Importing User Contacts into User Contact Lists

When setting up your InterAction environment for users, you can import users’ personal lists of contacts into their user contact lists. Each user’s list of contacts should be collected into separate spreadsheets or CSV files. These individual files can be imported into each user’s contact list.

Note: If users maintain contacts in Microsoft Outlook, you should not import contacts into user contact lists. Instead, you should use the synchronization to add a user’s contacts to his or her contact list. If, however, a user’s contacts can only be found in a spreadsheet or a contact manager that cannot be synchronized with InterAction, you should use import to add the contacts.

For more information on importing contacts, see the following sections:

  • Import File Specifications
  • Importing User Contacts and Contributing Contacts to the Firm List
  • Import User Contacts
  • Importing User Contact List Error Log

Import File Specifications

A comma-separated-value file (CSV) is used for importing a user’s list of contacts into InterAction. To map the fields in the data file to the fields in InterAction, the import feature reads the header row of the import file. The field headers that can be used are identified in “List of Column Header Options,” later in this section.

Because you do not set up mapping instructions, you cannot parse out a field. For example, if an entire address is in one field, you cannot indicate the field should be broken up. You can, however, use a pipe character (|) to indicate a line break.

For example, assume you have an address that should be formatted as the following:

100 Main St.

Suite 230

Los Angeles, CA 90064

In your import file the address should appear as follows:

Business street

100 Main St.

Suite 230

Business city

Los Angeles

Business state/province

CA

Business postal code

90064

List of Column Header Options

The items listed below can be used in the header row for your import file. Your import file can contain any or all of the header options listed in any order. The import function is not case-sensitive, nor does it pay attention to spaces.

For example, FIRST NAME or firstname can both be used.

Salutation Home Street
First Name Home City
Goes By Home State Province
Middle Name Home Country
Last Name Home Postal Code
Suffix Other Street
Company Name Other City
Job Title Other State Province
Department Other Country
Assistant Name Other Postal Code
Categories Business Phone Number
User Field 1 Business2 Phone Number
User Field 2 Business Fax Number
User Field 3 Mobile Phone Number
User Field 4 Pager Number
Notes Assistant Phone Number
Business Street Home Phone Number
Business City Home Fax Number
Business State Province Other Phone Number
Business Country Business Email Address
Business Postal Code Home Email Address
Business Web Site Other Email Address

Importing User Contacts and Contributing Contacts to the Firm List

When you import contacts, the settings for the contacts are based on the new contact defaults configured for the user contact list into which you are importing contacts. For details on configuring user contact lists, see Configuring User Contact Lists.

Additionally, contacts brought into user contact lists through import are automatically set as having suspect contact information. Because of this, these contacts are handled differently if the user chooses to contribute the contacts to the firm list. For more information, see How Contact Data is Handled During an Initial Load of User Contacts.

Import User Contacts

Before you import, the User and the User Contact list must be created. For information, see Creating and Editing Users Manually.

Before you import contacts into InterAction, you should always perform a validation import. This performs all import processing except adding the contacts to the list. Any errors that would occur during the actual import are written to the status file. This lets you check your import file without taking the time to do a full import.

  1. Prepare the CSV file.

    This usually requires exporting data from the other application, cleaning up any formatting issues, and formatting the header row.

  2. In the InterAction Administrator main entity window, double-click User Account and Group Configuration. Then choose User Accounts.

  3. Select the user for whom you want to import a contact list and choose Edit.

  4. On the Edit User Account dialog box, choose Import Contacts.

  5. Enter the File Name (full path) for the import file.

    Choose the (Lookup) button to browse for the file if necessary.

  6. Run a validation test by selecting the Validation Only check box and choose OK.

  7. If the import completed without errors, run the import with the Validation Only check box cleared.

Immporting User Contact List Error Log

Any errors encountered while processing are recorded in a status file. Each time you perform a contact import, the status file is automatically generated using the account name for the user whose list you are importing contacts into. For example, if you are importing contacts into Ed Roberts’s list, the status file is named ContactImportERoberts.txt.