I did not see an "import" specific forum so I'm posting this query here.

I want to import new proposals with proposal attributes.  In the past I did a two step process where I first imported the proposals, then did a second import to bring in the attributes.  My understanding is that it can be done in one single step, but I'm not clear on how to do that.  Which fields do I need to manually define in my import file?  PRImpID? PRAttrImpID? PRAttrPRImpID?

You can do this import in one proposal import. If you create an import file of a proposal and another one for a proposal attribute and export as a csv file you can copy and paste the fields into one proposal import file.  You will need the fields ImportID, PRAttrImpID, PRImpID, PRAttrPRImpID, which all should be blank for new proposals except the ImportID which links to the constituent.

Charlotte,

Thank you for your reply.  I'm still a bit confused about the whole process.  I understand how to make the import files and I have done that.  All of that makes sense to me.  I am having problems understanding how to format the data that I have.

I have a csv file that already has constituent IDs.  How do I associate ImportID with the ConsID that I already have in my file?  When I created the import file, it does not have an ImportID field.  It does have PRImpID.  I notice that in your response you list ImportID and PRImpID as two seperate fields. 

Is there some sort of white paper or knowledge base article that covers how to do this? It seems like it should be simple, but it's always like pulling teeth.

Hi David, 

I know importing is hard to get your head around, but it is definitely worth it and once you have your templates created, it is so easy and quick!

When I said the import ID, I was referring to the constituent import ID, which is automatically generated at the same time as the constituent ID, i.e. when you add a new constituent.  Both IDs do exactly the same job in importing - they identify the constituent, therefore you can use either ID when importing.  I just use the import ID for the constituent as this is its purpose and also it cannot be edited as a constituent ID can.  This is different from the PRImpID which is the proposal import ID.  Therefore, every proposal that is created will have a unique import ID.  As you are creating a new proposal you will need this coding, but it will not need to be populated as you haven't created it yet - when you import the new proposal it will automatically assign a proposal import ID.

If you are uncertain if your import will work, validate it only first and test it on one proposal.

There will be a number of knowledgebase articles, but it is worth checking out the importing user guide, which is also found under the BB website/Support.  This guide will tell you what fields you need to import and will probably explain it much better than I can! 

Good luck with it and do get back in touch if you need to.