PeopleImport - Best Practice for Mapping Fields in Stage 1
- Prior to mapping any data, check the default mapping options in PeopleImport Options. The tool ships with "Update" as the default setting, but you may want to change this to "Update Only if Blank" or "Do Not Update" if this is typically how you want to handle updating existing records.
- To save time, use the auto-map option when mapping the input data to map as many input fields as possible then manually map any fields that could not be auto-mapped
- Always REVIEW thoroughly any auto-mapped fields to ensure they were mapped to the appropriate field in Salesforce and remember that one input column can be mapped to multiple fields in the same Salesforce object
- When electing to compare input data to Contacts, auto-mapped fields will map to BOTH Contact AND Account fields
- Carefully check the "update" option selected for all fields and ensure that no adjustments need to be made
- Owner fields and Company/Account Name field mapping should be reviewed carefully and may want to change to "Do Not Update" or "Update if Blank" (since these fields are never blank they will not be updated)
- Keep in mind that multi-select picklists, text area fields, and true/false fields can be MERGED. This is NEVER selected as the default update action, so it must be adjusted on a field by field basis
- NOTE: Street Address fields will have "Merge" as an option because they are text area fields in Salesforce. IT IS NOT RECOMMENDED that these fields be merged
- After all fields have been mapped, run the "Check" utility (the button to the right of AutoMap) to scan input data for possible data integrity errors that could result in either errors when processing or possibly causing PeopleImport to shut down during the import.
PeopleImport always requires mapping to the following standard required fields. This is by design to avoid errors when inserting new records.
Leads: Company and Last Name
Contacts: Last Name
Accounts: Name
More information on Mapping can be found in Step by Step Instructions -> Stage 1 - Mapping.
