Let’s say we want to attach some documents in Contact entity records. We can use out of box Import Data Tool to upload data/attachments into MS CRM 2011.To import attachment into particular record we need to identify a unique key for the record(let’s say for contact entity, it’s contact id i.e. GUID or any field which is unique).
Below is the step by step procedure to import attachment for contact’s record.
Steps:
Prepare Source Data:
Step #1 Go to Data Management ->Templates for Data Import -> Select Note and click on Download.
Step #2 Edit the downloaded template as shown below.
http://arvindcsit.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/sampledata.jpg
Description of Columns:
Title: This would be Title of attached file.
File Name: File name of the attachment.
Mime Type: Type of attachment like text/plain.
Regarding: Reference of record’s field name. In my case I have selected Contact’s Full Name.
Document: Document Id of attached file.
Owner: Owner name must be the CRM user.
Description: Description of file.
Step #3 Build the folder structure for attachments and data file:
Below are some guidelines for file size and folder structure.
If you want to Import multiple files in one Import session, you can .zip them together. A .zip file can include files of .csv, .xml, or .txt file types. All files in a single compressed file must be of the same file type.
The .zip file must confirm to one of these folder structure:
- .zip file having the files and optional attachment folder directly in it:-
- Attachments (Folder)
- <File1>
- <File2>
- <File3>
Note: By default, the maximum size of the files you can import is 8 megabytes (MB). This means:
- Any .csv, .txt, or .xml file must not exceed 8 MB.
- Any individual file inside the .zip file must not exceed 8 MB and the total size of the .zip file, including the Attachment folder, must not exceed 32 MB.
You can choose any of the above file formats and give it as an input to the Import Data wizard. The delimited .txt, .csv, or XML Spreadsheet 2003 format files can be easily created by using Microsoft Office Excel.
In my case, I followed this “ZIP folder that contain data files and one Attachment folder directly under root” i.e.
- ContactImport(Zip file name)
- Attachments(folder)
- Note.xml
Step #4 Import the ContactImport.zip file using Import Data feature (Data Management ->Imports).
Step #5 Click Next
Step#6 Select “SampleDataMap” and Click Next.
Step#7 Select “Note” for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Record Types and Click Next.
Step#8 Select mapping fields from CRM Fields as shown below and Click Next.
http://arvindcsit.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/fieldsmapping.jpg
Step#8 Clicks on Next.
Step#9 Select Allow Duplicates “No” and Click Submit.
You can write Data map Name for future import.
Step#9 Data has been submitted for import. It may take time based on size of data.
Step#10 Please check the contact record for attachment.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
