What are the available data import options?

You can import your data from an external application into Oracle Applications Cloud in several different ways, including using public web services.

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 one cloud service with other cloud services, then you must use additional import methods as described in the appropriate guides.

When you're importing data for a particular object, you must make sure that any prerequisite objects 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 one import job depends on the contents of another import job, then complete the prerequisite job before starting the dependent job. For example, if you're importing both accounts and opportunities, then import accounts before importing opportunities.

The following table lists the import methods and references to further information.

Import Method	Description	When to Use	How to Access	For More Information
Quick Import Excel Macros	You can use the import macros to speed up and simplify the import of up to 5000 records at a time for some objects. They validate your data entries, provide list of values, and automatically populate constant values. The macros create data files that are automatically imported using Import Management. You can import the following objects using import macros: Sales Users Products and product groups Accounts Contacts Account Hierarchy Leads Opportunities	These are best to import data in your initial deployment. The macros are targeted to the simple proof of concept sales automation use case covered in the Importing Sales Users chapter of the Getting Started with Your Sales Implementation 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 with information about the File Import job, and these log files can also serve as a learning tool for more complex import.	You can download the Excel macros and any required mapping files from the Getting Started with Your Implementation: Quick Import Macros (Document ID 2229503.1) article on My Oracle Support.	The chapters in the Getting Started with Your Sales Implementation guide provide detailed instructions and video tutorials for using the macros. For instructions on how to add your own fields to the macros, see. How to Configure Quick Import Macro for importing Employee Resources (Doc ID 2364229.1) article on My Oracle Support.
Import Management	Import Management improves definition, error handling, and performance for importing flat files (.CSV). For example, Import Management has drag and drop mapping capabilities and validates the first ten records in your data file before you import to ensure the data meets the import constraints of the various attributes. Import Management is available for importing data for the following application objects and their child objects: Access Groups Account Action Action Plan Activity Address Asset Attachment Business Plan Campaign Case Classification Classification Code Competitor Consumer Contact Contract Contests Country Structure Deal Registration Hierarchy Hierarchy Member Household Hub Source System Reference Incentive Rule Assignments Incentive Rule Attribute Values Incentive Rules Incentive Transaction Interaction MDF Budget MDF Claim MDF Request Note Objective Opportunity Organization Partner Partner Program Person Price Book Header Product Product Group Program Enrollment Promotion Queue Relationship Resource Resource Capacity Sales Lead Sales Order Sales Territory Sales Territory Quota Self-Service Role Service Request Standard Text Standard Text Folder Standard Text User Variable Subscription Template Template Action Territory Geographies Any additional objects you create	Use Import Management for importing outside the scope of the Getting Started with Your Implementation guide.	Click Import Management in the Navigator.	See the Understanding Import and Export Management guide for instructions on using the import.
External Data Loader Client	Command-line tool that's used to import high-volume flat source data files into CX Sales and Fusion Service. This tool splits a large data file into multiple smaller files to adhere to import volume limits, and enables the tracking of import status. The client supports the same objects as Import Management.	Use this import method for importing very large data files for the 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. The chapter Import Data Using External Data Loader Client in the guide Understanding Import and Export Management for CX Sales and Fusion Service provides information about using the External Data Loader Client.
Web Services	Web services are available for external client applications to start and monitor import jobs. You can manage Import Management jobs using REST web services, and File Import jobs using SOAP web services.	Use web services to manage import jobs to import directly from an external application.	Public APIs are available for both the Import Management/REST services and the File Import/SOAP services. The following REST APIs are available for import: Import Activities Import Activity Maps Import Export Objects Metadata The SOAP service is called the File Import Activity Service.	For REST API documentation, see the REST API for CX Sales and Fusion Service guide. For SOAP API documentation, see the SOAP Web Services for CX Sales and Fusion Service guide.
High-Volume Import	The high-volume import mode is designed to import millions of records at once. This mode doesn't trigger any custom logic configured through the application composer. This option is available for the following objects and their child objects: Account Address Asset Classification Code Contact Contract Contract Line Country Structure Custom Object (custom top level objects and custom child objects) Geography Hierarchy Hierarchy Member Household Hub Source System Reference Incentive Transaction Organization Person Sales Territory Quota Territory Geographies	Use this import mode for importing very large number of records for the objects supported.	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 this mode of import. When importing using the External Data Loader Client, set the command-line parameter "-high-volume" to enable this mode of import.	For REST API documentation, see the REST API for CX Sales and Fusion Service guide. The chapter Import Data Using External Data Loader Client in the guide Understanding Import and Export Management for CX Sales and Fusion Service provides information about using the External Data Loader Client.

Note: Object work flows can't be invoked using Import Management.

The following figure provides an architectural overview of the different import methods:

• File Import uses the SOA architecture to import data into Oracle CX Sales.

• Quick Import uses the REST Web services to import data into Oracle CX Sales. When you import data using the quick import Excel macros, you're creating an import activity in Import Management using the REST web services. The macro import creates the same import activity and uses the same mapping as you do when you initiate the import from the application. You can monitor each import in the macro or in the application itself.

• Both Import Management and the External Data Loader Client use the same scheduled processes for import. When you import very large files using the client, the REST APIs create multiple processes to respect the Import Management file size limit.

• To import from an external application, use the SOAP and REST web services directly.