Spike Work | Importing Data: Basic Functionality

The import feature enables users to import data or records from various sources into coreBOS. Currently, the CSV format and VCF (Vcard) format are allowed to import. (Exceptionally iCal import is supported for Calendar module).

Export/Import feature is enabled on almost all modules. There are a few that are still not supported like price books or FAQ and Documents whose import process is more complex and is supported by an external tool which is not free (ask us if you need it).

Steps to Import

Step 1: Select File

After clicking on the Import icon, the first step is to select the file. Click on the Browse button to select a file from your local system and upload it to the server for Import. Currently, CSV and vcf formats are accepted.

Step 2: Specify Format

File Type

CSV and vcf (vcard) are the 2 file types, currently supported.
Character Encoding: Make sure you select the right character set in which your import file has been encoded. Just because the file has UTF-8 characters in it, do not expect the tool to import the UTF-8 characters in the right format, by selecting UTF-8 encoding. You need to ensure you select the right encoding of the file irrespective of the file contents.

Following 2 sections, apply only for CSV file import:

Delimiter

Currently comma(,) and semicolon(;) are supported as field delimiters. This delimiter indicates the character separator used to separate field values from each other within a row. In the case that you need to use the same character in your data and do not want the tool to read it as delimiter, enclose the string in double-quotes (“). Then, only delimiter characters, outside the double quotes, will be treated as actual delimiter.

Has Header

The 'Has Header' property is to indicate whether the CSV file has a header row or not. If you indicate that the CSV file has a header, then the first row from the CSV file is treated to be header and skipped from importing into the CSV file. Having a header in the CSV file makes it easier for the user to map the CSV columns to the right CRM fields.

Step 3: Duplicate Record Handling

This is an optional step, which allows you to configure duplicate record handling during Import. You can configure the criteria for duplicate records lookup and can also configure the action to be taken when duplicate records are found.

Select the action to be taken on duplicate records. Actions allowed are:
- Skip: When a record from the import file is a duplicate of an already existing record in the CRM, then that record is skipped from importing into the system.
- Overwrite: When a record from the import file, has duplicate records in the CRM, all the existing duplicate records in the CRM are deleted except for the last one. Last duplicate record is overwritten by the newly imported record from the file.
- Merge: When a record from the import file, has duplicate records in the CRM, all the existing duplicate records in the CRM are deleted except for the last one. Only the non-empty values from the newly imported record from the file are overwritten on the last duplicate record of the system.
Select the fields for duplicate records lookup: Configure the combination of fields, based on which the duplicate records need to be searched for. All the records which have the same values for the combination of the selected fields will be considered as duplicate records.

Step 4: Map Columns to Module Fields

The last step is to configure the mapping between the import file columns/headers to the Module fields.

When importing CSV file, if the CSV file has a header, and the header name matches with the Field label, then those columns are automatically mapped.
Default values can be provided for the mapped fields, which will be picked up, in case the value for the field in the file is empty.
Mandatory fields need to be compulsorily mapped.
If the value of the mandatory fields is empty, they will be set to the string '????'.
A particular field cannot be mapped more than once.

Saved Maps

Commonly used mapping can be saved and re-used.
Saved maps are accessible across all users.
When a particular map is picked up from the selected list, the save mapping information reflects by mapping the fields configured for the map.
Saved maps can also be deleted

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