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Administering Oracle CRM On Demand > Data Management Tools > Import and Export Tools > Preparing for Data Importing
Preparing for Data Importing
Before you start importing data in Oracle CRM On Demand, you must first determine what import method you want to use. For more information on selecting the appropriate import method, see Import and Export Tools. For example, the Oracle Data Loader On Demand Utility supports only specific record types. For more information, see Oracle Data Loader On Demand Guide. It is also recommended that you read the following topic before you perform an import: Before You Import Data.
You might need to edit data in your CSV file or customize Oracle CRM On Demand to make sure all your file data is imported. To determine if that is necessary, do the following before you begin importing:
- Determine the record types you want to import.
You might want to import different record types, such as leads, accounts, contacts, and notes. You must import one record type at a time, and you should follow the recommended sequence for importing.
For example, if you have a file that contains a list of your contacts and another file with your accounts, you want to import accounts first and then contacts to maintain the relationships set up between those record types.
The sequence order is shown on the user interface itself on the Import and Export Tools page.
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- Check the data in your file to make sure it:
- Has consistent capitalization, abbreviations, and spelling
Text values are imported exactly as they appear in your CSV file. Therefore, any differences in capitalization can result in additional records being created, when that is not desired. For example, all these values for Account Names would result in new records: ABC, abc, A.B.C.
Additionally, since two account records are recognized as identical if the account name and location are identical, addresses must be spelled, capitalized, and abbreviated identically to prevent additional records from being created. For example all these records would not be considered identical:
ABC, 111 10th Avenue
ABC, 111 10th Ave.
ABC, 111 10th Ave
ABC, 111 Tenth Avenue
- Does not exceed the maximum length allowed
- Conforms to the formatting requirements for that field
For more information, see Data Checking Guidelines.
- Check the application for required fields for the record type you want to import.
You must map data in your CSV file to all required fields. If you don't, the record is rejected. To determine which fields are required, see the Edit page for the record type you want to import. Required fields are shown in red text. Also, your administrator can configure a field so that it is conditionally required, that is, the field is not required by default, but becomes required if the data in other fields on the record meets certain criteria. If a field becomes required as a result of the condition defined for the field being true, and if your import file does not include a value for the conditionally required field, then the record is rejected.
- Add fields to the application if you want to import data that doesn't map to the default fields in the application.
During the import process, you must match every field in your file to an existing field in the application to capture that data. If your role includes the Customize Application privilege, you can create new (custom) fields in Oracle CRM On Demand to map to the existing fields. For instructions, see Creating and Editing Fields.
- Set up picklist values, if necessary.
During the import process, you can specify how you want the application to handle picklist values in your CSV file that don't match existing picklist values in the application:
- Add them as new ones to the application
NOTE: To see the picklist value changes in the application, you might need to sign out and in again.
- Don't add them (capture only the values that match and leave the others blank)
If you want to use the picklist values that exist in the application and import only the data that matches them, verify that the picklist values match exactly, including their spelling and capitalization (values are case-sensitive).
Some picklist values cannot be changed, and a few don't follow this behavior. See Data Checking Guidelines and review the guidelines for the record type you want to import.
- Select the correct time format.
If you select the time format HH:MM:SS AM, for best results indicate whether your data is AM or PM in your CSV file. If you select AM/PM time formats, but the data does not contain AM or PM, then the fields are processed as follows:
- If the HH field is greater than or equal to 8 and less than or equal to 12, these fields are considered as AM.
- If the HH field is less than 8 and greater than 12, these fields are considered as PM. For example, 7:00:00 is processed as 7:00 PM, whereas 9:00:00 is processed as 9:00 AM.
Related Topics
See the following topics for related information:
For more information about preparing data importing, see 1800338.1 (Article ID) on My Oracle Support.
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