Siebel Marketing User Guide > Managing Lists > About Importing External Data >

Importing External Data and Creating Data Mappings

The procedures in this topic describe how to import external data into Siebel Marketing, and how to create and modify data mappings between the imported data and columns in Siebel Marketing tables. For background information about importing external data, see About Importing External Data.

Importing External Data

The following procedure describes how to import external data into Siebel Marketing.

To import external data

1. Navigate to the Administration - Marketing screen, then the Import view.
2. In the Import view, create a new record or select an existing job.
3. In the Job Setup view, complete the fields.

   The following table describes some of the fields for the load options.

   Field	Comment
   Source Type	Text or XML.
   Main Object	The destination business object for the imported data. Mappings can only be made to the related objects of the main object. For example, if you are importing leads, then you can only map the available integration components for the main object, such as contact, account, lead, and response information.
   Import Mapping	A saved definition of the mapping fields, their sequence, and data type. This can be selected from saved mappings or created in the Mapping tab of an import job.
   Import Mode	Tells the import process whether to follow the procedural logic for new data or updating existing data. Options are Insert new records and Update existing records.
   Internal List Name	Specifies the marketing list to which you are adding the imported contacts and prospects.
   Match Resolution Guideline	Identifies how to deal with a record when a duplicate is found. Options are: Create additional record. Overwrite existing record. Reject imported record.
   Exception File Path	A file path for the location where rejected records will be written.
   Max Errors	If the import job exceeds this number of rejected errors, then the entire process is aborted and rolled back. Default value is 100.
   Lead Lookback Period	Determines the time range (in days) in which to search for duplicates.

   The following table describes some of the fields for the source file.

   Field	Comment
   File Selection	Specifies the source file. Options are: Use exact filename. With this option, the File Name field on the form becomes editable. Use most recent file. Allows for recurring import jobs. If you have previously imported data by selecting the Use exact filename option, then you can then select this option to import data from the most recent version of the same source file for subsequent data import jobs.
   File Name	Can be an exact name or simply a path to the directory where the source file exists. You can use a wildcard at the end of the file name in the case of a repeating job where the end of the file name can vary by date, job #, and so on. This allows an automated daily import that generates a similar file name, but appends a different date or extension.
   Data Type	Options are comma separated, tab delimited, other delimiter, fixed width, or XML.
   Delimiter	If the data type of the source file is Other Delimiter, then you must enter a character. Otherwise, this field is not editable. Tab delimited and CSV data types are automatically handled.
   Header Row Included	Check this field if the file includes a header row.

   The following table describes some of the fields for the scheduling options.

   Field	Comment
   Schedule Mode	Options are One time (manually started), One time (scheduled), and Repeating (repeat frequency).
   Schedule Status	Options are: Not scheduled: Job is not activated or running Running: An import is currently in progress Scheduled: Repeating job is activated but not currently running
   Repeat Unit	Hours, days, weeks, months.
   Next Schedule Date	A calculated field that computes the next iteration of the import job.

4. In the Import Mapping field, select a mapping between the input data columns and the Siebel Marketing table columns.
5. In the Data Mapping applet, create a new mapping.

Creating and Modifying Data Mappings

The following procedure shows how to create and modify data mappings.

To create and modify data mappings

1. Navigate to the Administration - Marketing screen, then the Import Mappings view.
2. Select a mapping to modify, or create a new one.
3. Complete the fields for the mapping. The following table describes some of the fields.

   Field	Comment
   Column Width	Number of characters. Used for fixed width files.
   Allow Field Updates	Indicates whether the field can overwrite the value on a matching record. For example, if a matching contact is found with an existing phone number, then checking this option permits the phone number field to be updated.
   Required Fields	Indicates if the field is required (non-nullable).
   Ignore Field	Ignores a column during import.
   Exact Match Column	Indicates if the field will be used as part of the exact match key in the parent business component.