How to configure a data import for Custom Data Import

To start importing data into Supermetrics using Custom Data Import, you need to create and configure the import on the Supermetrics Hub. 

We've created an easy setup which starts by uploading an example of data you want to import, and then going through a step-by-step flow to define how the data is read and updated with future data uploads.

Instructions

Step 1: Upload a file

1. On the Supermetrics Hub, go to Data sources → Custom Data Import.
2. Click Browse your computer and select a file you want to upload.
   If you have existing imports, click New import and then Browse your computer to select a file.
3. Data from your file will be read and you’ll be taken to the next step of the configuration.

Step 2: Define which part of the file is read

In this step, you can define from which sheet and table of your file the data should be read, which row should be considered as a header row and if some rows of data should be skipped.

Note that the settings differ for CSV and XLS/XLSX files.

For CSV files:

1. Adjust Header row to match the row where your column labels are.
   If there are no header rows, you can uncheck the checkbox next to Header row.
2. Adjust First data row to match the row in which you have the first actual data values.
3. If your file or table has one or more additional rows at the end of the file (for example, a total row that should be excluded from import), define Skip rows from the end to match the number of rows that should be skipped.
4. Once your data looks correct, click Next: review & refine to proceed to the next step.

For XLS/XLSX files:

1. Select the sheet from which you want the data to be read.
2. Adjust My table starts at to match the cell value on which your table starts at. If your table has headers, point to the leftmost cell of the header row.
3. Uncheck My table has headers if your table doesn't have a row for headers.
4. Adjust First data row to match the row in which you have the first actual data values.
5. In case your file or table has one or more additional rows at the end of the file (for example, a total row that should be excluded from import), define Skip rows from the end to match the number of rows that should be skipped.
6. Once your data looks correct, click Next: review & refine to proceed to the next step.

Step 3: Configure fields

In this step, you can adjust how data from each column of your dataset is handled. 

Review the fields we detected from your file and adjust settings to ensure each column is treated correctly.

• Column checkbox: Defines if the data is imported. Uncheck this if you want to the data be excluded from imports.
• Field name: Name for the field shown when configuring a query in Supermetrics products. You can edit the name by clicking the pen icon.
• Data type: With data type, you can define the format the data should be imported. Data type also defines if a field is treated as a metric or as a dimension.
• Date format: For date fields, you can also define in which format the date data is in the file. This allows you to ensure that dates and months are converted correctly to the unified format used across Supermetrics products.
• Data preview: Shows you how the data from your file looks when queried in Supermetrics products. Use the preview to confirm that values from your file are treated correctly.
• Settings: under settings you’ll find additional settings to clean up and transform your data.
  • Tip: You can use Find and replace to clean up unnecessary characters from your data, allowing you to match data the desired data type.

Once you’ve reviewed your fields, click Next: set up future imports to proceed to the next step.

Step 4: Set up future imports

In this step, you'll define how the data is delivered and how the data is updated with each upload.

1. Give a name for your import. You'll later find the import with this name when building reports.
2. Copy the email address to which the data can be delivered. Don't worry, you can also find the email address later.
3. Define how data uploaded by email will be downloaded.
   If an incoming email can contain multiple files, you can define a file name pattern that we use to download only certain files from the email.
4. Define how data is updated when new data is uploaded. Learn more about different update types and their behavior.
   • Select Append if you want to ensure that already imported data won’t be touched and new data will be added to the end of the existing dataset. Please note that this can lead to duplicate data if files contain overlapping rows.
   • Select Full refresh if you want already imported data to be completely replaced with new data every time new data is imported.
   • Select Append & deduplicate if historical data can update (ie. due to the attribution window) and you want values for rows to be updated. Select fields which we use to detect rows to update when new data is imported.
5. Click Save import to finish your import configuration.

Now your import is ready, and you can start uploading data.