Nexfield Systems Developer Tools & Digital Products

Data Guard

Data Guard is an Unreal Engine plugin for validating CSV files before DataTable import.

It supports three main workflows:

  • validate CSV files against Unreal row structs
  • validate CSV files against schema JSON
  • layer JSON rule overrides on top of Unreal struct validation

It is designed to help Unreal teams:

  • catch CSV problems before import
  • understand row and field issues clearly
  • separate importable rows from blocked rows
  • import ready rows into DataTables with more confidence than a trial-and-error workflow

Current verified packaged baseline

The current release candidate has been verified for:

  • host-project build
  • packaged plugin build
  • packaged DataGuard.Feature1.* headless automation
  • packaged example workflows in a clean installed-plugin path
  • core happy-path manual Unreal checks

The verified packaged example workflows are:

  • Struct-only
  • JSON Schema
  • Struct + JSON Rules

Fastest first success

If you are using a packaged install, the fastest first run is:

  • Struct-only
  • struct: Example Item Stats Row
  • CSV: Plugins/DataGuard/Resources/Examples/Example_ItemStats_Valid.csv

See also:

Bundled packaged examples

The packaged plugin includes starter example files under:

  • Plugins/DataGuard/Resources/Examples/Example_ItemStats_Valid.csv
  • Plugins/DataGuard/Resources/Examples/Example_ItemStats_Schema.json
  • Plugins/DataGuard/Resources/Examples/Example_ItemStats_Overlay.json

These examples are designed to work with:

  • Example Item Stats Row

Validation workflows

Struct-only

Use this when:

  • your CSV should match an Unreal row struct directly
  • you want the shortest path from validation to import

JSON Schema

Use this when:

  • a schema JSON file should drive validation first
  • you want schema-first validation before struct selection for import

Struct + JSON Rules

Use this when:

  • the Unreal struct is the base truth
  • you also want JSON-based rule overrides or additions

Known limitation to keep in mind

  • Data Guard is designed for Unreal Editor workflows and packaged plugin installs.
  • It is not currently a customer-facing command-line or batch-validation tool.
  • Data Guard directly controls placement for its own Slate windows, but not for native OS file dialogs.
  • CSV picker, JSON picker, overlay JSON picker, and save dialogs should be treated as operating-system or Unreal desktop-platform behaviour rather than a Data Guard placement guarantee.