This job schedules the automated import of a contact list into Mapp Engage. The import file can be created in XML or CSV format and stored on a server. Single and multiple files can be imported from a zip archive.

Use this import method if:

  • You want to schedule contact import on a regular basis - for example, once per day or once a week.

  • Your contacts are stored in an XML file or a CSV file and stored locally or on a server.

  • You do not want to immediately start a campaign after import.

The file must be correctly formatted for import. For more information, see the following topics:

A contact only has one profile in Mapp Engage. When you import a file with contact data, the contact profile is updated centrally. Only the update of member attributes, group attributes and the member read mode are limited to a particular group.

Basic Settings​

​Name​

This input field defines the name of the automation. The name is used to identify the automation in the system. It appears on the ​Time-based Automations Overview​ window. The maximum length is 100 characters.

​Description​

This input field defines a description of the automation. The description makes it easier to identify the automation in the system.

​Job​

This input field defines the job. For a list of all available jobs, see All Available Time-Based Jobs​.

Import Settings​

For a detailed explanation of the import settings, see Import Contacts and Data into Mapp Engage.

File Settings​

Setting

Description

​Encoding​

This drop-down list selects the character encoding of the file. The  symbol opens a pop-up window. In the window it is possible to select from a list of all available types of character encoding.

UTF-8 supports all characters, including those used in Asian languages (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UTF-8).

ISO 8859-15 supports all Western European languages (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_8859-15).

​Source File​

This input field defines the name of the data file to be imported. This input field can also be used to identify different files uploaded to the same location. In this case, a file pattern is specified using the asterisk as a wildcard character. For example, the file pattern ​*.xml​ will upload any XML file uploaded to the location specified in the ​Address​ input field. Complex patterns can be specified with a regular expression.

A zip archive can also be used as the source file. When a zip file is used, the type of compression must be specified with an additional parameter (see below for details).

Multiple files can be used to import addresses into different groups. The prefix of each group (the part of the group email before the @ sign) into which the addresses are imported should be used as the name of the respective import file.

Automations that upload or import files from a server will 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.

​File Type​

This drop-down list selects the file type of the import data that will be uploaded. This selection determines how the contents of the file are parsed. The file format must be XML or CSV. Custom parameters are required to upload compressed files (zip archives) or CSV files that use a separator other than a comma.

​Address​

This input field defines the address where the import file is located. A connection can be established to a server address over FTP (FTP, PFTP (passive FTP), AFTP (active FTP), SFTP, FTPS), SCP , HTTP (HTTP, HTTPS) and SOAP . This address has the following format: protocol://user:password@host.port/url-path.

Example: ftp://joesample:1password@ftp.mapp.com/import

The server account credentials can be encrypted with ​Transfer Security​ records. The user name, password or complete user account are specified with placeholders for Transfer Security records. For more information, see Credentials Options.

​Group​

You can import contacts into an existing group.

  • To import contacts into one existing group, select the group from the drop-down list. When you import the file, the contacts are added to this group.

  • To import addresses into multiple existing Mapp Engage groups at the same time, do not select a group from the ​Group​ drop-down list. Name each import file so that it corresponds to the prefix of the group (the part of the group email before the @ sign) into which the addresses are imported. When the automation fires, the contacts are added to the corresponding Mapp Engage group.

Note that you need the relevant Group (Specific) permissions or Group (Override) permissions to use this automation. Depending on what you want to do with the automation, this could include the following permissions:

  • 511 ​Members: Import New Members​
  • 510 ​Members: Invite New Members​
  • 513 ​Members: Add Members With Welcome Message​
  • 514 ​Members: Add Members Without Welcome​ Message
  • 506 ​Members: Remove Members​

To use this automation to update the profiles of contacts, you need System permission 211 ​User Administration: Edit Profile Data for Any User Account​.

Send Report​

This area allows you to send an import report to Mapp Engage system users. You can send the report to up to 10 system users.

Parameters

These fields add additional parameters that modify how the job is processed. The first input field identifies the characteristic or parameter to modify. The second input field identifies the value to use for the parameter.

  • : This button creates additional input fields for a custom parameter.

  • : This button removes the input fields for a custom parameter.

Enter the parameters exactly as listed here. The entries are case-sensitive.

Modification

Parameter

Value

Change the separator in a CSV file

A standard CSV export has either a comma or tab as separator. The parameter ​separator​ defines a different separator.

separator

Enter the desired separator.

Example:​ ;​ (semicolon).

Unzip zip and gzip files

If the file to be imported is in a compressed format, the type of compression must be specified.

source-compression

Enter the compression type.

Example: ​gzip​ or ​zip​

Send an XML version of the import report to a specific email address

An XML version of the import report can be sent to a specific email address.

admin-report-email

Enter the email address.

Import files that use Customer ID as the unique identifier (instead of the email address)

By default, email addresses are used to identify users in Mapp Engage. When a Mapp Engage system has been adapted to use the ​Customer ID​ attribute to identify users, the parameter ​source-use-customeridentifyer​ is used for imports.


source-use-customeridentifyer

​true​

Import files that use the User ID attribute as the unique identifier (instead of the email address)

By default, email addresses are used to identify users in Mapp Engage. When a Mapp Engage system has been adapted to use the attribute ​User ID​ to identify users, a custom parameter must be added to the import. The import file must include a ​user ID​ column and cannot include email, mobile number, fax number or identifier. This option only imports users into the group who already exist in the system (and therefore have already been assigned a user ID). The attribute ​User ID​ has the syntax user.PK.

user-id-import

​true​

Save a backup copy of the imported data in the data system or on a server

As a general rule, Mapp 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. When this parameter is used, a default number of five backup files are saved at the specified address.

source-backup-url

Enter the FTP address or the URL of the backup directory.

Define the number of backups

This parameter can only be used together with ​source-backup-url​. This option sets a limit to the number of backups saved. If the number of saved files exceeds the limit, Mapp Engage replaces the oldest file. No other files should be saved in the specified directory because all the files located there are managed by the backup process.

source-backup-files

Enter a value for the number of backup files.

Schedule

​Schedule

This button saves your changes and opens the ​Schedule Time-based Automation​ window. Here you define the date and time of execution. For more information, see Schedule Time-Based Automation (window)​.