File Import and Matching Guide
In this article, you’ll learn tips for importing CSV data into IT Glue. For the step-by-step instructions and CSV templates, see Importing CSV data into your account.
General requirements
When preparing a CSV file for import, make sure that it meets these general requirements:
| Requirement | Details |
| Header row |
The CSV file importer uses the CSV file header row to determine how to map data from the file's 2nd row and beyond to fields in IT Glue. |
| UTF-8 text |
The source file must contain only UTF-8 format text. Special characters that UTF supports includes, but is not limited to: ! @ # $ % ^ & ' ) ( . - _ { } ~ / £ A full list of UTF-8 characters can be seen here: http://www.fileformat.info/info/charset/UTF-8/list.htm |
|
Any error values are fixed |
We have had reports where a ? or � (black diamond with a white question mark) replaces some letters. The cause of this is how the source program (e.g. Excel) is reading the data. You can fix the errors in the export file using a text editor. Note that you may find similar replacements, for example, é (e-acute) is replaced by an e. If you find that there are just a few of these to correct, it may be easier to fix them in IT Glue. Otherwise, fix them before you import the data. |
| Values with a comma in quotes |
Check your data fields for commas. If any of these cell values contain extra commas, enclose the value with quotations, for example, "San Francisco, Main Office" (in quotes) instead of San Francisco, Main Office. If you don't do this, the importer may read the extra comma as a data separator, and the import may fail. Also, if you use quotations like this, make sure quotations are nowhere else in the CSV data. |
| Size limit: 100 MB |
The file must not be more than 100 MB in size. |
| Dates in yyyy-mm-dd format |
You must use the ISO8601 date format: yyyy-mm-dd (e.g. 2016-03-31). Note that if you are having issues importing date values, you may want to edit the date format in your computer’s region settings and choose the yyyy-mm-dd format as your short date. ISO8601 is an international standard for the representation of dates and times. |
| Phone number in required format |
Only the area code and number should be entered. Do not enter the country code, even for non-US/Canadian numbers. Special characters, such as brackets, dashes, dots, commas, and spaces, are accepted, but may not be used. IT Glue will reformat the number to the standard for the specified country (in the Country field). |
| Commas are used to delimit (separate) the data |
If items in the text file are separated by tabs, colons, semicolons, spaces, or other characters, replace them with commas using a text editor, such as Notepad. If the problem is related to a regional setting, another option is to change your regional settings. See Changing regional setting in Windows (CSV imports). |
Tips for getting your data from CSV files
Keep reading for more tips that will help you prepare your data for a successful import.
This section is organized into the following subsections:
Organizations
Here are the data fields as they correspond to organization CSV imports. Required fields are indicated in the first column.
Match on import supported? Yes, but only if the matching logic is successful in finding a match.
| IT Glue Field | Import Notes | Example |
|
name (required) |
Specify the organization name. If an organization with that name already exists, it will be updated instead. |
Happy Frog |
|
organization |
Specify an existing type as the target, or the importer will automatically create a new type for you at time of import. |
Customer |
|
organization _status |
Specify an existing status as the target, or the importer will automatically create a new status for you at time of import. |
Active |
|
short_name |
A short text field. Make sure it’s a unique identifier that’s both short and easy to remember. |
hapfro |
|
description |
A paragraph or longer of plain text. |
Based in San Francisco, CA with major offices in Detroit and Tampa. In business since 1994, they have been a managed services client with Kraken Techs since 2009. |
|
quick_notes |
A paragraph or longer of plain text. |
New servers going live Friday at 6:00 PM PST. Please contact Project Manager John Morgan. |
|
alert |
A short text field. Maximum is 200 characters. |
No Active Directory backups currently. |
Locations
Here are the data fields as they correspond to locations imports. Required fields are indicated in the first column.
For best results, enter complete, precise physical addresses. IT Glue will use the specified address to embed a Google Map that includes a marker/pin to indicate the specific location.
Match on import supported? Yes, but only if the matching logic is successful in finding a match.
| IT Glue Field | Import Notes | Example |
|
organization (required) |
CSV data is imported on a per-organization basis. You can either specify an existing organization as the target, or the importer will automatically create a new organization for you at time of import. If a single organization import is chosen, the organization column is ignored. |
Happy Frog |
|
name (Required) |
A short text field. Maximum is 100 characters. If a location with that name already exists for that organization, it will be updated instead |
Main Office |
|
primary |
The word “True” in this column will identify which address to mark as the primary address. Only one address per organization can be marked as primary. |
TRUE |
|
address_1 |
A short text field. |
1600 Amphitheatre Parkway |
|
address_2 |
A short text field. |
8th and 9th floors |
|
city |
A short text field. |
Mountain View |
|
region |
Enter a supported region name. Refer to the values in the "Province/state" drop-down in IT Glue. The options are different for each country. |
California |
|
country |
Enter a supported country name. Refer to the values in the "Country" drop-down in IT Glue. |
United States |
|
postal_code |
A short text field. | 94043 |
|
phone |
Use the phone number format specified further above. |
555-123-4567 |
|
fax |
Use the phone number format specified further above. |
555-123-8888 |
|
notes |
A paragraph or longer of text. |
Both floors are alarmed. Server room is on the 9th floor. |
Contacts
These are the data fields as they correspond to contacts imports. Required fields are indicated in the first column.
Match on import supported? Yes, but only if the matching logic is successful in finding a match.
| IT Glue Field | Import Notes | Example |
|
organization (required) |
CSV data is imported on a per-organization basis. You can either specify an existing organization as the target, or the importer will automatically create a new organization for you at time of import. If a single organization import is chosen, the organization column is ignored. |
Happy Frog |
|
important |
The word “TRUE” in this column will identify which contacts to mark as important contacts. Multiple contacts can be marked as important contacts. |
TRUE |
|
first_name (required) |
A short text field. |
Robert |
|
last_name (recommended) |
A short text field. The last name is not required but is recommended. If a person with the same first and last name already exists for that organization, it will be updated. |
Storts |
|
contact_type |
Specify an existing type as the target, or the importer will automatically create a new type for you at time of import. |
Approver |
|
title |
A short text field. |
Director of IT |
|
location |
If the specified location does not exist as a contact in IT Glue, a new location (name only) will be created. Maximum field length is 100 characters. |
San Francisco - HQ |
|
primary_email |
A short text field. |
robert@happyfrog.com |
|
primary_phone |
Use the phone number format specified further above. |
555-123-4567 |
|
notes |
A paragraph or longer of text. |
He prefers to be contacted by email. |
|
additional_contact _items |
Note that when existing contacts are exported, IT Glue adds a JSON output (key/value pairs) into this field. This information must be retained if you want to export, update, and re-import the data and not lose the related JSON objects. |
" |
Configurations
The following data fields correspond to configuration CSV imports. Required fields are indicated in the first column.
Match on import supported? Yes, but only if the matching logic is successful in finding a match.
| IT Glue Field | Import Notes | Example |
| organization (required) |
CSV data is imported on a per-organization basis. You can either specify an existing organization as the target, or the importer will automatically create a new organization for you at time of import. If a single organization import is chosen, the organization column is ignored. |
Happy Frog |
| name (required) |
A short text field. If a configuration with that name and type already exists for that organization, it will be updated instead. |
HF-SF-CJ452JK |
| configuration _type (required) |
Specify an existing type as the target, or the importer will automatically create a new type for you at time of import. |
Managed Workstation |
| configuration _status |
Specify an existing status as the target, or the importer will automatically create a new status for you at time of import. |
Active |
|
hostname |
A short text field. |
HFSFCJ452JK |
|
primary_ip |
A valid IP address. | 10.10.30.25 |
|
default_gateway |
A short text field. |
10.10.20.253 |
|
mac_address |
A short text field. |
18-5E-0F-ED-99-9J |
|
serial_number |
A short text field. |
C03R3LT7THV8 |
|
asset_tag |
A short text field. |
BP6549 |
|
manufacturer |
Specify an existing manufacturer as the target. You can also create new manufacturers/models on-the-fly during the import process. NOTE If the manufacturer is specified but not the model, the configuration will not have a manufacturer. |
Dell |
|
model |
Specify an existing model as the target. You can also create new manufacturers/models on-the-fly during the import process. NOTE If the model is specified but not the manufacturer, the configuration will not have a model. |
Latitude E7470 |
|
operating_system |
Specify an operating system that IT Glue supports. |
Windows 10 |
|
operating_system _notes |
A paragraph or longer of text. | Build 1511 |
|
position |
A short text field. | NE corner office |
|
notes |
A paragraph or longer of text. | Hard drive replaced in January 2017. |
|
installed_at |
Use the date format specified further above. | 2016-12-08 |
|
installed_by |
A short text field. | Carl Beck |
|
purchased_at |
Use the date format specified further above. | 2016-12-08 |
|
purchased_by |
A short text field. | Carl Beck |
|
warranty_expires _at |
Use the date format specified further above. | 2017-11-02 |
|
contact |
If the specified user does not exist as a contact in IT Glue, a new contact (name only) will be created. |
Robert Storts |
|
location |
If the specified location does not exist as a location in IT Glue, a new location (name only) will be created. Maximum is 100 characters. |
San Francisco - HQ |
|
configuration _interfaces |
Note that when existing configurations are exported, IT Glue adds a JSON output (key/value pairs) into this field. This information must be retained if you want to export, update, and re-import the data and not lose the related JSON objects. |
" |
Passwords
The following are the data fields as they correspond to password imports. Required fields are indicated in the first column.
When you import your passwords, the importer will use the following logic:
- If a Configuration Name OR Resource Type and ID are NOT provided, it assumes the password is a general password.
- If a Configuration Name OR Resource Type and ID are provided, it assumes the password is an embedded password.
Learn more about the difference between general and embedded passwords in this article.
Match on import supported? Yes, but only if the matching logic is successful in finding a match.
| IT Glue Field | Import Notes | Example |
|
organization (required) |
CSV data is imported on a per-organization basis. You can either specify an existing organization as the target, or the importer will automatically create a new organization for you at time of import. If a single organization import is chosen, the organization column is ignored. |
Happy Frog |
|
name (required) |
A short text field. Called “Description” on the front end. |
VMware vCenter Server Login |
|
password_ category |
Specify an existing category as the target, or the importer will automatically create a new category for you at time of import. |
Application |
|
username (recommended) |
A short text field. The username is not required but is recommended. If a password with the same name/description and username already exists for that organization, it will be updated. |
CLOUD\AWI-0123 |
|
password |
A short text field. |
nlK%3^ljX |
|
url |
A short text field. |
https://ip_or_fqdn:9443 |
|
notes |
A paragraph or longer of text. |
If a warning message about an untrusted SSL certificate appears, click Ignore. |
|
configuration _name |
You can either specify an existing configuration as the target, or omit this column and use the resource_type and resource_ID to specify the target instead. |
HF-DET-AD04 |
|
resource_type |
Specify the target asset type. For configurations, enter Configuration, and for a contact, enter Contact. Or omit this column and the resource_id column and use the configuration_name to specify the target instead. |
Configuration |
|
resource_id |
Specify the target asset ID. You can get the ID through an account export or from the address bar when viewing the asset in IT Glue. |
2259617 |
Flexible assets
Flexible assets are not based on set templates, so you will need to refer to the flexible asset fields topic for the data fields as they correspond to flexible asset imports. Any fields that are required fields in your template will be required fields when importing.
Before importing data into IT Glue via CSV, navigate to Account > Flexible Asset Types, click on the one you want your data to import into, and verify that any drop-down menu options that your spreadsheet needs are available in the flexible asset type. If any drop-down menu options are missing in the flexible asset type, those rows in your spreadsheet will not import.
Also, note that you can import tags for the other core asset types (for example, "Contacts" and "Configurations"); they just can’t be "Users". If you need to enter multiple values in a cell to add multiple tags, separate the values with commas.
IMPORTANT Warning. You cannot match data fields when importing flexible assets. While you can successfully import, updated records cannot update overwrite existing assets. This will result in the creation of duplicate records which will need to be manually deleted.
Matching logic
If match on import is supported, standard matching rules are used to match records within IT Glue when importing data from a CSV. The following summarizes the fields that are required to match information in the CSV file to data in IT Glue:
|
Rule |
Matches on |
|
Organization |
(Name) only |
|
Contacts |
(Organization) AND (First Name AND Last Name) |
|
Configurations |
(Organization) AND (Configuration Type AND Configuration Name) AND (Serial number AND Primary MAC address) * |
|
Locations |
(Organization) AND (Name) OR (Organization) AND (Address 1 AND Address 2) if Name not present |
|
Password - General |
(Organization) AND (Name/Description) AND (Username) |
|
Password - Embedded |
(Organization) AND (Name/Description) AND (Username) AND (Configuration Name) OR (Organization) AND (Name/Description) AND (Username) AND (Resource Type) AND (Resource ID) |
|
SSL Certificates |
(Organization) AND (Host) OR (Organization) AND (Certificate) |
If the matching logic is unsuccessful in finding a match, a new record is created. When one or more identical matches are found, the item that was created first is matched on.
* Configurations: If more than one match, the system will try to narrow the matches using a unique identifier, such as a serial number or MAC address, before matching on date created.
Limitations
The importer does not do any validation other than checking to see if the record already exists based on the matching logic above. It doesn't know, for example, that Happy Frog is the same organization as Happy Frog Inc. The quality of your data will make a big difference in the results you get. If there's a lot of inconsistency, you're going to end up with with duplicates because the importer has no way of knowing what you meant from what you entered.
The import prompter may fail without informing the reason for failure when an invalid character is entered.
Example: em dash in an organization name or spaces within a URL field.
When a URL field of the Password CSV file contains a space (eg: "itglue .com"), the importer will apply this information into the Password Notes field instead of the URL field.
