Unable to successfully copy/create Data Extension from source/target Business Units

Question

I found some useful documentation/past examples of using wsproxy to copy and create a duplicate data extension.

Goal: I would like to copy a DE from a source business unit and then create a DE with the same structure in a target business unit under the same parent account.

Issue: The code works when it is contained within the same business (i.e. data to be copied and the target folder are all within the same BU. The issue occurs when I try to use pull from one business unit and create it in another. I tried adding the code (retrieveprox.setClientId({ "ID": xxx, "UserID": yyy});) before calling the retrieve and create scripts, but it returns a 500 internal error.

The documentation on "setClientId({ "ID": xxx, "UserID": yyy})" is very lacking, so maybe I am making a mistake here. How can I be sure I am using the right values for both ID and UserID?

Code:

<script runat="server">

/******* Retrieves Fields *******/


var retrieveprox = new Script.Util.WSProxy();

retrieveprox.setClientId({ "ID": xxx, "UserID": yyy});

var cols2 = ["Client.ID","CustomerKey","DefaultValue","FieldType","IsPrimaryKey","IsRequired","MaxLength","ModifiedDate","Name","ObjectID","Ordinal","Scale"];
var filter2 = {
    Property: "DataExtension.CustomerKey",
    SimpleOperator: "equals",
    Value: "8ACA6905-30E3-45F1-BE16-287D45F8F057"
};

var fields = retrieveprox.retrieve("DataExtensionField", cols2, filter2); /* WSProxy Retrieve */

/* Results of the Retreive */
var fieldsResults = fields.Results;

var i;
var fieldsFinal = [] 

/*******  For loop to weed out some of the troublesome props in Results Object  ******/

for (i=0;i<fieldsResults.length;i++) {

        var fieldsRow = fields.Results[i];

        delete fieldsRow.ObjectID;
        delete fieldsRow.StorageType;

        if (fieldsRow.FieldType != "Text") {
             delete fieldsRow.MaxLength;
        }

        delete fieldsRow.DataExtension;
        delete fieldsRow.PartnerMap;
        delete fieldsRow.AttributeMaps;
        delete fieldsRow.Markups;
        delete fieldsRow.Precision;
        delete fieldsRow.Scale;
        delete fieldsRow.PicklistItems;
        delete fieldsRow.References;
        delete fieldsRow.Client;
        delete fieldsRow.PartnerKey;
        delete fieldsRow.PartnerProperties;
        delete fieldsRow.CreatedDate;
        delete fieldsRow.ModifiedDate;
        delete fieldsRow.ID;

    fieldsFinal.push(fieldsRow);
} 


/* Create DE */

var proxCreate = new Script.Util.WSProxy();


   proxcreate.setClientId({ "ID": xxxx, "UserID": yyyy});

var customerKey = "testDE_7"; 
var name = "testDE_7"; 
var description = "This is a test DE made in WSProxy" 
var folder = 761 

var de = {
    Name: name,
    CustomerKey: customerKey,
    Description: description,
    Fields: fieldsFinal,
    CategoryID: folder
}

var create = proxCreate.createItem("DataExtension", de);

</script>

Answer 1

I have found that using ID (MID) combined with UserID can wind up causing issues. I tend to just use the ID section, like so: retrieveprox.setClientId({ "ID": mid });.

Removing UserID I was able to execute this code successfully.

See below for what I used:

<script runat="server">

/******* Retrieves Fields *******/

var retrieveMid =  8675309;
var createMid =  8675309;
var folderID = 761;
var deCustKey = '8ACA6905-30E3-45F1-BE16-287D45F8F057';

var retrieveprox = new Script.Util.WSProxy();


retrieveprox.setClientId({ "ID": retrieveMid }); //Impersonates the BU

var cols2 = ["Client.ID","CustomerKey","DefaultValue","FieldType","IsPrimaryKey","IsRequired","MaxLength","ModifiedDate","Name","ObjectID","Ordinal","Scale"];
var filter2 = {
    Property: "DataExtension.CustomerKey",
    SimpleOperator: "equals",
    Value: deCustKey
};

var fields = retrieveprox.retrieve("DataExtensionField", cols2, filter2); /* WSProxy Retrieve */

/* Results of the Retreive */
var fieldsResults = fields.Results;

var i;
var fieldsFinal = [] 

/*******  For loop to weed out some of the troublesome props in Results Object  ******/

for (i=0;i<fieldsResults.length;i++) {

        var fieldsRow = fields.Results[i];

        delete fieldsRow.ObjectID;
        delete fieldsRow.StorageType;

        if (fieldsRow.FieldType != "Text") {
             delete fieldsRow.MaxLength;
        }

        delete fieldsRow.DataExtension;
        delete fieldsRow.PartnerMap;
        delete fieldsRow.AttributeMaps;
        delete fieldsRow.Markups;
        delete fieldsRow.Precision;
        delete fieldsRow.Scale;
        delete fieldsRow.PicklistItems;
        delete fieldsRow.References;
        delete fieldsRow.Client;
        delete fieldsRow.PartnerKey;
        delete fieldsRow.PartnerProperties;
        delete fieldsRow.CreatedDate;
        delete fieldsRow.ModifiedDate;
        delete fieldsRow.ID;

    fieldsFinal.push(fieldsRow);
} 

/* Create DE */

var proxCreate = new Script.Util.WSProxy();


   proxCreate.setClientId({ "ID": createMid }); //Impersonates the BU

var customerKey = "testDE_7"; 
var name = "testDE_7"; 
var description = "This is a test DE made in WSProxy" 
var folder = folderID 

var de = {
    Name: name,
    CustomerKey: customerKey,
    Description: description,
    Fields: fieldsFinal,
    CategoryID: folder
}

var create = proxCreate.createItem("DataExtension", de);

</script>