Options for Importing Data Into Your Application

Here's an overview of the multiple ways you can import your data from a file or directly from an external application. Which import method you use depends on the type of data you're importing, the volume of data, and technical requirements. If you're integrating your sales application with other cloud services, then you may be required to use additional import methods not covered here.

Whichever import method you use, you must make sure that any prerequisite records already exist in the application. For example, if you're importing contacts for an account, then the account must already exist in the application. If you're importing data that depends on other data, then the prerequisite import process must complete successfully before you start the dependent process.

Import Method	Description	When to Use	How to Access	Where to Get More Information
Import Macros	The Excel macros speed up and simplify the import of up to 5,000 records at a time for some objects. The macros help you by validating your data entries, providing lists of values, and automatically populating constant values. The macros create data files that are imported automatically. Macros are available to import the following types of sales information: Sales users Products Product groups Accounts and the account hierarchy Contacts Leads Opportunities Opportunity revenue lines	Use the import macros for importing data in your initial deployment. The macros are targeted to the simple proof of concept sales automation use case covered in this guide. For example, the import macros assume that you're importing account, contact, and lead records for one country at a time. The macros generate log files of the actual data that's imported, including the values populated for you. The log files can serve as a learning tool for more complex import.	You can download the Excel macros and any required mapping files from the Oracle CX Sales: Getting Started with Your Sales Implementation: Import Macros (Document ID 2229503.1) article on My Oracle Support.	The different chapters in this guide provide detailed instructions for using the macros.
Import Management	Use Import Management to import data files (.csv) with up to 50,000 records. Import Management improves definition, error handling, and performance. For example, you can drag and drop attributes while creating import mappings. The import also validates the first ten records in your data file before you import the rest. You don't have to wait around to see if your data meets the import requirements. Import Management supports import for all sales objects and the majority of other objects as well.	Use Import Management for importing data .	Click Import Management in the Navigator.	See the Understanding Import and Export Management guide for instructions on using the import.
External Data Loader Client	The data loader is a command-line tool you can use to import high-volume data files. The tool supports the same objects as Import Management. The tool automatically splits a large data file into multiple smaller files to adhere to the application's import volume limits, and enables the tracking of import status.	Use this import method for importing very large data files for the same objects supported by Import Management.	You can download the client from Oracle Support Document 2325249.1 (External Data Loader Client) on My Oracle Support.	Instructions for using the client are available in the document and in the client itself. For REST API documentation, see the REST API for CX Sales and B2B Service guide.
Web Services	Web services let you Import data directly from other applications. You can manage Import Management imports using REST web services.	Use web services to manage import jobs if you need to import directly from an external application.	Public APIs are available for Import Management and REST services. The REST services include the following: Import Activities Import Activity Maps Import Export Objects Metadata	For REST API documentation, see the REST API for CX Sales and B2B Service guide. For SOAP API documentation, see the SOAP Web Services for CX Sales and B2B Service guide.
High-Volume Import	An import mode available in both REST web services and in the External Data Loader Client that is designed to import millions of records at a time. High-Volume Import is available for the following objects: Account Asset Contact Hierarchy Hierarchy Member	Use this import mode for importing very large number of records for the set of available objects. You can't use this mode with any custom import logic that you added, including Oracle workflows, ICS triggers, or custom validation.	You can access High-Volume Import either using REST services or using External Data Loader Client. When importing using REST, set the "High-volume" attribute to enable High-Volume Import. When importing using the External Data Loader Client, set the command-line parameter "-high-volume" to enable High-Volume Import.	For REST API documentation, see the REST API for CX Sales and B2B Service guide.

Here's a diagram that illustrates the different import methods:

• The import macros (callout 1), Import Management (callout 2), and the External Data Loader Client (callout 5) all use the same Oracle Enterprise Scheduler processes for import. When you import very large files using the EDLC client, the REST web services (callout 4) create multiple processes to respect the Import Management file size limit.

• If you need to import from an external application, then you can use the REST web services directly.