Templates and Data Sources
With each data source you will need to create your mapping template based on the data you wish to import. Some Data Source segment their data further into Activities or Processes each with their own range of fields and data. As a result, you may need a different template per Activity/Process.
If you data source is a file, you may need to create different template per file or worksheet. After all, a template is just a set of instructions on where to put data from your data source into RE. If the data source changes from file to file, so must the template.
Getting Started
On opening up Template/Template Builder, you are asked give the template a Name and a Description. As you may have soon have a number of templates, we recommend a strong Naming Convention that makes it easy to understand what the template is for.
For the Template Description, please make it clear what the template does for future users to understand that template’s purpose.
Then choose what data source the template is for and click on ‘Next’
Configure your Data Source
Depending on what Data Source you chose on the first step, the second step will present you with an option to attach your Data Source. If it is a File-based data source, then click on the paperclip where you can then search and select the file you want to use. If it is not a file-based data source, fill in the Data Sources Criteria to pull across some records.
Whatever the data source, you will need a least one record to continue with the rest of the template building. To make sure you have enough records to work with, click on the ‘Get Record Count’ button to see how many records are available.
When building your template, we strongly recommend that you work with just a handful of records, that are reflective of your data source. These ‘sample’ records should not point to real donors in your RE, but are test records that can be written to without issue.
When ready, click ‘Next’
Mapping
Canvas, Data Destinations and Area Mappings
Step 3 is where you actually builder your template, map your areas, map your fields and apply a number of settings. It uses a drag and drop feature to builder the structure of your template as well as map specific data source fields to fields within RE.
On the left-hand side of the screen are a list of Area Mappings that you can map to. They are segmented into their own Data Destination.
The main section of the screen is the ‘Canvas’. We have pre-populated the Canvas with several commonly used Area Mappings to help you get started. All of these can be deleted if you don’t need them, apart from the Constituent Mapping.
To add new Area Mappings to the Canvas, simply select the Area Mapping in question and pull it across onto the Canvas and on top of an existing, relevant Area Mapping. This will attach the new Area Mapping to the existing Mapping. The Existing Area with highlight that it will accept the area mapping you are trying to add.
Once attached, you can then reposition the Area Mapping to where ever you like on the Canvas. We recommend that you consider how other users might understand the template’s structure.
On the top of the Area Mapping section of the screen, there are some additional buttons to allow you to adjust the Canvas. You can zoom in and out or set it to ‘fit to page’. Additionally, you can change the pointer for selecting items onscreen to a grab-hand that allows you to reposition the whole template on the Canvas.
Field Mapping
When you are ready, you can start mapping your fields. To do so, simply click on ‘Fields’. This will take you to a new window that features the fields from the data source on the left and the fields to map to in RE on the right. Note that when ‘required’ field have not been mapped, the Area Mapping shows a red triangle warning you of that.
You can either drag and drop a data source field onto a relevant field in RE and put in a default value. The RE field will expand slightly to highlight that it can accept the data source field.
If you hover over a Data Source field, it will show you the first two rows of the actual data coming from the data source. This should help you better understand what data is going to be added to RE and whether you might need to make any adjustments so that RE will accept it.
Field Update Conditions
Once you have mapped your field, you can click on the cog icon to open the Update Conditions for that field. Here you can choose to have the field be added when creating a new record or update/overwrite an existing record. By default, First Name, Last Name/Surname, Org Name and Title are set to only add to New Records. Whereas Lookup ID is set up to not add to New records or update existing records. All other fields have New Records and Existing Records pre-selected.
You can also set up a Conditional Update Value to add/not add the field based on the condition of another field.
When a default setting has been changes, the Cog icon will change to green.
Field Manipulations
Here you can change the nature of the incoming value from the data source.
You can clean up the text values by having Importacular make the text, all Upper Case, Lower Case, or have Proper Casing (first letter of each word is Uppercase and the rest are lowercase)
You can apply a Data Transformation where you can change the incoming value to another value.
Depending on the RE field, Importacular also offer other field manipulations specific to that field. For example, if the RE field has a Code Table attached, Importacular will offer you some additional settings on how to handle these Code Tables.
Area Settings
Heading back to the Canvas and the Area Mappings, each have a ‘Settings’ button. Clicking on this opens up a new window with a range of options on how Importacular show handle importing that whole area. Most Area Setting are pre-set to ensure that existing areas in RE are not overwritten, but we highly encourage you to look at and consider the options available.
Unlike Field Update Conditions and Manipulations, Area Settings are a lot more tailored to each specific Area Mapping and as such vary from area to area.
When ready, click on ‘Next’ at the bottom, right-hand side of the screen, underneath the Canvas.
Record Lookup Selection
Now select the Record Lookup you want to use. Your Record Lookup should reflect the data you have mapped. For example, if you have a Matching Rule in your selected Record Lookup set to match on email address, but your template does not contain a mapped email address, that Matching Rule will be ignored.
On this page you can chose to View/Edit the Record Lookup you have selected. If your Record Lookup is being used by other Templates and you wish to make an adjustment to a Matching Rule, consider how it might impact those other Templates. If you are unsure or think the adjustment may negatively impact the other Templates, return to the Template Builder and select ‘Clone’. This will create a duplicate of the Record Lookup where you can rename and make adjustments without impacting other templates.
When done, click on ‘Next’
Summary
When you get to the final set, you can chose to create an Import or head elsewhere.
If you chose to ‘Create your Import’, you will be taken to the Import Creator, where it will be pre-populated with all the necessary details. Consider adjusting the name of the Import and selecting a new data to work with
