Select Reference Types
A reference type enables you to map a column in an imported CSV file to a NetSuite field that can have one or more list values, such as a dropdown list or a multi-select. You specify reference types on the Import Assistant's Field Mapping page by clicking the edit icon next to a mapped field that is a dropdown list or multi-select.
Reference types are not available for all fields.
Possible reference types include External ID, Internal ID, Name and Script ID.
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External ID. If you select External ID as the reference type, the Assistant finds and references an identification string as defined by you (such as “CashSale_” or ”Employee_”) in the mapped field.
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A reference type of External ID is preferred if you select one of the following Import Assistant Data Handling options: Add, Add or Update.
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The External ID reference type also is preferred for records with parent-child relationships, and records with auto-generated numbers.
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The External ID reference type is suited for ongoing integration with external databases, where you are repeatedly importing external data into NetSuite, because you can store the foreign key to the external system in NetSuite. This allows for upfront record references during data migration.
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External IDs can be updated through a CSV import or through SOAP web services. Your organization should use a single method for maintaining External IDs to avoid conflicting updates through the two separate methods.
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Some record types, such as custom lists or custom records, do not support the use of External IDs as reference types.
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Internal ID. If you select Internal ID as the reference type, the Assistant finds and references numbers (such as “123”) in the mapped field.
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A reference type of Internal ID is preferred if you select the following Import Assistant Data Handling option: Update.
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The Internal ID reference type is suited for data that you export to an external application for manipulation and then reimport into NetSuite.
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To include the Internal ID in your data, add it as a results column in a saved search of the data, and then export the search results to CSV.
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You can set a preference to display internal IDs in the NetSuite user interface. For instructions, see Displaying Internal IDs.
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Name. If you select Name as the reference type, the Assistant finds and references text strings (such as “Joe Public”) for the mapped field.
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Name references can be prone to error.
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For names that contain spaces, HTML rendering can sometimes distort the number of spaces included, causing mismatches between CSV file values and existing records, that result in import errors. To verify the number of spaces in names, you can create a saved search with a list of names and export it.
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If you are unsure or unable to verify the name reference for a record, you should use the External ID field instead. For updates, you can use the Internal ID.
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The requirements for name references are affected by the auto-generated numbering preference that you set in NetSuite. For information, see Effects of Auto-Generated Numbers during Imports.
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If you use a name reference type, each child record in the CSV file must include a value for the parent name for the import to successfully update records.
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Name matching is case insensitive.
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Script ID. You can use Script ID as a reference type for a NetSuite field that can have one or more custom list or custom record values.
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For example, consider this scenario: You create a custom list with values, where each value has a Script ID or you create a custom record to which you assign a Script ID. Then, you create a custom field on a Sales Order. This field is of the List/Record type and it is referencing the custom list or the custom record you created earlier. When you import a Sales Order next time, you can reference each value of the list or the record by its Script ID.
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To find the Script ID of custom list values, you must perform in the UI an advanced search on the custom list and include the Script ID column in the search results.
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To find the Script ID of custom record type instances, you must perform in the UI an advanced search on the record type and include the Script ID column in the search results.
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A Script ID can be assigned to a custom record only through SuiteScript during the creation of the record. It is not possible to assign a Script ID to an existing custom record when you update it.
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Displaying Internal IDs
You can configure NetSuite to make internal IDs available in NetSuite. During development, internal IDs help you verify that the internal ID values submitted for import match those in the existing records.
Go to Home > Set Preferences and in the Defaults section of the General tab, check the Show Internal IDs box. Lists then include the Internal ID column, as shown in the following screenshot. This change affects the current user only.
If lists include Internal IDs, you may be able to export data from a NetSuite list page to get Internal IDs into a CSV file, because an Export to CSV button may be available from the list pages.
The assignment of internal IDs to new records is sequential. However, the sequence of internal IDs does not indicate when or in which order records were added. This is true even within specific record groups where internal IDs are unique. Therefore, you should not conclude that records with lower internal IDs were added first, whereas those with higher internal IDs were added last.
For custom applications that rely on the chronological aspect of when data was entered, you should use the Date Modified or Date Created fields, as they are guaranteed to be chronological. Additionally, for transactions with auto-generated numbers, the sequence number (for example, “tranid”) is guaranteed to be sequential based on the date transactions were entered. The internal ID of a record should never be used to determine when data was entered, and you should not build any functionality based on the sequence of internal IDs.
The user preference setting specifies the display of the internal ID, however, some records have an ID that cannot be hidden. For example, customer J Wolfe has an ID of 87 and an internal ID of 18834. The ID column cannot be removed from the customer list page.