Modify List Group or List Subscribers by Import

To define and execute a one-time importer use the [Import Subscribers Now] button on the subscriber importers list page for a list group or subscriber list.

The import wizard lets you define the modifications that shall be performed on the list and/or list group subscribers.

The modifications defined in this wizard are used once, for a one-time import of subscriber data. If you want to define modification settings that you can save for later re-use, define and save a Reusable Importer instead.

The wizard has seven pages: Type, Type Details, Source, Parse Details, Map Fields, Mapping Details, and Launch Import.

The top row of the wizard displays links to these seven pages. The page that is currently open is highlighted. Depending on the choices made on some of the wizard pages, other pages may become disabled or may be shown in different versions. If a wizard page is disabled, then it means that this page is not necessary with the current choices and can safely be ignored.

Map Fields Page: Map Import Fields to List or List Group Fields

This screen allows mapping the columns of the imported data to the fields of the list and/or list group.

Note: Where below a "list field" is mentioned, this also includes fields of the list group. So the actual meaning is "field of the list or list group".

Any list field can be mapped to a unique import data column. If a list field is not mapped to an import data column, then the value for this field will be assumed as "empty" for all imported rows.

If for a given imported row the value for a list field is empty (either because it actually appears with an empty value in the imported row, or because the field was not mapped to any column in the imported row), then the value for the field is decided as follows, depending on the field's input type:

Mandatory or Visible field: If a default is defined for the field (see the Mapping Details screen), then this default is used as the field value; otherwise, the imported row is ignored as invalid.
Optional, Read Only or Hidden field: If a default is defined for the field, then this default is used as the field value; otherwise, the field is set to "empty".

Note: Not all import data columns need to be mapped to a list field. If there are superfluous columns in the import data, they can simply be ignored.
Similarly, not all list fields need to be mapped to an import data column, even if a field is a mandatory field. For any unmapped field, simply define a default value (on the Mapping Details screen), which will then be used for all imported rows. For mandatory fields this default value is required. For optional fields, this default value may even be left out (in which case the field will be set to "empty" for all rows).

To see the current mapping state of each field, the states are marked with small icons above the mapping table. The following states are possible:

The field is mapped.
The field is not mapped.
The field is mapped to more than one column in the import data.

The table displays a preview of the first rows of the imported data. The header displays the name of each column in the import data if the import data contains header names. A selection box appears below each import data column with a list of all available list fields.

To map a column from the import data to a list field, go to the intended import data column and from its selection box choose the list field it is to be mapped to.
Select the ignore value for all import data columns that are not relevant. These columns will be ignored during the column validation and the import itself.

Note: If the imported data contains headers, the system will try to "guess" the mapping of the columns by trying to match the imported header names with the names of the list fields. Therefore, some (or even all) fields may already appear as correctly mapped when this page is entered.

Note: If an import data column is mapped to a list field of the Single Select type, then care must be taken so that only values from the lookup table that is assigned to the mapped single select list field appear in the imported data. Any import data row with a value that does not appear in the lookup table will be rejected as invalid.

Example: If there is a field named COLOR that is associated to a lookup table which contains the three values "Red", "Green", and "Blue", then for all rows in the import data the column mapped to the COLOR field can only contain one of these three values. All values have to have the exact spelling (case-sensitive). If a row contained the value "Yellow", then it would be rejected because "Yellow" is not a value found in the lookup table associated with COLOR. A row with the value "red" would also be rejected because in the lookup table the color is spelled with an uppercase "R".

Note: If an import data column is mapped to a list field of the Boolean, Multiple Select, Consent to Personal Tracking or Consent to Subscription Terms type, or if a mandatory list field is intentionally left unmapped, then further details must be provided on the Mapping Details screen.