The ​Import Contacts​ start job schedules the automated import of a contact list into an existing Engage group.

The ​Whiteboard Audience​ and ​Import Contacts​ start jobs are only applicable for ​Scheduled​ and ​Recurring​ whiteboard plans.

  • This job adds contact data that you have stored on an FTP server to an existing Engage group.

  • The group into which you import the contacts becomes your whiteboard audience group.

  • The import file format can be XML or CSV format.

  • Select this job to schedule the import of contact data into your whiteboard audience once or at regular intervals. For example, import one time with a scheduled whiteboard or import once a week with a recurring whiteboard.

When you start a scheduled whiteboard with an import, you must select a waiting period of at least one hour. The ​Wait​ and ​Schedule​ steps create a delay between the start of the import and the next step on your plan. Import times can vary from a few minutes to several hours. For large imports, we recommend a waiting period of 24 hours.

 Permissions

You need the relevant group and system permissions to use this automation. The import mode that you select determines which permissions are required.

  • 511 ​Members: Import New Members​

  • 510 ​Members: Invite New Members​

  • 513 ​Members: Add Members With Welcome Message​

  • 514 ​Members: Add Members Without Welcome​

  • 506 ​Members: Remove Members​

  • 211 ​User Administration: Edit Profile Data for Any User Account​

Target Group & Import Mode​

Setting

Description

​Target Group​

Selects the group into which the data will be imported.

​Import Mode​

Defines how the imported contacts and their profile data are added to the selected group.

In the context of an import, Engage distinguishes between existing members, existing contacts, and new contacts.

  • ​Update:​

    • Updates profile data of current members of the group who are included in the import file.

    • Does not add new members to the group.

    • Does not change profile data of existing group members who are not in the import file.

  • ​Add & Update:​

    • Adds new members and their profile data to the group.

    • Updates the profile data of current group members who are included in the import file.

    • Does not change profile data of existing group members who are not in the import file.

    • ​Keep unsubscribes:​ Retains the unsubscribe history of the group. Contacts in the import file who have unsubscribed from the group previously are not re-imported.

  • ​Remove:​

    • Removes group members who are included in the import file from the group.

    • Removes group-specific data and statistics of group members who are included in the import file.

    • Does not remove or change profile data of existing group members who are not in the part of the import.

  • ​Replace:​

    • Removes all existing group members from the group and deletes all group-specific data and statistics.

    • Adds contacts who are included in the import file to the group as members, and, if necessary, to the system.

    • ​Keep unsubscribes:​ Retains the unsubscribe history of the group. Contacts in the import file who have unsubscribed from the group previously are not re-imported.

    • ​Keep responses:​ Retains the response history of the group. This setting preserves important response data from the group such as bounces and spam complaints.

Source

Setting

Description

​Encoding​

Indicates the character encoding of import file.

​File Type​

Identifies the file type of your import file. This selection determines how Engage parses data from the import file.

  • ​CSV:​ Imports the data in CSV format.

  • ​XML:​ Imports the data in XML format.

​More Options:​

  • ​Separator:​ Identifies which character separates fields in the import file.

    • ​Comma:​ Fields in the import file are separated with a comma. This is the default setting

    • ​Other:​ If your import file does not use a comma to separate fields, this input field identifies which character is used.

  • ​Compression Type:​ Identifies whether the import file is compressed and which kind of compression is used.

    • ​No Compression:​ The import file is not compressed. This is the default setting.

    • ​Gzip:​ The import file has a .gz extension. Engage uses Gzip methods to extract the data.

    • ​Zip:​ The import file has a .zip extension. Engage uses zip methods to extract the data.

Source File

Defines the name of the data file you import.

Automations that upload or import files from an FTP server process the specified files at the scheduled time, even if the source file is incomplete. For this reason, we recommend that you use a different file name or extension when transferring files to the server and rename the file with a script when transfer is complete.

​Credential Store Record​

Defines the source location of the file, for example, an FTP server.

Import Reports​

Setting

Description

​Send Import Summary​

Sends an import summary in CSV format to up to 10 Engage system users.

Click the  symbol to open a list of available system users.

Summary Contents:

  • The date and duration of the import.

  • The number of contacts successfully added.

  • The number of contacts successfully updated.

  • The number of contacts successfully removed.

  • Import errors.

  • A link to more detailed information about the import on the Engage  ​Import Report​ window.

​Send XML report to

Sends an import report in XML format to the selected system user.

Click the  symbol to open a list of available system users.

The XML report format contains a brief summary of the import results.

​Upload Import Report to FTP​

Uploads a detailed import report in XML or CSV format to the defined FTP server.

You can specify the name of the file that Engage uploads.

The CSV import report is exported in a zip archive and contains a individual csv files of the import results.

Report Contents:

  • Import ID

  • Group name and ID.

  • Date and duration of the import.

  • Import and synchronization modes.

  • File name and type.

  • Error and fatal error information.

  • Processed count and last processed address.

  • The number of contacts who were added, updated, or removed.

  • References.

Advanced

Setting

Description

Compression type

Defines the compression type of the imported file. Available options are:

  • No compression
  • gzip
  • zip

Enter a unique​identifier​

Defines the unique identifier that Engage uses to sort data in the import file.

  • ​Email:​ By default, Engage uses the email address to identify users.

  • ​Customer ID:​ When a Engage system is adapted to use the ​customer identifier for contact identification, you can select the customer identifier for imports.

  • ​User ID:​ When a Engage system is adapted to use an external identifier for contact identification, you can select the user identifier for imports. For more information, see Update Contacts with External Identifier​.

Source Backup​

Usually, Engage deletes the imported file as soon as the import is complete. If the imported data cannot be reproduced from a CRM or shop system, it is a good idea to make a backup copy when the import is finished.

  • ​Maximum number of backups:​ Select the maximum number of backups you want to store at the selected location. When you exceed the limit, Engage overwrites the oldest file. To avoid loss of data, enter a new backup location before you reach the maximum number of backups.

  • Credential Store Record: ​Defines where Engage saves a backup copy of the import file.

Related Topics​

​CSV Format for Contact Imports​
XML Format for Contact Imports​
Import Contacts and Data into Engage ​