Version 6.9.1
Updated: 05/18/2022
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When a student submits a CCCApply (Standard or International) or CC Promise Grant application, their application responses are stored in the CCC Technology Center's submitted application database in two tables: submitted_application and submitted_question_response (for supplemental question responses). The submitted_application table contains the applicants' responses on their application and a number of fields from their user account at the time they submit.
The Download client Client is a platform-neutral, command-line tool you use to download all students' application data for all three applications to a local computer, allowing you to import it into your college's SIS. After you unzip the Download clientClient, you will use a text or XML editor to set up a properties file and then edit two sample XML files (job and format definitions) that allow you to:
configure which student application data to retrieve
define the data format for the download file
The CCC Tech Center provides sample Sample job and format definitions XML files are available for each CCCApply application (Standard/Noncredit, International, and CC Promise Grant, and International) as a part of the Download client Client package.
After configuring your properties and job and format definitions XML files you can run download jobs in your test environment and SIS to confirm the data is mapping and storing correctly in your SIS prior to downloading data from the production server. Download jobs can be set for both the application data and supplemental question responses.
Working with XML
Although working with computer languages can be daunting, you don't need to be an expert to work with the Download client XML files, and you don't need any sophisticated tools. A simple text editor and a rudimentary understanding of XML hierarchy will be helpful.
If you are comfortable writing computer software, you can of course use the tools that best suit you. Otherwise, create your XML files using your operating system's built-in text editor. On Windows, the text editor is called Notepad, and on OS X, it is called TextEdit.
| Note |
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Note: These applications can work with file formats other than plain text. Be sure to save your files in plain text format. |
| Warning |
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Important: Do not use XML Notepad to edit your XML files. It adds a BOM (Byte Order Mark) to the file and will cause the download job to abnormally terminate and an error message may display indicating that the XML file contains a BOM. If you run your download and get the BOM error, you can take one of the following actions to remove it:
To remove the BOM, click on options from the Tools menu and de-select "Save UTF byte order mark". Save your file.
To remove the BOM, select "Encode in UTF-8 without BOM" from the Encoding menu. Save your file. |
Unzipping, Installing, and Configuring the Download Client
The following steps outline a "quick-start" process for a first-time unzip and configuration of the Download client.
Detailed information about the underlying database information, as well as detailed XML and schema information, follows this quick-start section. Links to more detailed information are provided and noted where necessary.
If you have already installed and used the Download client, then you may want to skip some of these steps and/or go directly to the detailed information provided in the job and format file configuration and data field sections.
When your college first transitions to the CCCApply applications, you will be working with a CCC Tech Center Project Manager. The Project Manager will provide you a checklist for your implementation. One of the implementation steps includes contacting CCC Tech Center Technical Support to get your Download client.
Download Client System Requirements
A Virtual Machine dedicated for the Download Client installation
Java 7 or higher of either the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) or Java Development Kit (JDK)
The latest Download Client version, available here (as a transfer-client.jar file): https://cccnext.jira.com/wiki/ display/PD/User+Guides
Supported Versions
The most recent Download Client version and one version back, are officially supported for each major CCCApply release.
Identifying Your Download Client Version
If you have Download Client V5.4.0 installed, this will display: VERSION: 2016-03-08 12:35:19, 1.0-SNAPSHOT
If you have Download Client V5.3.0 installed, this will display: VERSION: 2015-10-16 16:00:27, 1.0-SNAPSHOT 2
If you have a Download Client version that is prior to V5.3.0, an error displays.
Troubleshooting
If you experience issues downloading your application data after a major release, use the following steps to determine your Download Client version:
Type the following command at the ../transfer-client/ command prompt: java -jar transfer-client.jar --version
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Upgrade to the Latest Version of the Download Client
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CCCApply Download Client - Current Production Version
When new fields are added to CCCApply in a scheduled release, they need to be manually added to each relevant Application-specific Format Definitions XML file (every CCCApply application has it's own Format Definition XML and Job File XML) AND you must update your Download Client with the release-specific Transfer-Client Jar file. A new 'transfer-client-jar" file is created for each release, including the 30-Day Pilot Site Previews.
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Replace existing transfer-client jar file 6.7.0: transfer-client.6.7.0.jar
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Replace conf/application-context.xml with: application-context.xml
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Download Client System Requirements
A Virtual Machine dedicated for the Download Client installation
Java 7 or higher of either the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) or Java Development Kit (JDK)
The latest Download Client version (the latest version is available here (as a transfer-client.v.xxx.jar file): Download Client Jar File
Supported Versions
The most recent Download Client version and one version back, are officially supported for each major CCCApply release.
Identifying Your Download Client Version
Examples:
If you have Download Client V5.4.0 installed, this will display: VERSION: 2016-03-08 12:35:19, 1.0-SNAPSHOT
If you have Download Client V5.3.0 installed, this will display: VERSION: 2015-10-16 16:00:27, 1.0-SNAPSHOT 2
If you have a Download Client version that is prior to V5.3.0, an error displays.
Troubleshooting
If you experience issues downloading your application data after a major release, use the following steps to determine your Download Client version:
Type the following command at the ../transfer-client/ command prompt: java -jar transfer-client.jar --version
| Info |
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Upgrade to the Latest Version of the Download Client A new version of the Download Client Jar file, also called the “transfer-client” jar file, is made available with each new CCCApply release that includes database changes. |
CCCApply Download Client - Current Production Version
When new data fields are added to CCCApply in a scheduled release, they need to be manually added to each relevant Application-specific Format Definitions XML file (every CCCApply application has it's own Format Definition XML and Job File XML) AND you must update your Download Client with the release-specific “transfer-client.v.xxx” Jar file. A new 'transfer-client-jar" is created for each release that includes database changes.
In your installed Download Client directory, replace the older files with the latest version. The latest Download Client jar file aligns to CCCApply version 6.7.0.
Replace existing transfer-client jar file with: transfer-client.6.7.0.jar
Replace conf/application-context.xml with: application-context.xml
Replace conf/ccctransfer.properties with: ccctransfer.properties
Working with XML
Although working with computer languages can be daunting, you don't need to be an expert to work with the Download Client XML files, and you don't need any sophisticated tools. A simple text editor and a rudimentary understanding of XML hierarchy will be helpful.
If you are comfortable writing computer software, you can of course use the tools that best suit you. Otherwise, create your XML files using your operating system's built-in text editor. On Windows, the text editor is called Notepad, and on OS X, it is called TextEdit.
| Note |
|---|
Note: These applications can work with file formats other than plain text. Be sure to save your files in plain text format. |
| Warning |
|---|
Important: Do not use XML Notepad to edit your XML files. It adds a BOM (Byte Order Mark) to the file and will cause the download job to abnormally terminate and an error message may display indicating that the XML file contains a BOM. If you run your download and get the BOM error, you can take one of the following actions to remove it:
To remove the BOM, click on options from the Tools menu and de-select "Save UTF byte order mark". Save your file.
To remove the BOM, select "Encode in UTF-8 without BOM" from the Encoding menu. Save your file. |
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Unzipping, Installing, and Configuring the Download Client
The following steps outline a "quick-start" process for a first-time unzip and configuration of the Download Client.
Detailed information about the underlying database information, as well as detailed XML and schema information, follows this quick-start section. Links to more detailed information are provided and noted where necessary.
If you have already installed and used the Download Client, then you may want to skip some of these steps and/or go directly to the detailed information provided in the job and format file configuration and data field sections.
Download Client Installation Steps
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Contact CCC Tech Center Technical Support to get your Download clientClient. The Technical Support representative will deliver the Download client Client zip file to you via Dropbox or some other means that they will indicate to you.
Once you receive the Download client Client zip file, download the file to your local computer and extract it into a local file directory of your choice.
Once you extract your Download clientClient, it should look something like this, with the expanded files within the transfer-client root folder:
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| Note |
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Note: It is also wise to check the CCC Tech Center Public Documentation pages for the latest updates to Download client Client files including the job and format definition XML files. https://cccnext.jira.com/wiki/display/PD/User+Guides |
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After installing the Download client Client and configuring your job and format XML files, use the following steps to run a job to download your college's student applications (in order to import them into your college's SIS).
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The format definitions file allows you to select the specific fields you want to retrieve from the student applications and control the format of the data that the Download client Client delivers to you.
Sample Job file
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Any given job has the basic constraint that only applications for the specified MIS codes can be retrieved. An optional filter is allowed to further restrict which student application data gets downloaded for a given job. With no filter specified, only data for "new" student applications for that MIS code are retrieved. An application is considered new if it has not previously been downloaded by the Download clientClient.
<job> element
The job is the root element for all download definitions.
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Attribute Name | Value |
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outputFormat | Set the value to fixed or delimited. |
Delimiter | For delimited files, specify the delimiter. The default is comma (",") if unspecified. Examples of delimited file: outputFormat="delimited" delimiter="|" (pipe is the delimiter). Note: You can use multiple characters as a delimiter, if desired. outputFormat="delimited" delimiter="	" (tab is the delimiter; the 	 delimiter value results in tab delimited output) |
applicationType | Specifies which type of applications you are downloading (Standard, CC Promise Grant, or International). If not specified, it will default to Standard applications. For BOG, applicationType="bogfw". For International, applicationType="intl". |
stripDiacritics | The stripDiacritics attribute will convert certain diacritic (non-English or foreign) characters to standard ascii characters. If omitted, the data will be sent as originally entered in the application. To convert diacritic characters, add stripDiacritics="true". Important note: If you use this attribute, be sure to test thoroughly before using it in production so you know you are getting the results you expect. |
charset | Sets the charset that the output from the download client will utilize. |
Child Elements
<fieldList>
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