Updating InterAction Contacts through Advanced Import

Using the Advanced Import feature, you can do all the following:

• Add new contacts to InterAction.
• Add more information to contacts already in InterAction.
• Update contacts in InterAction to change the values for InterAction fields or even delete values.

Additionally, the Advanced Import feature works with Data Change Management to help data stewards manage the addition of new contacts and updates made to contacts through import.

Like the regular import feature, you can create import instructions to define which fields you are bringing into InterAction. For Advanced Import, however, the import instructions also define how to bring in the contact information. For example, you can specify whether InterAction should find contacts in InterAction that match the contacts you are importing and update those contacts or you can specify the advanced import to just add new contacts to the database.

You can import data from a Comma Separated Value (CSV) file. This lets you use Advanced Import to bring in contact information from any other application that can export data to a CSV file.

The following are the basic steps for performing an advanced import:

1. Prepare the CSV file. This usually requires exporting data from the other application and performing any cleanup and reformatting necessary to meet InterAction’s format requirements. See Advanced Import File Specifications and Requirements for details.
2. Configure the import instructions to use when bringing the contact information into InterAction. These instructions specify all the following:
   • How contacts in the data file are matched with contacts in InterAction.
   • Which fields in InterAction are populated with information from the data file.
   • How each of the fields you have mapped are updated.

   • Other settings including settings for creating new contacts, Data Change Management, and company association.

     For more information, see Creating and Editing Import Mapping Instructions.

3. Configure the settings for the advanced import. This includes doing all the following:
   • Selecting the CSV file to use for the advanced import.
   • Specifying the folders into which new contacts created during the import are added.
   • Setting import options, including options to only update contacts if they have not been recently updated.

   • Specifying the status file to which any errors or warnings are written.

     For more information, see Specifying Options for Each Advanced Import You Run.

4. Perform a validation-only import to test the import file and the import instructions. This performs the import processing, but does not actually update information or add contacts to InterAction. Any error that would occur during the actual advanced import are written to the status file.
5. Perform the advanced import as described in Performing the Advanced Import.

Advanced Import Requirements

To use the Advanced Import feature, you must do the following:

• Enter your Advanced Data Quality features license in InterAction Administrator. For more information, see the Administering InterAction guide.
• Verify that your InterAction Application Server service is running before attempting to use Advanced Import.
• Verify that the name of your InterAction Application Server is entered in InterAction Administrator on the Configuration dialog box.
• Verify that the data in the data file meets system requirements for new contacts. These are set by the firm in Data Minder’s Contact Control section.

Advanced Import File Specifications and Requirements

The import data file must be an ASCII CSV (Comma Separated Value) file. The file must adhere to the following rules and notes:

• Fields must be separated by commas.
• A field that contains a literal comma must be in double quotation marks.
• The file can include a header row (column titles). It is not required, but including headers makes mapping the fields much easier. InterAction does not import the actual header row.

• Each row record (or contact) must have the same number of fields. The number of valid fields is determined by the first row. During an import, processing continues if InterAction encounters a row that is too long or too short, but the incorrect row is rejected and written to the import status file.

  Add an X in the last column of each row of your import file to prevent the import from rejecting the row.

• The file can include carriage return characters within fields. For example, you may have an address to import that contains multiple lines in one field with carriage returns at the end of each line. A carriage return and line feed pair (CRLF), however, is the CSV indication for an end of a line.
• Any line that consists of only a Carriage Return Line Feed (CRLF) is treated as a blank line and is not processed.
• Any line that has a semicolon in the first character position is treated as a comment and is not imported.

What Fields Can Be Added or Updated in InterAction Using Advanced Import?

You can add information or update information for the following InterAction fields:

• Name
• Address, Phones, and Electronic Addresses
• Additional Fields
• Folder Links

The regular import feature and Application Collaboration support other contact information fields including classifications, notes, relationships, and activities.

When you import data into InterAction, you map it to an InterAction field. InterAction organizes these fields into field groups. A field group is a collection of similar fields. For example, a Phone field group consists of the Number, Extension, and Description fields. When you are creating your import instructions for the advanced import, field groups are used to specify how the information in the data file is used to update InterAction contacts. For example, you can specify for InterAction to replace all current values for an additional field with information from the import data file, but then specify to only fill in any blank fields for name information.

InterAction displays fields and field groups in the Edit Advanced Import Instructions dialog box.

[A] Each InterAction field is part of an InterAction field group.

When you create new mapping instructions, InterAction initially provides some field groups into which you can import. InterAction, however, lets you import into an unlimited number of addresses, phones, electronic addresses, and additional fields. The Field Groups table provides information about the different types of field groups.

Field Groups

Type	Fields Available	Details
Name	Title First Middle Last Suffix Goes By Job Title Company (Also Known As) Company Name Department Assistant	For more information on defining settings for the Name field group, see the following sections: Updating Name Information Managing Company Association Options
Address	Description Street Line 1 Line 2 Line 3 Additional (Person Only) City State / Province Zip / Postal Code Country	When mapping the fields for the address, determine whether the street information for the contacts you are importing is in one field or split out into three fields. If the information is in one field, map to the street field. If the information is in multiple columns, map to the Lines 1-3 fields. You cannot map to both Street and the Lines 1-2 fields. For more information on defining settings for an Address field group, see Handling Addresses and Phones.
Phone	Description Number Extension	For more information on defining settings for a Phone field group, see Handling Addresses and Phones.
Electronic Address	Description Address	For more information on defining settings for an Electronic Address field group, see Handling Addresses and Phones.
Folder Link	Value	For more information on defining settings for a Folder Link field group, see Linking Contacts into Folders.
Additional Field	Value Secondary Field (Multi-value only)	For more information on defining settings for an Additional Field field group, see Updating Additional Fields.