CMDB

Imports

Import CIs from a Comma Delimited File

 

This page allows you to easily import a list of CIs from a .csv file. You can also update existing CIs by reimporting them with updated information.

 

 

To import a list of CIs:

  1. Create a .csv file with the CIs you would like to import. You can easily create a .csv file using Microsoft Excel (save as CSV). Columns in the .csv are fields to import for each CI, and rows in the .csv are the individual CIs. See the image below for an example.

     A .csv file ready for import into SysAid


  2. Select the .csv you've created using the Choose File button.
  3. If your .csv has column headers (like in the picture above) check the box Do not import the head line.
  4. Select the field delimiter. If you create the .csv in Excel, this is a comma (,) by default.
  5. Select the number of fields to import. The number of fields is equal to the number of columns in your .csv file. If you update the number of fields to import, click the Save Fields button.
  6. Choose a column as the key field for the import. The importance of the key field is for checking to see if the CIs exist already. If a CI already exists, SysAid will update it instead of creating a new CI. Please make sure to use a field with unique values as the key. If you use a field with values that appear frequently, you will simply overwrite one of your CIs multiple times.
  7. Choose the Default CI Type. Any new CI you import that doesn't have a specified type will be created with the type you specify here.
  8. Select each field you are importing in the Field content column. The Field content in Position 1 is the leftmost column in your .csv. When you are finished, click the Save Fields button.
  9. If you select any date fields, specify the date format in the Format column. You can use either European (dd/mm/yyyy) or US date formats (mm/dd/yyyy).
  10. Click Submit to import your CIs.

 

You can verify that your CIs were correctly imported and/or updated from CMDB --> CI List.

 

Scheduling an import

SysAid allows you to schedule an import of a .csv file. This is useful if you have a third party software that regularly outputs data to a .csv, and you would like to import that data into SysAid. To schedule an import:

  1. Check the box Schedule.
  2. Using the calendar icon , select a date and time for the first import.
  3. Using the dropdown list, choose whether the import should occur every day or every week.
  4. Copy your .csv file to the SysAid Server.
  5. In the File path field, input the filename of the .csv file with a full path. This should be a local path on the SysAid Server.
  6. Click Save Fields. If the .csv file is not found, there will be an error message. If the .csv file is found, no message will appear.

 

The .csv file will be imported at the date and time you've specified, and every day or week thereafter at the same time of day.