Zoho Creator allows you to import data from into the reports in your Creator application. Creator supports importing data from .xls, .xlsx, .xlsm, .csv, .tsv, .ods, .accdb, .mdb, .json and .numbers file formats. The required file can either be stored in your computer or stored in a cloud service (Dropbox, Google Drive, Zoho Docs, etc.).

To import data:

1. Access your Creator application. 

3.Import interface

In the next step the import interface will be shown with data from the selected file. The interface gives a preview of the records that will be created according to the specified mappings of the columns. You can edit the data that is displayed.
The import interface also offers a variety of smart capabilities that enable you to filter, refine, and cleanse the to-be imported data. Based on the data of the imported file, the format for a certain field will be added. If required, this format can be edited as per your requirement.

Creator offers a variety of smart capabilities that enable you to filter, refine, and cleanse the to-be imported data.

• First row contains column headers
• Map columns
  
• Add column
• Import settings
• On import error
• Data format
• Sort data
• Filter data
• Find and replace
• Refine data
• Smart suggestions with Zia

4.First row contains column headers

Creator will automatically try to detect if the first row of your imported file is comprised of headers or not. When the  First row contains column headers  option is checked, the columns in the field mappings section will be named after those column headers. If the option is unchecked then the first row values will be considered as actual data values.

• Click on the  Table Settings  button adjacent to the required table.
  

  

• Check the  First row contains column headers  option.
  

  

5. Map columns

In the Map columns section you can map fields from the imported file to those present in Creator. In the column mapping pane, the left side shows the columns of the imported file and the right side shows the fields in your Creator. Creator automatically tries to map the fields. You can remap the columns of the imported file to any field based on your requirement. To map a column, choose the field from the drop down list.

1. Click on the  Map columns  button.
   

   
   

2. To map a column choose the field from the drop down list.
   

   

3. Mandatory fields : Make sure are mapped and you do not leave any mandatory fields blank in the import file. Do note that not mapping mandatory fields will lead to error while importing the file.
4. Lookup field handling : The lookup fields can be imported based on both ID as well as value. Whether the import is based on Value or ID will be denoted in adjacent to the field. 
   

   

5. Conflict resolution :  Creator offers conflict resolution by highlighting warnings that may arise during field mapping. When conflict warning is displayed you can click on remap button to rectify the mistakes.
   
   • Decimal warning: When appropriate number of decimals are not present.
   • Field warning/data type mismatch- When incompatible data type is set for the column that is not appropriate for the data.
     

     

   • Lookup-not in parent warning: Some rows may fail during import when their values are not present in the lookup parent field. To resolve it is recommended to set empty values on import error.
   • Lookup-duplicate values: When parent lookup field either contains duplicate values or some values are not present in parent lookup fields.
     

6. Add Column

1. Click on the Add column button.
   
   
   
   
2. Select the required field, enter the default value and click Add .
   

Note: 

1. You can add upto 5 additional columns per import.
   
2. The supported field types with which you can associate additional column during import are: Name, Email, Address, Phone, Single Line, Multi Line, Number, Date, Drop Down, Radio, Multi Select, Checkbox, Decision box, Rich Text, URL, Time, Percent, Currency, Decimal, Date-Time, Subform, Lookup - Singleselect, Lookup - Multiselect, and Auto Number.

7. Import settings

1. Append rows  - Adds new rows to the existing report
   
2. Update rows - Updates the existing record based on the specified unique value field. 

N ote: 

• Updating existing records overwrites data in the target file and cannot be undone. It is recommended to make a backup copy of the target file to which you’re importing data.
• It is important to remember that values in the existing Creator report will be updated according to the contents of the imported file, even if the field for those matching records in the file is blank.
  
• 'Update rows' option is available only if the report has at least one field with unique values in the corresponding form.
  

Note: Execute Scripts implements the On Submission and On Validation workflows attached with the form event for the first 300 records of the imported data. The supported form events are Create , Edit , and Create/Edit forms.

To refine data:

1. Click on the  Refine data  button.
2. In the Refine data pane choose the required operation from the drop down list.
   

   

3. Now choose the required column and perform the data refining operation.

12. Smart suggestions with Zia

Under the Smart suggestions section Zia(Zoho's Intelligent Assistant) will provide suggestions to you based on problems that may be present in the data that has been uploaded from the file. Zia provides suggestions to a handful of problems which are as follows:

• Duplicate rows at table level
• Inconsistencies in data
• Multiple data types
• Missing values
• Phone number without standardization
• Name and Address without standardization
• Date/Date-time/Time without standardization
• Data with un-escaped HTML entities
• Values enclosed in quotes

To work with Zia's suggestions:

1. Click on the  Smart suggestions  button. In the Smart suggestions pane on the list of suggestions by Zia will be displayed.
   

   

13. Importing data

Once you've configured your settings and field mappings, you're ready to import the data from the file.

1. Click the  Import  button to start importing data into your report. This may take a few seconds to a few minutes depending on the amount of information you're importing.
   

   

2. Once the import process is complete a popup will be displayed with the import summary. Errors if any will be shown.
   

   

3. Click on the  Import summary  button to view a detailed summary of the success/failure of the records that were imported.
   

   

4. Click on  Access the report  to view the report.

What's new in the New Import Interface:

1. The new interface allows Addition and Updation of the data provided necessary permissions have been granted.
   
   • Adding and Updating during the import process will be permitted only if the  Access ,  Edit  and  Import  permissions has been granted for the form. The Updation of data also depends on the grant of  Modify All  permission and the  Role hierarchy .
   • Updating data during the import process will not be allowed if the  Edit  permission for the particular form has not been granted.
   • The import data function will work only if  Access  permission has been granted for the particular form.
2. Import of files with any kind of script execution is currently supported only when the number of records to be imported are less than 3000.
3. By default, the workflows will not be triggered in the new import interface. Instead, they can be enabled from the  Import Settings  section.
4. Do not import records option under  On Import Error  section will be available only when the number of records to be imported are less than 3000.

Points to remember:

1. You can import data from the .xls, .xlsx, .xlsm, .csv, .tsv, .ods, .accdb, .mdb, .json and .numbers file formats.
2. The Name field can either be present as a single column or as a composite field made up of Prefix, First Name, Last Name, and Suffix subfields. Creator supports importing data in both scenarios.
3. Similarly Address can either be a single column or a composite field made up of the Address Line 1, Address Line 2, City/District, State/Province, Postal Code, and Country subfields. Creator supports importing data in both scenarios.
4. If the file has columns containing values such as true/false then Creator will automatically associate it with the  Decision box  field. In case other boolean values are present then they will be associated with  Radio  field.

Limitations:

1. There is no limit on the number of rows that can be imported provided the file size is less than 100 MB.
2. Importing Subform data is currently not supported.
3. The new import interface will not available for customer portal users.
4. Import of files with any kind of script execution is currently supported only when the number of records to be imported are less than 3000.
5. Do not import records option under On Import Error section will be available only when the number of records to be imported are less than 3000.