How to Guide - Salesforce Data Import: Step 3- Test & Upload

Testing.  Taste is lacking.

                                 Importing Data to Salesforce using a Spreadsheet or .CSV Files

Trailhead Baby readers, like yourself, are very smart, so it should go without saying that testing the data upload with a Salesforce sandbox is a best practice.  Yes, it will increase the workload, but inserting a small set of records first, say 10 of each object, will ensure that your order is correct.  Imaging uploading a large batch of records to production incorrectly!  Weeding out 1,000 incorrect inserts out of 10,000 total accounts would be unpleasant!  Even worse, incorrectly inserted data could overwrite existing accounts.  Eeek!  (Admins- I know we like to click, but fixing this would be too much clicking!  Even Trailhead Babies have to sleep sometime!)

Data Import Steps:
3) Test and Upload
Before uploading any records, start by downloading data loader.  First time data loader user?

Watch:

You can also read the Data Loader Guide on developer.Salesforce.com.

Importing Leads

Leads are the simplest object to upload thanks to the Data Import Wizard.  Need a tutorial?  This article provides step-by-step instructions.  A word of caution - test all imports, even simple ones with a sandbox first!  A few weeks ago, I helped my mother import a batch of new leads from Tahoe Dreamin.  Simple enough.  The problem - I made an "oops!" and forgot to associate the leads with a campaign.  She had to click through every lead, one-by-one, in order to associate each person with the campaign.  Sorry mom! I should have tested the import in a sandbox or inserted a handful of leads before tackled the whole batch.

http://www.dummies.com/business/customers/how-to-import-your-leads-into-salesforce/

Importing Accounts and Contacts

Accounts and Contacts can be inserted using the Data Import Wizard or with data loader.  Personally, I prefer data loader:
1) Insert the Accounts

2) Extract the account name and record IDs

3) Patch the account record IDs into the Contact spreadsheet 

4) Insert the Contacts

Importing Your Organization's Accounts and Contacts: Salesforce Cheatsheet

If you prefer to use the Data Import Wizard - Watch:

Importing Opportunities

Data loader, not the Data Import Wizard, must be used to insert Opportunities.  

1) Extract the account names and record IDs

2) Patch the account record ID's into the Opportunity spreadsheet

3) Insert the Opportunities

Importing Opportunity Contact Roles

1) Extract the contact record ID's and the opportunity record ID's

2) Patch the ID's into the Opportunity Contact Role spreadsheet

3) Insert the Opportunity Contact Roles

Read more: Import Opportunity Contact Roles using Data Loader

The main point- This is a step by step process, and there are a lot of steps for a seemingly simple upload.  Organization and understanding the structure of the Salesforce Org is key!  

Clean Data | Determine the Insert Order | Test & Insert

Importing a few more objects?

The more complicated the insert, the more necessary it becomes to have all of your pieces in the correct order.  Let's take a look at a 15 object restore.  The dependencies between tables have expanded with the addition of more objects! It's more than knowing which objects you need - You need the correct order and all of the dependencies.

Objects for Insert

More complicated restores: Use a third party solution such as CopyStorm/Restore where you can push a few buttons, and have the application insert all of the records in the correct order.

(The 15 object restore displayed above... I completed it in 30 seconds with CopyStorm/Restore.  No data loader or recordID patching needed.)

Confused about RecordID patching?  Error messages from data loader? Read the next post for FAQ!