CSV Imports

A simple way to bulk provision users, groups, and categories in Pronto is using CSV importing. You can:

• Create, update, activate, and deactivate users
• Create, update, and delete categories and groups.
• Add and remove users from groups.
• Set and change organization and group roles for users.

The CSV import process can be started either through an easy-to-use web interface or through the Pronto API (see more in Creating an Import Batch). However you create an import, you can see its progress as well as logs in the Org Management interface or programatically via the API.

Core Concepts

CSV File Naming

Each CSV file represents a type of object in Pronto and is identified by its name:

• Users (users.csv)
• Categories (categories.csv)
• Groups (groups.csv)
• Memberships (memberships.csv)

Pronto identifies the file type by looking at the prefix of the filename (e.g. users) and the file extension (.csv). Pronto ignores the suffix of the file so you can use that however you want (e.g. users_december.csv). Filenames are case-insensitive.

Valid file name examples

• users.csv
• users_december.csv
• membershipssnapshot.csv
• GROUPS.CSV

Invalid file name examples

• december_users.csv
• user.csv
• users.txt
• member_ships.csv

Import Batch

An Import Batch contains a set of CSV files to be processed. An import batch must contain at least one validly named file and may not contain more than one file of each type.

Valid Import Batches

It's valid for some files to have suffixes and others not. Pronto ignores filename suffixes:

users_december.csv
memberships_december.csv
groups_december.csv
categories.csv

A batch does not need to contain all file types. It can even contain just a single file:

users.csv

Invalid Import Batches

Each file type may have only one file in a batch. In this case, one of the user files needs to be removed before the batch can be created:

users_december.csv
users_october.csv
groups.csv

A batch may only contain valid files. In this case users.txt has the wrong file extension and so the import batch creation will fail:

users.txt
groups.csv

Creating an Import Batch

You can create an import batch by uploading the CSV files in the user interface, or via the Pronto API.

You must be an admin in your org in order to create and manage imports.

Creating an Import Batch

User Interface

Imports are available in the Org Management interface on web or on desktop. To get to Org Management from Pronto, sign in to Pronto, click on the gear icon next to your organization name in the upper left to enter user settings and then and select "Manage Organization".

Once you are in Org Management, click the "Imports" option in the left hand navigation panel.

If you do not see an "Imports" option, then it may not be enabled for your organization. Contact your Pronto CSM discuss having it enabled.

Then click the "New Import" and follow the instructions.

API

You can start a CSV import batch via API. This happens in two steps:

1. Upload each CSV file individually to the /files endpoint and get a file key for each.
2. Create an import batch call via the /organization/import_batches endpoint, including the uploaded file keys.

Regardless of how you create the import batch, you can view the status of the batch in the Org Management interface.

See the "Import Batches" section of the Pronto API docs for more information on how to programatically create, monitor, and manage CSV imports.

CSV import batches, including the source CSV files, are visible to all admin users in your organization.

Processing Order

The files in an import batch are processed in the following order:

1. Categories
2. Users
3. Groups
4. Memberships

This ensures that new objects are inserted before they are referenced in other files. For example, if there are new users in users.csv those are added before memberships.csv, which might reference those users.

Next Steps

Now that you understand how imports work you can view details and examples of the file formats.