Import User and Account Traits from a CSV

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This is available in UserVoice Discovery Premium.

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If you use Salesforce, we highly recommend syncing your Salesforce data using our Salesforce Connector. The connector will automatically keep your data up to date.

Note: If you have setup the connector, you will not be able to import traits via CSV.

If you use HubSpot or Dynamics we recommend taking advantage of our Sync Service. The sync is a managed service that will automatically sync data from these systems for you.

 

If you want to import data from any other system, continue with this guide. This is a guide for importing user and account traits from a CSV file. If you're not familiar with user and account traits in UserVoice, be sure to check out our getting started guide here. 

Downloading the Import Template

The first step for importing your traits is to download the import template. The template is an empty spreadsheet with the allowed headers pre-filled. We'll walk you through where to find the template in the admin console.

1. Click the "Users" icon in the left-hand menu → Click the cloud icon in the top-right → Select "Import user data".

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2. Click the link to download the User Data Import Template.


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Formatting Your Data

You must use the pre-filled headers from the template and save your file as a UTF-8 without BOM encoded CSV (100,000 row limit). You may get your source data from a salesforce export, your product database, etc. 

Required Fields

  1. external_user.external_id
  2. external_user.email_address OR user_id 

Note: If you are importing account traits, you must also pass an account.external_id. If you don't have an ID handy (but have unique email addresses) you can use the same value as external_user.email_address for external_user.external_id.

User and Account Details

  • user.id: the user ID in UserVoice
  • external_user.external_id: unique identifier in your system
  • external_user.email_address: if a user's email address does not already exist in UserVoice this will create a new user profile. 
  • external_user.name: only seen by admins, and does not update their UserVoice display name
  • external_user.created_timestamp: must be in standard format: yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss. Default timezone matches the zone the uploader is in. To specify a time zone use the following format: yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss-06:00 (for eastern)
  • external_user.ip : used to set a location for the user 
  • external_user.type: admin, owner, developer, end user etc.
  • account.external_id: required to create an account
  • account.name: the name of the organization
  • account.plan: the account's plan level in your system
  • account.mrr: monthly recurring revenue or revenue represented in dollar units (If you pass in 1.5 this will be interpreted as $1.50)
  • account.ltv: represented in dollar units (If you pass in 1.5 this will be interpreted as $1.50)
  • account.created_timestamp: must be in ISO format: yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss. Default timezone matches the zone the uploader is in. To specify a time zone use the following format:  yyyy-mm-ddThh:mm:ss-06:00 (for eastern)

You will need to decide which ID’s to use for your external_user and external_account ID's. For example, you may use the user’s ID in your product for their external_user ID in UserVoice. For external_account.id, you might choose their organization’s ID in your product or perhaps the salesforce account ID.

 
Here are the steps you will take to stage data available to you to be imported into UserVoice users and accounts:
  1. List out all User and Account traits you would like to see in UserVoice, using the field names you see in your Database.
  2. Match up as many fields as possible to fields that are already found in UserVoice (standard traits fields).

Importing Your Traits

Now that your data is formatted you can add it to Uservoice. We'll walk you through how to do this and explain some of the errors you may encounter. 
  1. If you do not have the import dialogue open already, click the "Users" icon in the left-hand menu → Click the "cloud" icon in the top-right → Select "Import user data".
  2. Click the "Select .csv file" button → choose your file → click "Next". 
  3. The next screen will show you how many rows will be imported. If a row contains an error, the whole row will be ignored and it will not be imported. You can choose to ignore the rows with errors or fix them and try again. 
  4. Click the "Start Import" button, and you're done! You'll receive an email when the import has been completed. 
Be sure to check out this article for tips on how to use User and Account Traits in UserVoice!
 

Troubleshooting Errors

See our CSV Import Troubleshooting Guide.

Common Questions

 Q: Can import just account traits?
A: Yes, click the user icon in the left-hand menu → click the "Accounts" tab → click the cloud icon at the top → Choose the option to "Import account data." Make sure to use the template which will be pre-filled with your account fields.

Q. My import created a new UserVoice user, can I edit their display name or email address?
A. At this time, we do not have a way to edit a user's name or email address within UserVoice. If you'd like to see this added, add your vote to the idea on our forum. 

Q: How do I delete the traits I imported?

You can always use our API to do this (external user delete, and external account delete) or you can do this with another import.
  • Delete Values: Place #DEL in the field’s cell in your spreadsheet. The following cannot be deleted: the user.id, external_user.id, external_user.email_address, and account.external_id.
  • Delete an External User or Account: Set the 'delete account' or ‘delete external user’ column to #DEL on that row (all other values in that row will be ignored). This is the last column in the template.
    Note: You cannot unlink an external user from an account without either deleting the external user or the account. 
Q: How long will the import take to process?
A: For the maximum size CSV file (100K records), the import may take up to an hour to process. 

Q: Can I import voters of an Idea?
A: This article will walk you through how to import voters and feedback on an idea.

Q: How can import more than 100,000 rows at once?
A: At this time, this is not possible. If you want to see us add voters for this, please share your idea on our forum.
 
Q: Can I import custom data/fields/traits that don't match with fields you provide?
A: When you create custom user/account fields within the settings of Users & Accounts panel, those endpoints will be exposed via the param created. Use this param to import custom traits. 

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