Handling identifiers during an import
Importing your data
- Users can upload a .csv file or a .zip file containing multiple .csv files.
- The .zip file must be named, for example, Contacts.zip, Accounts.zip, etc.
Working with the Identifier Field
What are the Identifier Fields?
Identifier fields are fields used to find and match existing records when importing data into the product. They also help link related records, like connecting a contact’s name with their email address.
Each module supports different unique identifier fields for identification, as described in the table below:
Module | Unique Identifier Fields |
Accounts | Account ID Account External ID Account Name |
Contacts | Contact ID Contact External ID Last Name First Name Phone Number Mobile |
Tickets | Ticket ID Ticket External ID Ticket Number |
Products | Product ID Product External ID Product Name |
Tasks | TaskId Task External ID |
Calls | Call ID Call External ID |
Events | Event ID Event External ID |
Article Translation | Translation: External ID Translation ID |
Custom Modules | Record External ID Custom Module Name |
Points to remember:
- While these fields help find matching records.
- So, if multiple records match the value, the first matching record will be selected automatically.
- This can lead to unexpected matches or data being updated in the wrong record if you're not careful.
For your understanding:
Some users expressed a preference for matching Contacts by Last Name instead of Email, highlighting the importance of flexibility in their workflow. Furthermore, some additional users approached matching through the use of a custom field, emphasising the need for tailored solutions to fit their unique requirements. Moreover, users requested that the functionality be enhanced by updating existing records with the relevant entity's Zoho Desk ID, aiming to streamline their processes and improve data accuracy.
Commonly used identifier fields:
- Find By is used to identify an existing record during the import process.
- Map By is utilized to link a child record to a parent record, for instance, by linking a Contact to a Ticket.
You can now select specific fields for matching, providing enhanced control and customization during bulk processes or integrations. This functionality enables more precise data handling, ensuring that the information aligns with your specific requirements. By tailoring the matching criteria, you can streamline processes, ultimately leading to enhanced efficiency and better outcomes for your team. This flexibility enables you to harness the full potential of your data.
Import Systems
Let's start by preparing the CSV file.
A sample tickets module CSV file is given below,
External ID | Subject | Contact Email | Contact Name | About |
101 | Hitman | Sharma | Rohit Sharma's journey from a gifted schoolboy to an international icon and fierce competitor reflects resilience, elegance, and remarkable leadership. | |
102 | King Kohli | Virat | Virat Kohli is a world-renowned Indian cricketer known for his aggressive batting, unmatched consistency, and passionate leadership across all forms of the game. | |
103 | Lambu Ishanth | Sharma | Ishant Sharma is a tall and experienced Indian fast bowler known for his 300 test wickets and key performances in overseas conditions. |
Then choose the appropriate Find By identifier field.
The Find By field is selected from a predefined set of fields specific to each module. It is used to determine whether a record already exists in Zoho Desk.
When using the import tool, the system searches the Desk portal for a record (e.g., a ticket) that matches the value mapped to the selected Find By field. This prevents duplicate records by identifying existing entries based on the chosen field.
- Once the file is uploaded, you need to choose a Find By Field — for instance, Ticket External ID.
- Whichever Find By field we choose must correspond to the relevant column in the CSV file. Since we've selected the Ticket External ID, the Case External ID column in your file should be mapped to the Ticket External IDfield.
If the chosen operation is to 'create new records while avoiding duplicates', and there is no existing ticket with the External ID 101, the import tool will generate a new ticket using the mapped fields. To associate the ticket to the correct Contact, the import tool utilizes the Map By field feature.Finally, choose the appropriate Map By field.
The Map By field enables users to link imported records to their corresponding dependent records, such as associating a ticket with a specific contact. This functionality ensures that when you import ticket data, the import tool actively searches for a matching Contact in Zoho Desk based on the value defined in the selected Map By field.
For instance, during the field mapping process, you can specifically choose to map the Ticket to a Contact using criteria such as the Contact's email ID. This approach enhances the accuracy of data integration by ensuring that each ticket is correctly associated with the relevant Contact, thereby improving data integrity and streamlining the support process. This meticulous mapping not only minimizes the chances of errors but also facilitates a more organized and efficient ticket management system, ultimately leading to improved customer experiences and satisfaction.
Map by identifier field functionality
The tool efficiently searches for contacts associated with the provided email address.
Search: When a user submits a ticket, the system initiates a search for contacts associated with the specified email address.
Match found: If a single match is identified, the ticket is seamlessly associated with that Contact, ensuring that all relevant customer information is readily accessible for support agents.
Multiple Matches: If numerous contacts are found with the same email address, the system will prioritize and use the first match. This helps streamline the ticketing process while maintaining clarity in customer support.
In summary, the strategic use of Custom Unique Fields and External ID fields as identifiers, along with the potential for composite identifiers, positions support teams to operate more effectively and improve overall customer interactions.
Significant improvements in user experience
Transparent process and status tracking
Unique identifiers for entity mapping
Enhanced error handling and log accessibility
Support for custom modules
Takeaway
Topic Participants
Kavya Rao Addepalli
Sticky Posts
Zoho Desk Partners with Microsoft's M365 Copilot for seamless customer service experiences
Hello Zoho Desk users, We are happy to announce that Zoho Desk has partnered with Microsoft's M365 to empower customer service teams with enhanced capabilities and seamless experiences for agents. Microsoft announced their partnership during their keynoteWhatsApp pricing changes: Pay per message starting July 1, 2025
Starting July 1, 2025, WhatsApp is shifting from conversation-based pricing to per-message billing. That means every business-initiated message you send will count. Not just the first one in a 24-hour window. Pricing updates on the WhatsApp Business PlatformLive Webinar - Work smarter with Zoho Desk and Zoho Workplace integration
Hello customers! Zoho Desk and Zoho Workplace are coming together for a webinar on 14th May, 2024. Zoho Workplace is a suite of productivity apps for email, chat, docs, calls, and more at one single place. Zoho Desk is closely integrated with a few toolsApple iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 updates for Zoho Desk users
Hello Zoho Desk users! Apple recently announced the release of iOS 17 and iPad OS 17. These latest OS updates will help you stay productive and efficient, through interactive and seamless user experiences. Zoho Desk has incorporated the updates to helpZoho Desk Cheat Sheet For The Year-End
Check out these Zoho Desk best practices to end this year on a high and have a great one ahead! #1 Set Business (Holiday) Hours - If you have limited working hours, please make sure you restrict your business hours or set them as holidays for the coming days. Let your customers know when you will, and won't, be available. #2 Update the Annual Holiday List - Check the holidays for the new year and update the holiday schedule. Usually, holidays from the current year will be carried over for the next
Recent Topics
Ability to CC on a mass email
Ability to CC someone on a mass email.How to make attachments mandatory
I want the user to be unable to mark an opportunity as Closed – Won if it doesn’t have any attachments. I’ve already tried client scripts and functions, but nothing worked.SLA Ticket Report
From data to decisions: A deep dive into ticketing system reports Service level agreement (SLA) ticket reports in a help desk system are crucial for ensuring that services are delivered according to established commitments. They help maintain accountabilityZoho Backstage - PCI Compliance / Web Security
I have a couple of questions related to Backstage and payment processing.... 1. my purchasing division is not giving approval to use Backstage yet because of some security issues. In order for us to take payments via a payment gateway like Authorize.netZoho Tables August 2025 Update: Faster and Smoother
We’ve been working behind the scenes to make Zoho Tables faster, lighter, and more reliable. Here are the highlights: Faster Response Times Optimised the way responses are generated. Reduced memory consumption by 20–25%, leading to smoother performanceVideo Upload from app says "unsupported aspect ratio" but is verified to be correct.
I and my social media person are experiencing a problem where Social will not accept video uploads to Instagram. The error we receive is "unsupported aspect ratio" but looking directly at the file in question we see that the width and ratio both matchDisposable Email Addresses
Dear zMail Team, Can you also bring out a few disposable email addresses for each accounts? That way occasional registrations and imminent spam from them can be largely solved right? ---- Deepak Vasudevan http://thamizhththendral.blogspot.com/Zoho sheet - Zoho expense
I want to schedule to create an expense using Zoho Sheet and flow. That is the EMI that I pay on a particular date to the bank and should be itemised, like principal and interest on the loan. Can someone help me in this regard??Ability to configure a schedule/shift for each user and/or crew in Zoho FSM
Hello, In our team of Field Agents, we have different shifts. Some field agent always work from 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM while others work the evening shift like 4:00 PM to 11:00 PM. Sometime shift are on weekdays only or on weekend. It would be great to beFree webinar: Streamlining customer service paperwork with the Zoho Sign extension for Zoho Desk
Hello Everyone! Have you been wondering about bridging the gap between digitised customer service and business paperwork? Join our free webinar to learn how you can do this by connecting Zoho Sign, our digital signature app, with Zoho Desk, our onlineZoho Books | Product updates | July 2025
Hello users, We’ve rolled out new features and enhancements in Zoho Books. From plan-based trials to the option to mark PDF templates as inactive, explore the updates designed to enhance your bookkeeping experience. Introducing Plan Based Trials in ZohoMail Search should allow grouping by conversation like Gmail.
Having switched from gmail I have found the search function hard to use. Mostly because mail is not grouped by conversation in search. If I search for a word when looking for a conversation had with someone then sometimes 10 emails will come up from theImprove Zoho Learn updated article notifications
I noticed today while updating an article, that the notification users get says "[User Name] has published article [Article Name]..." My feedback to the product team is that it would be really helpful for an end user, if the system notification differentiatedSafari Support
Safari, the world's second largest browser, zoho desk does not officially or fully support. That needs to change.Can I get images from an "Image Upload" field in a webhook?
I want to send images from 2 "image upload" fields via a webhook. Is this possible?Ticket closure notification - all contacts cc'd on email thread
Hello, If a client sends an email to our service desk and cc's in other people that work at the same company - so that they are in the loop of the service request. When the we close the ticket, only the ticket owner (person who emailed us - which createdInactive account cleanup policy for Zoho Sign
Zoho Sign reserves the right to delete accounts that are license free and inactive for more than 120 days. The account deletion will be initiated only after the user receives prior email notice about possible data deletion and how to backup the data.Missde API documentation for Sales Receipt
Hi! I noticed that the Sales Receipt endpoint is not currently listed in your API documentation (https://www.zoho.com/books/api/v3/introduction/). Could you please provide any available temporary documentation for this endpoint, along with a detailedMulti-currency in Zoho CRM Forecast and Reports
As a company we have branches in 4 different countries with as many different currencies. Our Sales Teams would like to work with their local currency as much as possible. The Forecast module using only 1 currency is practically usable only by the salesHow to select from pricebook when creating a salesorder or quote
I am creating a sales order and when selecting the Products I do not see any where to select from pricebooks. How do i associate this to my orders?Proposal for Creating a Unique "Address" Entity in Zoho FSM
The "Address" entity is one of the most critical components for a service-oriented company. While homeowners may change and servicing companies may vary, the address itself remains constant. This constancy is essential for subsequent services, as it providesAutomatic Matching from Bank Statements / Feeds
Is it possible to have transactions from a feed or bank statement automatically match when certain criteria are met? My use case, which is pretty broadly applicable, is e-commerce transactions for merchant services accounts (clearing accounts). In theseI cannot find my older documents from 2024 and 2023
I cannot find my older documents from 2024 and 2023.System default SLA descriptions can't be modified
The system default SLAs have identical descriptions for all SLA levels, but their settings differ. However, I am facing an issue where I cannot modify these descriptions and save the changes. The content of the description box can be edited but the changesCustomising Help Center
Hi I don't think it is possible to add custom pages to help center? We'd like to use this as a customer portal with support tickets, FAQ/Guides, Billing and contracts. Is there any plans to add a feature like this or an alternative way to do it otherReplies sometimes creating separate ticket
Sometimes when a customer responds to an email coming from Zoho Desk, instead of adding a reply to the original ticket, a separate ticket is created. This happens even though the response subject line contained the ticket number, and the person respondingTicket Approvals - External Users
The ticket approval option - we need to be able to select external users (Contacts) for approvals. Sometimes we are working with an end user and their boss needs to approve a purchase. For example, working with a cashier on a broken cash register andForce Users to Ask Answer Bot a question... First
End users will always skip talking to a bot. It would be nice if Zoho adopted the standard and forced users to first ask a question to answer bot (or zia in some fashion) and then pass to the agent if it wasn't answered. Options to force the user to speakView Answer Bot conversations?
We are trialing Zia and are experimenting with Answer Bot on our knowledge base. So far so good! Management asks me if it is possible to view Answer Bot conversations, the purpose being to look over its shoulder and confirm that it is working as desMass Email an Account
It would be nice to mass email an account stating there is an outage at their business or something specific to an account is needed to be mass communicated. Even if it makes a ticket for every Email Out to every contact in the Account. Think: the customerMultiple Topics assigned to a single Campaign
Hello, is it possible to assign multiple Topics to a single Campaign? We frequently write a content to our subscribers that spans multiple Topics and we would like to send it to all Contacts that are subscribed to at least one of the Topics. But it looksBigin Android app update: User management
Hello everyone! In the most recent Bigin Android app update, we have brought in support for the 'Users and Controls' section. You can now manage the users in your organization within the mobile app. There are three tabs in the 'Users and Controls' section:Zoho Projects Fonts and Accessibility missing
I cannot find any more the tab where I can change the font in Zoho Project. I also checked the knowledgebase and there they have accessibility tab which I am completely missing. Is there some setup I am missing or is it a problem with our account?Introducing Version-3 APIs - Explore New APIs & Enhancements
Happy to announce the release of Version 3 (V3) APIs with an easy to use interface, new APIs, and more examples to help you understand and access the APIs better. V3 APIs can be accessed through our new link, where you can explore our complete documentation,Zoho Books Custom Widgets Deprecation Error
I created a simple sample widget with zet and published it using sigma Both in the Sandbox and Production the Widgets are showing this errorProblems with PDF files in notebook
I'm evaluating Zoho Notebook as an alternative to Evernote and imported my Evernote account to Zoho Notebook. First issue is that notes in Evernote that comprise a PDF are turned into a 'group' with a single note page (that has the text from the EvernoteAPI (v3) Tasks sorting issue
We are using the v3 API for Projects. When we gat all tasks, per page of 100 tasks, we get the task info alright. But when we try to sort based on DESC(last_modified_time) we don't get the correct sort order. It is roughly sorted by the last_modified_time,Assemblies make my stock go negative
I am sure this is just the way that we are using this feature, but we use assemblies, a lot. The issue for us is the way that the relive inventory and the fact that it makes our composite item stock go negative. I have added flows to auto assemble andUser Activity Reports
I'd like to get data related to user activity. For example, Login and logout times, emails sent/received, new records created , etc. Is that currently available. I just can't seem to find anything . Thanks, DaveHelp: Populate “Contact Owner” details into Customer custom fields (for email templates) in Zoho Books
We want to send invoices on behalf of our sales agents, and include the agent’s name, email, and phone in the email body using placeholders. Plan is to copy the Customer Owner details into three Customer custom fields, so they can be used as placeholdersNext Page