(v1) .Contacts Imports v2020.4

Capability

The Contact Import allows Users to Import records into the Workers / Contacts Grid.

Matches On

The Contact first attempts to match the Customer Number then the Email Address. If there is no match, the record from the Import will INSERT. If there is a match, the remaining fields can UPDATE.

The Import process can be optionally set with Conditional Logic to match on the First Name and Last Name fields with the flag CONTACTS_CHECK_NAMES. See the Conditional Logic section for more information. First Name and Last Names, ONLY IF FLAGS.CONTACTS_CHECK_NAMES is True. If a match is found, that Contact can UPDATE.

For most Import types, the Import Process cannot update the field(s) used to look up the record being updated, because the Import can't provide the lookup value and the new value in one field. But because the Contact import has three different fields it can use for lookups, it works a little differently.

If a match is found, it is possible to update the fields that were not used for the match. For example, if the Contact record was found using the Customer Number, then a new Email Address will be appended, and First and Last Names can be updated. If the Email Address was used for the match, then the Customer Number and Names can be updated.

Fields

First Name

Required

Datatype is String.

Last Name

Required

Datatype is String.

Directory

Datatype is Boolean.

Defaults to False [0].

Permitted Values are 1, Yes, True, and Active

Permitted Values sets the Directory to True [1] (Yes).

All other values enter as False [0].

Contact Type

Datatype is String.

Defaults to Customer.

Permitted values are from the CUSTOMER_TYPE (v1) List Values: Customer, User, Coordinator, Guest, Service Rep, Vendor, VIP, and Worker.

Any values added by a User to the CUSTOMER_TYPE list can also be used.

The Contact Type can be provided as an array in the Conditional Logic to allow assigning multiple values.

These values can be hard coded into the Conditional Logic, or they can come from multiple fields in the input file.

If any Contact Type value is provided, it always replaces any existing value.

If the Contact Type is Coordinator, the following fields are available:

Allow Coordinator Bill Email

Datatype is Boolean.

Default value is False.

If the Contact Type is Customer, the following fields are available.

Customer Number

Conditionally Required

Datatype is String.

Billing Group

Conditionally Required, when Customer Contact Type and it is a New Contact Add

Datatype is String.

Title

Datatype is String.

Permitted values are Staff, Faculty, Director, Secretary, and any other value from the Title List Values.

Dept. Hierarchy

Datatype is Hierarchical String.

Permitted values must be the full Dept. Hierarchy Path and Code values not the Department Hierarchy Name field.

Default GLA

Datatype is Hierarchical String.

Default SLA

Datatype is Hierarchical String.

Default Incident SLA

Datatype is Hierarchical String.

If the Contact Type is User, the following fields are available.

Approval GLA

Datatype is String.

For the first occurrence of a Contact in the import file, if a GLA Approval value is provided, this will replace the entire list of existing GLA Approvals for this Contact. Successive lines in the import file will append GLA Approvals. There is no way to just append individual values. The entire list will get replaced by the import.

Each GLA value must be on a separate line of Import File.

"NONE" removes all GLA entries from the Approval GLAs.

Permitted values are NONE or any valid GLA.

Minimum Amount

Datatype is String.

Maximum Amount

Datatype is String.

Street Address

Datatype is String.

If any Address field holds a value, all except for the Address2 field becomes Required.

Address2

Datatype is String.

City

Datatype is String.

State

Datatype is String.

Permitted values must be the 2 letter, all caps abbreviation (MI) or the full state name with an uppercase first letter (Michigan).

All other values are ignored.

Zip Code

Datatype is String.

Address Type

Datatype is String.

Blank values are NOT allowed.

Permitted values are from the ADDRESS_TYPE (v1) List Values: Billing, Warehouse, or Office.

Any values added by a User to the ADDRESS_TYPE list can also be used.

Values not in the List are not added.

Email

Datatype is String.

Email Addresses never get updated or removed. If a new Email Address is provided for an existing Contact, it will get appended to the list of Email Addresses, and the new value will be marked as 'Primary'.

Permitted GLA

Datatype is String.

Permitted Values are NONE, ALL, or any valid GLA. NONE removes all entries in the list and add the Permit None record.

ALL removes all entries in the list and allow any GLA to be used.

For the first occurrence of a Contact in the import file, if a GLA Permission value is provided, this will replace the entire list of existing GLA Permissions for this Contact. Successive lines in the import file will append GLA Permissions. There is no way to just append individual values. The entire list will get replaced by the import.

Adding any valid GLA to the list removes the Permit None record.

To add multiple Permitted GLAs, each must be on a separate line of the Import File.

Phone

Datatype is String.

By default, this option allows numbers in these formats: "(123) 456-7890" or "456-7890" or "4567890".

Multiple Primary Phone Numbers cause an error.

The format of the Phone field is validated against the formatting.filters.phone.match configuration option. If the value does not match one of the default formats, it will cause a warning and the phone number will not be added.

Status

Datatype is String.

Default value is Active unless the CONTACTS_INSERT_INACTIVE flag is set to True.

Permitted values are Active and Inactive.

Flags / Conditional Logic

APPEND_PERMITTED_GLA:

Datatype is String.
Allowed Values are "APPEND" and "CLEAR".

This flag controls how GLAs are added to the GLA Permissions tab.

• If you set APPEND, the import will append values.
• If you set CLEAR, the import will clear all existing values before adding any. You can send the CLEAR value to just clear the list without providing a new value.
• If you don't provide this flag, then the default behavior is to clear the list before adding the first value in the input file, then append any additional values that are in the same input file.

APPEND_APPROVAL_GLA:

Datatype is String.
Allowed Values are "APPEND" and "CLEAR".

This flag controls how GLAs are added to the GLA Approval tab.

• If you set APPEND, the import will append values.
• If you set CLEAR, the import will clear all existing values before adding any. You can send the CLEAR value to just clear the list without providing a new value.
• If you don't provide this flag, then the default behavior is to clear the list before adding the first value in the input file, then append any additional values that are in the same input file.

UPDATE_CONTACT_EMAIL:

Default Value is True.

• True: If True and the provided email address is not associated with the Contact, the Import adds the provided Email Address to the Contact and makes it the Primary Email Address. Any previous Email Address values are left in the list. This Import never updates or removes existing Email Addresses.
• False: If this flag is False, the email field is not saved.

UPDATE_CONTACT_PHONE:

Default Value is True.

• True: If the provided phone is not in the Contact, the Import appends the provided Phone to the Contact and makes it the Primary Phone. If the Phone Number is already on the Contact, the Primary flag does not change. Any previous Phone values are left on the list. This Import never updates or removes existing phone numbers.
• False: The Phone field is not saved.

UPDATE_CONTACT_ADDRESS:

Default Value is True.

• True: The Import will UPDATE the existing Contact Address.
• False: The Import does not save the Contact Address.

CONTACTS_CHECK_NAMES:

Default Value is False.

• True: The First Name and Last Name are used to see if the Contact already exists. If BOTH First Name and Last Name match, the Contact is considered matched, and the Import attempts to UPDATE the existing record with the data from the Import File. Otherwise, the Import attempts to INSERT the Import Record.
• False: This check is not performed.

NEW_CONTACT_DEFAULT_BILLING_GROUP:

Default Value is Blank.

• This sets the Billing Group value for new Customer Contacts.

NEW_CONTACT_DEFAULT_CONTACT_TYPE:

Default Value is Blank.

• This sets the Contact Type value for new Customer Contacts.

CONTACTS_INSERT_INACTIVE:

Default Value = False

• True: If set to True, new Contacts attempts to INSERT with an Inactive Status.
• False: If set to False, the new Contact attempts to INSERT with an Active Status.

Errors

When an Import Line fails, it is usually because the Line falls into one of the following categories:

1. The value provided from another table was not found within the Database

2. The value provided from another table has multiple possible values

3. A blank value was provided, for a field with a required value

4. The value provided is not acceptable for the record type being created

5. The System was unable to save the record

UDF Associations

User Defined Fields on any given Import are all handled the same way with Conditional Logic. For more information about adding a UDF to the Import, see the (v1) User Defined Fields section of the Imports main page.