Bulk Data Import – Customer Alerts

Summary

This article will provide the necessary information when importing files to create customer alert records using the Bulk Data application.

File Format

The following general characteristics apply to create customer alert import files:

File naming convention must be *.csv

A header is required (1st row)

A header listing field names is required (2nd row)

The header must be followed by one or more comma-delimited detail records

Non-required fields can be empty.

Place quotes (“) around any text fields containing a comma

The columns are not required to appear in a specific order. The order for a specific file is defined by the header record.

You do not have to include all columns in an import file.

Import Identifier

The import identifier is optional if you import files via the Bulk Import web module. The correct identifier is automatically applied by selecting the type of import.

If you import using the file automation method by uploading files and placing them on the file server, the first row of the file must have the file format identifier, starting in the first position of the first row.  For the customer file the identifier is:

FORMAT:IDI/CostGuardBulkData/CustomerAlert

Note:

“Format:” is part of the identifier and must be included.

Header Record

The import file must contain the appropriate column names. This is typically the first row if you use the Bulk Import module. It is the second row if you use the file automation Method. The column names are listed in the Record Layout section of this document. The columns do not need to appear in a specific order. Import files do not need to include all of the columns, only the columns that contain data to be imported are necessary. The field names must match exactly as listed in the layout.

Supported Operations

The customer alert import supports only adding new alerts to a customer account. Update and remove operations are not supported.

Record Layout

The third row and beyond contain the feature records to process.

Special Data Types:

Boolean:

True: 1, Yes, or True (case insensitive). Any other value is interpreted as False

DateTime:

Standard format is yyyy/MM/dd HH:mm:ss although other formats are also supported (e.g. 2020-04-17 11:28:00)

HH:MM:SS (time) may be omitted