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Import Templates

Last updated : 08/05/2015

Import Templates are available to help you ensure that you have all of the relevant fields mapped when importing

Import templates can be generated from Workbooks to help you import your data. An Import Template is a CSV or XLS file, with column headers that correspond to record form fields inside Workbooks, so when it comes to configuring the import mappings during the import, you will be working with a one-to-one mapping between source data and Workbooks form fields. Import Templates can be generated for any type of import, and also for imports of more than one record type such as People and Employer for example.

To generate an Import Template go to Start > Bulk Actions > Import > New Import Template.

Import template

 

Select the Record type for the Import Template that you wish to generate. In this example, we will choose People. 

Import template

Imports can be extended to include other related record types and, in some cases, multiple records of the same type. The window below gives you to the option to choose any additional record types to include in the Import template. You can add multiple instances of each record type if required. This will simply add more columns in your Import Template. 

Import template

At the field mapping stage during Import, you can see how this list of options corresponds to the extended dropdown.

Unmapped fields

You may not wish for your Import template to contain all the fields available for that record type. At this stage, you can restrict the columns generated to only be those found in a particular form layout. 

NOTE: The template will also include the standard reference columns Id, Object Ref and External Reference to enable unique identification when performing an update through import. 

Import template

 

If you chose to extend to additional record types in the previous screen, you will also be able to restrict the columns based on their respective form layouts in the same way. The end result is your Import Template in a grid view – to export this to CSV or XLS click the Export button.  

Import template

See how the generated template accounts for the extended record type by prefixing the column name with the respective record type. 

Import template

Your data can now be cleansed and manipulated to fit the Import Template structure for easy import.  During your import, when you reach the Define Field Mappings stage, most mappings will be automatically be found for you because you have used the Import Template. However, you will still need to manually extend the import and map source data in order to form fields for any extended record types (example below).

Import template