How to Create an Import File

When you want to import recipients or data into Agillic, you must first create a functioning Import File. It's important that you understand what format your Import File needs to be so your instance can accept it. Read more about the correct format for the following data types in this article: All You Need to Know About Data Models.

In this article, you will find information about:

• What is Being Imported
• How to Format an Import File
  • Person Data
  • One-to-Many Data
  • Global Data
  • Import File Format
• Importing the File

What is Being Imported

Agillic automatically imports all the listed data from your Import File that matches the correct format. If some of the data already exists in Agillic, the original is overwritten by the content of your Import File. This includes blank values in your Import File, which will 'wipe' any existing data in your system. Any columns of data that aren't mentioned in your Import File won't be affected by the import.

If two rows of your Import File have the same ID in the first column, both rows are skipped. In this case, the rest of the data is still imported. The Import Log documents which rows were skipped. 

How to Format an Import File

The format of the Import File depends on if you want to import Person Data, One-to-Many Data, or Global Data.

Person Data

When importing Person Data, the first column must include a unique identifier of each recipient. This might be their email. Each of the following columns must contain the other Person Data you wish to import. These columns can be given in any order.

In the example below, we use the recipient's email as a unique identifier. 

Example of a Person Data Import File

One-to-Many Data

As One-to-Many data is in table form, you can import more than one row to a recipient's One-to-Many table.

When importing One-to-Many Data, the first column of your upload table should be a unique recipient identifier such as an email address or customer number. In the second column, insert an ID-column for the One-to-Many Table. In order for the system to recognise the One-to-Many table, you should first insert the name of the One-to-Many Table, then insert a '.' (a full stop) and then insert the name of the data field in the One-to-Many table you want to import data to. You can see an example of a One-to-Many table Import File structure below.

Example of a One-to-Many table import named 'PURCHASES'

Global Data

Unlike Person Data and One-to-Many Data, you don't need a unique recipient identifier to import to a Global Data Table. However, you will need a unique row ID in the first column.

In order for the system to recognise the Global Data, you should first insert the name of the Global Data table. Then, insert a '.' (a full stop) and the name of the data field in the Global Data table you want to import data to. You can see an example of how an Import File structure of a Global Data table looks like below.

Example of a Global Data Table Import File

Remember, Global Data Tables are only intended for public non-personal data e.g. product information. Be aware that recipient specific data in Global Data Tables could lead to GDPR issues for you as a data controller. Recipient specific data has to exist either as Person Data or One-to-Many data.

Import File Format

We recommend that you upload all files in .csv format. You control the following settings regarding the format of your Import Files in System Settings in your instance. By default, they will be set to the following values:

Importing the File

Once you've created the file to match both the data format and the System Settings, the file is ready for import.

You can import the file in a few different ways, and the most common way is through the User Interface or through a WebDAV connection.

Read more about the available import methods.