the Manage File transfer type.
    • Enter the file naming pattern. For example, %%BASEFILENAME_FROM_TRIGGER%%.
    • Select the source file location. In this example, it's NEWDR File Location.
  4. Create a Data Copy or Import activity.
    • Select the new file location. In this example, it's NEWDR File Location.
    • Select File Location as your data source.
    • Enter the same file naming pattern that’s used in the file transfer activity, if applicable. In this example, it's %%BASEFILENAME_FROM_TRIGGER%%.txt.
  5. Use the new activities to create a file drop automation.
    • Select the new directory as the trigger.
    • Add the file transfer activity to the first step.
    • Add the Data Copy or Import to the second step.
    • Save and activate the automation.

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