What is it?
The Profile Import section allows you to import an Excel file to make changes to your existing database, or to add new profiles. While you can manually update or create profiles one by one, the Profile Import option provides you a quick way to make several updates or create several new profiles at one time.
How to Access
Navigate to Database > Profile Import
Import Steps
1. File Upload
The first step of a profile import is to select the Excel file you wish to use. This file should be properly formatted and ready to go prior to importing it. A properly formatted Excel file will include:
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A header row to designate your Attributes with user profile information following in subsequent rows. Download Profile Import Template (.XLSX)
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A "key" column, which is simply a column that contains a value for each user that is unique to that user. The best one that should be used is [Username]
- The file should be saved as a .xlsx file.
Notes
- If your Excel file contains multi-select selection sets, each value in the cell will need to be separated with “||”. To create that set of characters, hold the shift key and press the backslash (\) key twice.
- Once your Excel file is ready for import, click the “Upload an Excel File” button and select the appropriate file from your computer.
- Only .xls and .xlsx files can be uploaded. If your file is not either of those types, or it is but it fails to upload, save your file as a .csv file, then save again as an .xls or .xlsx file. Attempt to upload it now.
Import Actions
After you upload the file you will be able to check an import action - what you’d like to happen with this import. You may select one or more action, depending on your desired outcome.
In the following sections you will see various steps that explain how to match up all of the attributes in your system with those present on your excel file.
2. Member Types
Step 2 is where you’ll select the Member Type column from your Excel file. This is how the system will know what member type each profile should be assigned. You will also want to select a default member type, which will be assigned if your file does not contain a member type specification.
If you're adding all of your new users to a specific Member Type, or your updating profiles and not changing their Member Type, then you do not have to choose a Member Type column. You will instead need to only choose a default Member Type so that if you add new profiles through the import, it knows which Member Type in which to place the users.
After selecting a member type column, you’ll then be able to map the member types from your Excel file to member types in your database. The values from your file are on the left and the drop down menus contain your database’s existing member types. In many cases they will probably match, but not always - for example, in the image below, we are importing a member type of “Emeritus”, but there is not an exact match setup in the database. In this case we will import the Emeritus profiles into the Prospect member type.
Continue to step 3.
3. Groups
This step will allow you to select the Group column from your Excel file. If you make a selection here, you will be able to map the values just like with member types in step 2. If your file does not contain a group specification, the profiles will default to the group that corresponds with their member type.
Continue to step 4.
4. Key Fields
This step is where you will select your key field(s). The key field(s) must be unique for each user (unique ID or email are often a good ones to use, or a combination of first and last name). After making a selection, you’ll have the opportunity to map the selection to an attribute in the database.
Continue to step 5.
5. Built-in and System Attributes
This step gives you the opportunity to map the columns/fields in your Excel file to the Built-In and System attributes in your database.
For each section, simply select the columns from your file that should be used to create the value. As an example, let’s look at Contact Name. The file we’re importing contains columns for first name, middle name, last name, and suffix. We’d like contact name to be made up of all of those, so we simply select each one in the appropriate order to generate the contact name. Upon importing these profiles, the system will automatically fill in the contact name attribute with the desired data.
Important: Not all sections are required to be complete in this step. If you are not adding or updating a field listed in this section, simply ignore it. If a field isn't present on the import, or if you do not match it to a built-in or system attribute, then it will not be altered in any way. The field will not be deleted if it is blank, so there is no need to touch a field that you have no intention of updating.
Continue to step 6.
6. Custom Attributes
This step allows you to map any custom attributes you may have in your database. NOTE: Since these are custom attributes that differ for every organization, your values will be different from the examples provided.
Continue to step 7.
7. Summary
The final step is a summary of everything that was selected in the previous steps. If everything looks correct, click the “import” button at the bottom. Otherwise click “back” to make corrections.
NOTE: It is not possible to roll back a finished data import. It is possible, however, to view and export errors in order to fix them. Click here to learn more about using the Profile Import Report.
Comments
18 comments
I don't see where this addresses how to import new profiles only and what Key Field to choose as it is required before moving forward. Because these are new profiles being imported, there are no key fields to connect to in the database. When I try to import, I must choose a Key Field. I am going around in circles.
What am I missing?
Hi Joyce - First, I noticed that you are using our Classic system, and this documentation is for the new platform. Here's a link to an article and a video abut the data import process in Classic.
When you're doing any type of profile import, you'll need to select a Key Field. The Key Field has to be:
Using the Key Field, the system will import each profile uniquely (for add only type imports) and validate that the profile does not already exist in the database or update existing profiles as needed (for update type imports). I usually recommend using email address or username as the key field, but only if every single user in your data file has an email/username and each one is unique. If you don't have a field like that in your data file, you can add a column with a number that's unique for each person being imported, like member number. Just make sure that the values you put in that new column are not populated for profiles that already exist in the database.
Because data imports are somewhat complex, I would recommend giving the Help Team a call so that they can walk you through your first data import in a quick phone call. Hope that helps!
Thanks, I'll give them a call!
A rollback feature would be very helpful. Is that something that is in the works?
Hi Barbara - We aren't currently working on a rollback feature, though we have received some feedback about it and could add it to the roadmap in the future. Please feel free to submit product feedback about this feature or others using this link.
Just a clarification: If I import a file with say 25 new members, it won't delete the 6000 people already in our database. In other words, will this import process add to the existing profile list or will it replace the existing profile list? Thanks.
Hey Eric! That ultimately depends on which Import Action/s you choose. "Add" will add those 25 users to the database; "Update" would be for making edits to 25 existing users; if "Delete" is clicked off, anyone who is not on your spreadsheet will be deleted. I hope that helps clarify!
Can you limit an update to one field, a custom attribute, using [Member ID] as the key and "Custom Attribute Name"? In other words, we have a legacy join date we wish to add to our Custom Attributes. Obviously, not every Profile in our Database is not a "Member" (in the paid member of an association sense). All we want to do is update the Custom Attribute "Old Join Date" for the Members that meet certain Member Types.
I have downloaded our database, added the legacy join date to the spreadsheet column "Legacy Join Date" (a Custom Attribute), removed all fields except [Member ID], and "Legacy Join Date, and deleted all database Members to which this does not apply. If I upload the file and set the instruction to "update existing profiles" with only one field to map ("Legacy Join Date"), the system will not overwrite the other fields that are requested to map....right?!
Hey there Jason! That is correct. You just need your Key Field (which you have as Member ID), and then map to your "Legacy Join Date". Then you're set!
Thanks Jay!
Is it possible to do an import and only have existing records updated in a field if the new import file has new data there (e.g., not write over the existing data if there has been no change?)?
Hey Kathleen! Yes, if you're importing new data for some users, but not for others, anyone in your spreadsheet who has unchanged data simply won't be changed.
If I do a profile import using the email address as the key field and I select to only "update existing profiles" will the import report show the profiles that didn't import because they weren't already in the database?
Hey Hillary! You will get an error for No Matching Users Found in that scenario, and the system will let you export the rows with Errors so you can see who that was.
"If "Delete" is clicked off, anyone who is not on your spreadsheet will be deleted."
This is a CRAZY way to identify deletions. Like many others I have paid members of the association and then other affiliated individuals of the association. Because our membership is unified with the state association, the only deletions I would ever do in bulk would be state members who didn't pay their county (our) dues. With your process I have to export my entire MC database, identify those on that spreadsheet who are not renewing and delete them and then reimport the data file. (Obviously I also have the choice of reimporting them an marking them as lapsed.)
If you did this the normal way database deletions occur (I'm thinking Salesforce, WildApricot, et al), you would import a list of records that you WANT deleted and no other records would be touched. And that would be far simpler.
It would be very advantageous to allow for a memo description of the import rather than the bare bones description in the Profile Import Report. For example "March 2022 New Members" would at least allow me to distinguish between imports. Even if you didn't show this in the profile import report table but at least could put it in the Report Details, that would be better than nothing.
It would be nice to see a little more detail on errors on the Profile Import Report Details. In the summary table you have a an error status, for example, of "Profile Not Created" but you need to click into the record to find out "Profile match found. Profile was not created." I don't know why you couldn't display a little more details on the report summary table.
Your link above at the bottom of the content is broken.
NOTE: It is not possible to roll back a finished data import. It is possible, however, to view and export errors in order to fix them. Click here to learn more about using the Profile Import Report. https://help.memberclicks.com/entries/65423810 apparently does not exist anymore.
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