Importing Records
You can import data into a table from a .CSV file in order to accelerate your data entry tasks. This method of entering data allows you to create or update records easily without having to manually create or modify individual records in TIGA. The input .CSV file consists of tabular format data and can include headers, or not. A simple way of getting the correct template for your input file is to first export sample data from the table you’re importing to, and then update the data while keeping the headers. For more information about exporting data from TIGA, see Exporting Records.
TIGA will try to import as many records as possible, skipping records that are in error. If an error occurs during the import, TIGA will display an error message and will download the spreadsheet file to show you which items failed to import and for what reason. You can fix the errors by revising the data in the downloaded spreadsheet and then importing it again, if necessary.
Sample Errors in a Downloaded .CSV File
Here is an overview of the Import window:
The Import Window When you upload a .CSV file into TIGA, you can control how TIGA reads
the file to make sure your data is imported correctly. File to upload — Enables you to browse and upload a .CSV file.
After being uploaded, the file’s information will display in the
Import window. File name — Displays the name of the file that you have uploaded. Upload Records — Determines how your records will be uploaded
into TIGA. The As Fast as possible option enables you to upload
multiple rows into a table at once. The Sequentially option
enables you to add data row-by-row. Selecting Sequentially will
result in longer upload times, but will also reduce the chance of
errors occurring while the data is being uploaded. Text delimiter — Enables you to select the type of text delimiter
used in your spreadsheet. Field separator — Enables you to select the type of separator
used in your spreadsheet. Has header line — Determines whether your spreadsheet has a
header row. Record Processing Records can be uploaded in parallel, which will provide you with the
fastest performance. However, sometimes there are dependencies within
the records in the upload file that could cause errors if they are not
uploaded in order, in which case you will need to upload them
sequentially. When you upload records sequentially, only one record at a
time will be processed in the order provided in the spreadsheet, which
will prevent these types of errors from occurring. This option can be
modified via the Upload Records field: As Fast as possible — Enables you to upload multiple rows into a
table at once. Sequentially — Enables you to add data row-by-row. Each row in the imported spreadsheet will be used to create a new
record, or to update an existing record if a matching record already
exists. Record matching is done via the key field options in the Key
column in the field map area (see #3). If the key in an incoming record
matches the same field in a record already on the database, then the
records are matched. If you select many fields as key fields, then all
of those keys must match for the records to match. You can set up
different rules for what you want to happen as records are matched or
not: The If entry already exists drop down — Determines whether TIGA
should Update or Skip records if the entry is found based on
the key(s). If you select Update, the matched record will be
updated. Update is the default selection. If you select Skip,
TIGA will skip the imported record, and a new record for that row of
information will not be created. The If entry does not exist drop down — Determines whether TIGA
should Create or Skip records if the entry does not exist.
Create is the default selection. Select Create if you’d like TIGA
to create a new record for that row of data, or Skip if you’d
like TIGA to ignore the imported record and do nothing. This section enables you to map the imported spreadsheet columns to the
fields in TIGA. This table consists of the following columns: File Column — Contains each field that appears in the .CSV file
you are importing. For each File Column, select the corresponding
Table Column in your spreadsheet. Table Column — Shows the first row for each column in your
imported data. It is strongly recommended that you have a header on
your spreadsheet so that it is easier to match the column to the
field. TIGA will automatically match the Table Column to the
correct File Column if their names match. Key — Determines whether the File Column is a key or not (see
Matching Records above). The Field Map section remains empty until a file is selected to upload. To import a spreadsheet of data into TIGA: Navigate to the table to which you would like to add records. In this
tutorial, we’ve selected the Items Suppliers table as our
example. Go to the Table menu and click Import. Next to File to upload, click the Browse button and select
the spreadsheet you want to import. Since we know that there are no dependencies between the incoming
records, we can select As Fast As Possible in the Upload
Records list to do this quickly. Next to Text delimiter, select the type of text delimiter used in
your spreadsheet if there is one. If you do not know, do not select
any of the options. Next to Field separator, select the type of separator used in
your spreadsheet. If it’s a .CSV file, select Comma. If your spreadsheet has a header row, select the check box next to
Has header line. Otherwise, you must map the desired fields to
the corresponding column manually in the File Column list next to
the Field map option. If you are reimporting an exported file, TIGA will use the default
options that were previously applied to that file. In this case, no
changes are required for steps 4 through 6 unless you have modified
the file. In the If entry already exists menu, select Update or Skip.
In this tutorial, we’ll select Update. In the If entry does not exist menu, select Create or
Skip. In this tutorial, we’ll select Create. Use the Field map to map the imported spreadsheet to the fields
in TIGA (see the image below). When done, click Import. The Columns from the .CSV Source File are Mapped to the Columns inTIGA that have the Same Name In the above screenshot, Item ID, Supplier ID, Supplier Part Number, Supplier Item Name, and Lead Days data fields are being mapped to the Item ID (Items), Supplier ID (Suppliers), Supplier Part Number, Supplier Item Name, and Lead Days columns, respectively. Related Topics: Exporting Records Exporting Your Sales Pipeline1. Defining Your Input File in TIGA
2. Matching Records and Rules
3. The Field Map