Importing Lists into Workfront Question

[CliffDe]

I'm working with a Project Team that wants to import a list of 5,000 vendor contacts into a custom form. Does anyone know if this is possible to accomplish in Workfront? Thank you Cliff De Jong @ Inland Empire Health Plan

[VicAl]

Hi Cliff, Yes, definitely possible. What kind of records (both type and format)?

[CliffDe]

Vendor Supplier Names that are listed on an Excel Spreadsheet. They would like the names to populate in a drop-down field. Cliff De Jong @ Inland Empire Health Plan

[CliffDe]

When you say Records type what type are you referring too? Can you please elaborate in regards to your question for me. What kind of records (both type and format)? Thank you Cliff De Jong @ Inland Empire Health Plan

[VicAl]

Ah, sorry in this case I don't believe they have a kickstarter to import fields into a custom field yet. Though that would be awesome (if you're listening WF �� )! I asked the type of record because I was wondering if you were looking to import Tasks, Issues, Notes, Users, etc. All of which can be imported. Sorry I didn't have better news.

[EXP_-_DustinMa]

Hey Vic, We actually do! Kick-starts can be used to import custom data (Categories (AKA custom forms) and Parameters (Custom fields) and Parameter Values (choices on custom fields.) It's not a simple process, but possible. @Cliff De Jong . An easier alternative would be to use the AtAppStore's Excel updater: https://store.atappstore.com/product/excel-updater/ However, if you do want to give it a go yourself, I'd recommend doing the following: On a Friday, log into your preview environment. Open Setup -> Custom Forms Delete everything . EVERYTHING . On the Custom Forms tab, you'll default to Forms, once you delete the forms, go to the Fields tab and delete all the fields. Once all the fields are deleted, go to the Sections tab. Delete all of the section breaks. Once all custom data is deleted, create a new form, label it something obvious (Ex: "This is a custom form".) On the new form, create a new drop down field, again labeling it something obvious (Ex: "This is a custom drop down field".) For the choices, I'd probably leave them as is (Choice 1, Choice 2.) Save the form. Now you have an easy to understand set of data. Now go to Setup -> System -> Kick-Starts -> Export -> [‚úî]Custom Data -> Download Now you have a kickstart with just the custom form, custom field, and the 2 built-in choices. Locate the tab with the 2 built in choices, and follow the same format of those choices to update the list with your list of vendor contacts. Make sure you update the name of the custom field, and custom form. Make sure you also get the ID of the custom form, so you can set the "setCategoryID" field to that custom form's ID, or it'll end up creating a new custom form. You'll need to create a new custom field with the kick-start, so the setParameterID should be "1" (assuming you're only importing the 1 field.) One thing I would recommend is not using a drop down or check box for 5000 values, or you're going to regret life... that's a lot of data for the system to pull. I'd limit it to around 500 instead, and use multiple fields if possible. Also a good reason to try this in Preview, not the production environment. If anything goes wrong, we nuke the data in Preview over the weekend, and you can start fresh the next week. Sorry for the lengthy post, but I hope this info helps! Thanks, Dustin Martin Assigned Support Engineer Workfront

[VicAl]

Sweeet! Thanks Dustin!

[AmandaHo2]

Hi @Cliff De Jong Did you figure out how to do this? I have a team member that has all his tasks on an excel and he needs to import or put them in Workfront somehow. I've seen people talk about Kick-Start, I'm assuming that's an admin setting. He has about 130 tasks and it would be a one time deal. I was thinking of creating a form and then importing, if Workfront allows this action. Let me know if you have any ideas. Thanks! Amanda Hodge IEHP

[EXP_-_DustinMa]

Hey Amanda, IF your user has access to Microsoft Project, you can import a list of tasks from a csv, xls, or xlsx file. You have to map the columns from the file to the fields in MSP, but once you have the data loaded in there, you can export the project as an xml file. This is the only way outside of a kickstart that I'm aware of being able to do this. Good luck! Dustin Martin Assigned Support Engineer Workfront

[CliffDe]

No, not yet. Still researching the possibilities. Cliff De Jong @ Inland Empire Health Plan