Importing data from outside sources to the Salesforce system is made easier by the Data Import Wizard. With this feature, you can add up to 50,000 records for custom objects, contacts, accounts, leads, and solutions. Duplication of entries is not a problem. The Wizard ensures that data are not entered twice into the system.
Preparing the Data for Import
A user can create a CSV file containing all the necessary data that he needs to upload to Salesforce via the Data Import Wizard. Once that’s done, he’s free to launch the wizard and start the importing process.
Launching the Data Import Wizard
From the Salesforce page, go to Setup > Administer > Data Management. Select Data Import Wizard and check the information presented on the welcome page. After that, hit the Launch Wizard button. You will now be taken to the Data Import Wizard screen.
If you come from an object-specific home page, you can navigate to the Data Import Wizard by going to Tools and selecting Data Import Wizard from the drop-down list.
Uploading the Data
First, choose the data that will be imported. Click on Standard Objects to import leads, accounts, contacts, articles, person accounts and solutions. Otherwise, click on Custom objects to import other types of data. Specify what you need to do on the objects – whether to add a new record, update existing records, or do both. Specify the file path of the CSV file where the loading data comes from. After all these, click on Next.
Mapping Data
The second step is to map the data fields to Salesforce data fields. The Map Your Field dialog box will appear. Select the Salesforce fields that you need to map and click on Map. Check the list of mapped data fields then scan for any unmapped fields. Click Map to the left of the spotted unmapped fields. To make changes to the automatically mapped Salesforce fields, click Change. Once done, hit Next.
Review and Import Proper
Users will now be taken to the Review page, where they can scan the mapped fields and make changes to any of them. If everything’s fine, click on the Start Import button. Importing will then be automatically done. To check the import status, go to the Data Import Wizard home page and check the Recent Import Jobs chart, or search for Bulk Data Load Jobs from the Setup page.