Configure an Autoloader

Autoloaders automate the import and update of data in SmartSimple by processing a prepared data file through settings on the General, File Layout, and Process tabs. For autoloader standard field names, see Autoloader Standard Field Names Reference.

Who: Global User Administrator

Prerequisites

Before configuring an autoloader:

• Create the SmartFolder or Configuration Folder designated for this Autoloader before beginning. 
• Identify the unique field that links each upload record to the corresponding database record. Standard fields such as name or phone number cannot be used, a custom unique identifier field is required.

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When to Use Autoloaders

Use Autoloaders when:

• Syncing external HR, financial, or organizational data with SmartSimple records on a recurring or scheduled basis.
• Bulk-updating companies, contacts, UTA/module Level 1, Level 2, or Level 3 records, notes, or associations without manual data entry.
• Automating data imports from a remote source, such as an SFTP server, HTTP endpoint, SOAP service, or OData feed, on a defined schedule.

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Prepare the File for Upload

Before creating the Autoloader, prepare and validate the data file. File requirements include:

• File format: ASCII text or CSV.
• Record separator: CR/LF (ASCII 13,10).
• Maximum rows: 100,000.
• Maximum columns: 100.
• Maximum cell size: 32,000 characters.

Field Delimiter Options

Each field in the file must be separated by one of the following delimiters:

File Creation Tips

• Use Notepad to create and save the file with a .txt extension.
• Use Save As in Microsoft Excel to save as a .csv file.
• If data contains commas, use pipes (|) as the delimiter to avoid parsing errors. To change the list separator on your PC:
  1. Navigate to Start and click Settings.
  2. Click the Control Panel.
  3. Click Regional Settings.
  4. Click Additional Settings.
  5. Click the Number tab.
  6. Update the List Separator field.
• Open any Excel-created CSV in Notepad before uploading to check for unwanted line breaks within cells. Each new line in the CSV initiates a new record, remove all inner-cell line breaks before uploading.
• When a column contains line breaks or delimiter characters, enclose the field value in double quotes. Any double quote within that content must be escaped with a backslash (\") to prevent it from being interpreted as the closing quote.
• If the file contains special characters, save with UTF-8 encoding.
• If any column value starts with a number sign (#), enclose it in double quotes.

XML File Notes

If XML file elements contain special characters such as < (less than) or & (ampersand), those characters may disrupt the XML structure. Wrap any field that may contain these characters in a CDATA block:

<![CDATA[ CONTENTS ]]>

For example, a company name containing an ampersand should be wrapped in a CDATA block. Using CDATA for all text fields is recommended, as field content can be unpredictable.

JSON File Notes

JSON files must begin with a data node. For example:

{ "data": [{ "Name": "Acme Corporation", "Phone": "416-123-4567", "CompanyID": "496246" }, { "Name": "Super Banana Ltd.", "Phone": "800-555-1234", "CompanyID": "496244" }] }

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Configure an Autoloader

Configuring an Autoloader involves completing settings across three tabs: General, File Layout, and Process.

General Tab

Complete these steps on the General tab:

1. Click the System Administration gear in the upper navigation bar, and then select Autoloaders from the drop-down menu.
2. Click New Autoloader [+].
3. Enter a unique name in the Loader Name field. Each Autoloader must have a distinct name.
4. Click the Folder Type.
5. Click the Lookup [binoculars] icon and click the folder designated for this Autoloader, or click Create Folder [+] to create a new folder.
6. Select the File Type from the drop-down menu. The options are:
   • CSV/Text
   • XML
   • Fixed Length
   • JSON
7. Select the File Encoding from the drop-down menu. This field is not displayed when the File Type is XML. The File Encoding options are:
   • UTF-8
   • UTF-16
   • Windows-1252
8. Select the Record Type from the drop-down menu. The options are:
   • Company
   • Contact
   • Resource
   • Universal Tracking Application (UTA)
9. Select the Item from the drop-down menu.
   • For Company and Contact record types, the options are Company/Contact, Event, Transactions, Address, or Associations.
   • This field does not display for Resource record types.
   • For UTA/module record types, the options include Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, Transactions, or an Association type. If Level is Transaction, select the applicable level from the additional drop-down.
10. Toggle Activate on to enable the Autoloader.

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File Layout Tab

Complete these steps on the File Layout tab:

1. Select the Number of Columns from the drop-down menu to set the number of columns to match the number of columns in the upload file. The maximum is 100. If more than 100 fields are needed, create two separate upload files.
2. Click Ignore Lines and enter 1 if the file includes a column header row.
3. Select the Field Delimiter from the drop-down menu. This field will not display when the File Type is XML or JSON.
   • For XML files, enter the Record Node Name and, optionally, the Record Node Filter.
4. Locate the Column Mapping section and select the corresponding SmartSimple field for each column from the drop-down menu.
5. Toggle Identifier on for the column containing the unique field that links the upload file to the database. For standard field name reference, see Autoloader Standard Field Names Reference.

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Process Tab

Complete the core creation and update settings on the Process tab:

1. Locate the Create/Update Options section and click a Creation/Update Behavior. The options are:
   • Update matching records and create new records if no match is found
   • Update matching records and ignore records if no match is found
   • Only create new records if no match is found and ignore any matching records
2. Configure optional workflow, email notification, and sequential Autoloader settings as needed. See Configure Advanced Autoloader Settings and Advanced Autoloader Settings Field Definitions Reference for details.
3. Click Save. The Autoloader is now active and ready to process files added to the designated folder.

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