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.

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.