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InterAction® Administrator Answer Center

Finding the Contacts to Update with Related Contacts

  • Updated

When transforming a related contact data set, Application Collaboration needs to find the two contacts to update with the relationship. You can select the data set mapping options Application Collaboration should use for this purpose.

The data set mapping option you choose changes the structure of the table for the data set. You need to adjust your harvesting routine accordingly.

Unlike other data sets, you need to choose two mapping options for a related contact data set - one for each side of the relationship.

You can use one of the three standard mapping options available for most data sets:

  • Data Source System ID. This option uses a unique system ID from the external system to find the contact. For details, see Mapping By Data Source System ID.
  • Additional Information Field. This option compares the value in a specified additional field with a harvested value to find the contact. For details, see Mapping By Additional Information Field.
  • InterAction Contact ID. This option compares InterAction’s internal contact IDs with a harvested value to find the contact. For details, see Mapping By InterAction Contact ID.

Remember that if you did not claim the contact, there is no corresponding SYS_ID. For more information on claiming, see To Claim or Not to Claim.

This section covers the following topics:

Mapping the Left and Right Sides of the Relationship

You do not need to use the same method for both sides of the relationship. For example, you could map the left side of the relationship using the data source system ID and the right side using an additional field. The only exception to this is the InterAction contact ID option - if you use this option, you must use it for finding contacts on both sides of the relationship.

As shown below, selecting the mapping method for each side of the relationship determines the table structure for the corresponding data set table. The mapping columns for the left-hand side of the relationship always display first, followed by the mapping columns for the right-hand side. In this example, the left-hand side is mapped with the data source system ID (SYS_ID), while the right-hand side uses an additional field (TICKER_SYMBOL).

In this example, the harvested data generates the following three board member relationships:

Left side contact Right side contact
David Adami TeleNorth
James Adams Guru, Limited
Brad Faulkner TeleNorth

If both sides of the relationship were mapped using data source system ID, the table would have the following set of columns instead:

SYS_ID

SYS2_ID

RELATED_DESC

CONVERSE_DESC

How Does the Left Side/Right Side for Relationships Work?

When selecting the mapping options to use for a related contact data set, the available options are presented on left and right sides of the dialog box. The labels for these sections correspond to the relationship type you selected to create with the data set. In the following example, the data set creates relationships of type Board Member. Therefore, the type Board Member represents the left side, while the converse Board Members Include represents the right side:

In a default installation of InterAction, the Board Member relationship type is configured as a person to company relationship. This means that the person must be on the left side, while the company must be on the right. Therefore, when harvesting your data, you harvest the mapping values for the people into the first mapping columns and the values for the companies into the second mapping columns.

If you are not sure which data to harvest for which side of the relationship, look back at the relationship type definition in InterAction Administrator. The Name Format tab includes the sentence form for the relationship. Reading this can help determine which party should be on each side. For example, the sentence format for the Board Member type is is on the Board of Directors of. The only way this sentence makes sense is to place the person on the left and the company on the right:

Correct: Brad Faulkner is on the Board of Directors of TeleNorth

Incorrect: TeleNorth is on the Board of Directors of Brad Faulkner

Change the Method for Finding the InterAction Contacts on the Left Side of the Relationship

Caution: Changing the mapping method for an existing data set deletes all data in the corresponding data set table and changes the structure for the table. You need to revise your harvesting routine and re-harvest the data.

  1. Select the data source in which the data set belongs from the console list.
  2. Right-click the related contact data set () and choose Edit.
  3. Choose the Contact Mapping tab.

  4. Under the Map: section on the left side of the dialog box, select the method you want to use to find the contacts for the left side of the relationship:

    To Do This
    Use a system ID provided by the data source Select Data Source System ID
    Use an additional field value, such as client number or employee code Select Additional Information, then select the field to use for mapping from the drop-down list
    Use the internal InterAction contact ID Select InterAction Contact (Listing ID)
  5. Choose OK to save your changes.

  6. Note the new table structure for the data set table.

    The table structure displays in the right pane of Application Collaboration when you select the data set.

  7. Update your harvesting routine to harvest the appropriate mapping data into the columns.
    • For example, if you select the Data Source System ID option, the table includes a SYS_ID column. You need to update your harvesting routine to harvest the external system’s unique ID for the contact into this column.
    • For a list of the possible columns in the data set table, see Related Contact Data Set Table.

Remember, the mapping columns for the left side of the relationship always display first in the table. For more information, see Mapping the Left and Right Sides of the Relationship.

Change the Method for Finding the InterAction Contacts on the Right Side of the Relationship

  1. Select the data source in which the data set belongs from the console list.
  2. Right-click the related contact data set () and choose Edit.
  3. Choose the Contact Mapping tab.

  4. Under the Map: section on the right side of the dialog box, select the method you want to use to find the contacts for the right side of the relationship:

    To Do This
    Use a system ID provided by the data source Select Data Source System ID
    Use an additional field value, such as client number or employee code Select Additional Information, then select the field to use for mapping from the drop-down list
    Use the internal InterAction contact ID Select InterAction Contact (Listing ID)
  5. Choose OK to save your changes.

  6. Note the new table structure for the data set table.

    The table structure displays in the right pane of Application Collaboration when you select the data set.

  7. Update your harvesting routine to harvest the appropriate mapping data into the columns.
    • For example, if you select the Data Source System ID option, the table includes a SYS2_ID column. You need to update your harvesting routine to harvest the external system’s unique ID for the contact into this column.
    • For a list of the possible columns in the data set table, see Related Contact Data Set Table.

Remember, the mapping columns for the right side of the relationship always display second in the table. For more information, see Mapping the Left and Right Sides of the Relationship.