Overview, Permissions, & Limitations

Prepping the CSV File for a Bulk Case Update

Running a Bulk Case Update

Overview, Permissions, & Limitations

Bulk case updates are also a useful way to make changes to case information to a large number of cases as well as to trigger automated events like the sending of surveys to existing cases. Note that these automated events need to be put in place prior to the update in order for them to work. Please submit a support ticket if this is something you would like to have put in place.


In order to perform a bulk update, an Impact user role's permissions must include the Import permission under Importing/Exporting. Please see Roles for more information about this and steps on how to add this permission to a role.


Prepping the CSV File for a Bulk Case Update

In order for the Impact system to know which case to update, this file MUST include the Case ID of the case you would like to update. This field is different from the case identifier and is used to uniquely identify the case within our system, i.e. case_2206POMDZO2I3WXH. To capture this field, we recommend first running a case export of the cases you would like to update. The Case ID will be listed in the first column on the case export file labelled "ID". This export file should then be used to build your bulk case update file, see the steps outlined below:

  1. Complete a case data export of the cases you would like to update into a XLSX file. See our solution article here for steps on how to do so.
  2. Open the export file and resize the columns to make it easier to see what's held in each. Info on resizing columns can be found here.
  3. Do not delete the first column, 'ID', as that is required in order to run a bulk update (see Case ID note above). Delete unneeded columns (i.e. CREATED, CREATED_BY, etc.) and keep the columns of the fields you would like to update. You can also keep columns that make it easier to see what cases are being updated like the IDENTIFIER and name columns. Info on removing columns can be found here.
  4. Remove the rows of any cases that should not be updated. Info on removing rows can be found here.
  5. Add or replace the values in the column(s) of case information you would like to update. Note that these values will often need to align with the values associated with the field you're updating. The format for most values can be found here.
  6. Save this file into a CSV format, which is the required format of the Bulk Case Update feature. Info on saving files in a new format can be found here.

Running a Bulk Case Update

Once you've created the CSV file as described in the first section of this article, you're now ready to run a bulk case update! 

  1. Navigate to the Manage Date Jobs page by clicking Data Jobs under Settings in the Main Navigation Menu (see below. Then click the blue IMPORT button to open the Import Data window to begin the import. 
  2.  Next, in this Import Data window, select 'Cases' as the Import type and then change the default Import Action to 'Update' by clicking in the dropdown menu. Select the CSV import file saved on your computer by clicking the grey file area. Then click CREATE IMPORT JOB. Note: If no file appears in the local folder that you saved it in, then the format is likely incorrect. This window will only display CSV files.
  3. This opens the Import Field Mapping tab of the Data Job you have just Created. This mapping tab is where each column in your file, called Import Fields, can be mapped to the correct field in IMPACT,  called Target Fields.
  4. In order for the system to know which cases to update, the CaseID target field must be mapped to the column in your file that contains the case IDs. If you are using a file that was originally a case data export, this column will be titled 'ID'. Click the Drop Down menu and select the correct column. Note that is NOT the case identifier field.
  5. Un-map any columns that do not need to be updated if they were automatically mapped. Do this by clicking on the dropdown menu and selecting the blank option. This will need to be done if additional columns were kept on the file.
  6. Map the Import Field column(s) that will be updated to the correct Target Field. If only one field is being updated, that means only two fields should be mapped, the CaseID field and the field that is being updated.
  7. When you're sure that all the fields are mapped correctly, click the SAVE MAPPING option at the bottom of the page. This will open the Start Import Job window.
    1. If you would like to wait to start that the bulk case update, click CANCEL. You will be then be able to edit the mapping by clicking EDIT MAPPING on the MAPPING tap of this Data Job. To start the bulk case update, click on the Info tab of this data job and click START IMPORT.
  8. If you are ready to run the update, confirm that the correct number of case records is displayed along the top of the window and then decide if the The Run Workflow on Import option should be checked or not. 
    1. Check the Run Workflow on Import option when you want to trigger one or more automated events that have been set up in your organization when a case is updated. An example of event like this would be the automatic sending of a survey invitation or sanction notice to the case's email.  This event will need to be put in place prior to this update in order for this to work. Please submit a ticket if you would like an event like this to be put in place.
    2. Do not check the Run Workflow on Import option if you do not want the update you are making to these cases to trigger any automated events.
  9. After checking or unchecking that run work flow option, click START IMPORT to begin the update.
  10. This import will then be queued and should begin being imported in 5 minutes or less. Large imports may take several minutes to complete once begun. 
  11. To check on the status of the import, the window can be refreshed or REFRESH can be clicked at the bottom of the INFO tab while the import is queued/running. 
  12. When the import is complete, review the Successful percentage and Errors sections of the Info tab. If there are an issues within the import, there will be a count of these listed in Errors. 
  13. After import completion, a new RECORDS tab will appear along the top of this data job. Clicking this will enable you to open each individual new case record. The reason behind any errors with the import will also be listed in this RECORDS tab.


Please submit a support ticket if you have any questions about this process or if you'd like a personalized demo of this import process!