CRM 2011 - Import Contact records

If you are importing contact records, CRM doesn't care which columns you include in the import. There is no problem importing records with the same name (by the way, during an import you specify first name and last name rather than fullname).

Are you also importing another record type as well to which the contacts are linked?

Hi Tommy,
Could you give some more detail please.
What exactly are you hoping to import - is it a flat file with data, or a table from a CRM system or something like that?
Where do wish to import to, into a CRM system maybe?

This the MS SQL Server zone so your question may relate specifically to some CRM application and not really be a MS SQL Server question.

Maybe post a print screen of what you are hoping to do to give some idea

The Import Wizard allows you to choose your preferred matching identifier when importing related records. So if you import any records related to Contacts, you can set the mapping for your related Contact column to be a lookup to the Contact entity, matching against your unique identifer attribute specifically (the data in your Contact column would be the unique ID of the related contact).

If you are concerned with just importing contacts themselves, you will be able to import multiple contacts with the same fullname as long as you don't have Duplicate Detection Rules enabled which disallow this. There should be no problem with having multiple contacts with the same fullname - it is common actually.

This is what I have.
I have  contact 1:N relationship with Membership and I have Membership N:1 relationship with Association.  
I also have Contact N:1 relationship with Account.

The data I try to migrate has the following relationship:
Contact have a contact ID that link to a membership, and a membership have a membership ID that link to a association.
Account have account ID that link to contact
An account can have multiple contact.

I will need to migrate all these data from the database to CRM.

I am wondering how I should import them using downloaded template for the data import

Are you contacts and accounts in the same import file? So your file looks like:

Account | Account ID | Acct Address | ... | Contact ID | Contact First | Contact Last |...
ABC Co.  | A1234         | 123 Street     |...  | C4444         | Joe                | Smith            |...
ABC Co.  | A1234         | 123 Street     |...  | C4333        | Amy               | White            |...
ABC Co.  | A1234         | 123 Street     |...  | C4321         | Will                 | Johnson      |...
BCD Co.  | A2222         | 444 Street     |...  | C2222         | Ed                  | Rowe            |...
BCD Co.  | A2222         | 444 Street     |...  | C2211         | Julia               | Brown           |...
....

OR

Are your accounts in one file, with a single Primary Contact ID link to the Contact, and your contacts are in another file, with an Account ID link to the Account (many contacts may have the same Account ID.

I  have contact as 1 view/table within in MS SQL and I have another table for account.  I have the contact ID as the primary key for contact.  I have the Contact ID as foreign key within the account table.  


Thanks.

Ok, so you have no foreign key to an Account from the Contact table? In other words you have duplicate records in the Account table where the only difference in the records is the Contact ID?

Sorry  I have confused you.

I have the Account ID as a foreign key within the contact table.

Ok, great. Here's what I recommend:


The import wizard allows you to import multiple record types at once when they reference each other. This is common with Accounts, which have a primary contact defined, and Contacts related to Accounts.

When you go through the mapping settings, you will map each column of each file to an attribute:

1.

map your Account ID column in the Account file to the out of the box Account ID attribute.

2.

The Account ID column in the Contact file will be mapped as a Lookup to the Account entity, then you will have more options to say to match it against the Account ID attribute within the Account.

3.

In the other direction, the Contact ID in the Contact file will need to be mapped to a custom Contact ID attribute I think, because I don't think there is one out of the box (but there will be an option to create the field right from within the wizard if desired).

4.

Then if there is a Contact ID in the Account file, map it as a Lookup to the Contact entity, matched against your custom Contact ID attribute.
Then import your Association file by itself
Then import your Membership file by itself last because it references potentially all of the above.

processguru

Thanks your recommendation.  I can import once. But I failed to import the same file with after modification.  How can update the record I create.

Processguru,

Thanks for all your input. It has been very helpful.

You're very welcome :)

thanks.