Bookshelf v7.5.3: Importing External Lists

Siebel Marketing Guide > List Management > Importing and Managing External Lists >

Importing External Lists

Lists that you import must be in text (.txt) format. When you import a list, List Management performs the following tasks:

Loads the list names into the prospects table as individual records.

Allows you to set the import mode so that matches between incoming names and existing records can be handled according to your requirements.

Allows you to save and reuse the file structure you develop during the import process by mapping the columns of the file.

Controls the matching and address cleansing settings applied by Siebel Data Quality (optional module).

When the import is finished, the imported list and its associated contacts and prospects display in the List Contacts and Prospects form.

NOTE: Imported records remain in the EIM_PRSP_CON interface table, unless you delete them. This causes the table size to increase every time you import a list. You might need to delete these records periodically to improve performance. To delete them, use standard SQL truncate or delete commands when no list import task or EIM task for this interface table is running. For example, DELETE FROM <table_owner>.EIM_PRSP_CON where IF_ROW_BATCH_NUM > 100000000.

Before you can import an external list, you need to perform the following tasks:

Creating a Record for Importing an External List

Selecting the List Import Mode

Mapping External List Columns to Database Columns

Creating a Record for Importing an External List

Before you import an external list, you must create a record in your Siebel application that describes the list. This record tells the list import utility what file to import.

To create a record for importing an external list

From the application-level menu, choose View > Site Map > List Management > Lists.

In the Lists list, create a new record and complete the fields.

Some fields are described in Table 72.

Save the record.

Table 72. Fields Used to Create a List Record
Field	Comments
Data Type	List Import attempts to determine the format of the attached text file. Values are: Fixed Width Comma Delimited. If the first row of data in the file contains a comma in any of the field values, it is recommended that you use tab delimited format to make sure that the correct file format is detected. Other Delimited. You can enter another character as the delimiter. If you attempt to add >1 character, the value will be truncated. Tab Delimited
List Name	Required. This field is automatically generated when you add the record but you can modify the name.
List Type	Automatic. The possible values are Imported, Internal and D&B. If the file type is incorrectly detected during attachment, you can change it.
Source	The company from which the list was purchased. The company must be an account record in the Siebel database.

Selecting the List Import Mode

If you use the Siebel Data Quality optional module, you need to specify how you want duplicates handled before importing a list. If Data Quality is not enabled, new prospect records will be created for all incoming data no matter what mode you select. For more information, see Siebel Data Quality Administration Guide. You can choose one of the following modes:

Skip Incoming Duplicates Mode. In this mode, if a match is detected by the Data Quality business service, any incoming records matching existing contacts or prospects will not be added as new records in the database. Instead, the matching record which already exists in the database will be associated with the list. Each skipped record is recorded in the List Import log file for reference.

If the incoming record matches more than one existing record, all the existing matches will be added to the list and the duplicates will be noted in the List Import log file.

Update Existing Duplicates Mode. In this mode, if a match is detected by Data Quality, any incoming records can overwrite the existing match in the database. The columns that are allowed to be overwritten are set by the administrator for the List Import Format used by the file. To set which fields will be updated by an incoming record, navigate to the List Import Formats view in the List Management screen and select the Allow Field Updates check box. For reference, the List Import log file records all records that are updated as well as the old and new values for any updated fields.

If you use Update Existing Duplicates as a list import mode and an imported field value does not match any value on the bounded LOV, then the application will not change the field on the existing prospect record (the original value is preserved).

NOTE: Update Existing Duplicates Mode only updates prospect records. It will not update contact records.

Resolve Incoming Duplicates Mode. In this mode, matches are detected but the incoming record is added to the database without changing or overwriting the preexisting record. This allows the administrator to resolve any matches later on a case-by-case basis or by using the Siebel Data Quality module. To resolve duplicates, you can use the Duplicate Prospect Resolution view tab in the Data Quality view of the Data Administration screen. In Resolve Mode, all matches are recorded in the List Import log file.

To select an import mode

From the application-level menu, choose View > Site Map > List Management > Lists.

In the Lists list, select your list.

Some fields are described in Table 73.

Click the List Import view tab.

In the List Import Mode drop-down list, select the import mode that you wish to apply.

For more details, see Selecting the List Import Mode.

Save the record.

Table 73. Fields Used for List Import view
Field	Comments
Additional Actions	Assign to Campaigns, Responses, or Campaigns and Responses. Used whenever the import file contains campaign history or response data about contacts and prospects. For more information, see Importing Campaign and Response Data.
Clean	A check box for which the default is off. When this flag is checked, incoming records are cleansed by Siebel Data Quality. If your company has not licensed Siebel Data Quality, this feature is not functional.
List Import Format	Indicates the saved column sequence for the file. Formats can be reused across lists. For more information, see Using List Import Formats.
List Import Mode	For descriptions, see Selecting the List Import Mode.

Mapping External List Columns to Database Columns

Every column in the file you want to import must be mapped to an existing column in the prospects table in the Siebel Database or to an attribute created for this purpose. If you import response or campaign data, you can also map to response and campaign fields. For information about mapping attributes, see Adding Additional Attributes to a List.

CAUTION: Make sure that you map every column before launching the import.

To map list columns to database columns in the prospect table

From the application-level menu, choose View > Site Map > List Management > Lists.

In the Lists list, select your list.

Click the List Import view tab.

Scroll down to the List Import Format list and map every column to an existing database column in the prospect table or to an attribute created for this purpose.

In the List Import Format list, save the format in one of the following ways:

The first time you save a format, click Save as New.

This allows you to retain the original format and save the modified format separately. All saved formats appear in the List Management screen's List Imports Formats view tab.

Click Save to overwrite the original format.

Use this save option if you make changes to the mappings and want to preserve them.