Importing data from a file

This demo shows you how to manually import data into the Profile Data Sources defined in Customer Decision Hub.

This is the Pega Customer Decision Hub portal. Only users with the DataAdmin role can see the Data menu in the navigation pane. To select an existing data source in Customer Decision Hub, navigate to the Profile Designer landing page. Data sources that are defined in the context dictionary are available here.

By clicking on a data source link, you can see the details of the underlying data structure. The Fields tab shows the customer attributes.

On the Records tab, you can see the values for all the fields defined for that data source.

The Default view represents all fields that are defined and mapped in the data source. This view is created automatically for you, but you can also create additional views. Each view is backed by a Report Definition in the entity's data class. To create additional views, you save the Default report and customize it according to your needs.

On the Records tab, you can modify existing records, add and delete records manually, or export and import records in bulk.

For data security reasons, the Import and Export functions are only available in non-production environments. In a production environment, you use the data jobs to import and export data.

To export the data, you click Export. The system then automatically exports all data stored in that data source in a CSV format.

You can use the exported file as a template when importing records back to Customer Decision Hub.

Start the import process by clicking the Import button. The import process has four steps.

In the first step, you upload the CSV file to Customer Decision Hub and then choose a Purpose. The system uses the file contents to either add new records only, add new records and update existing records, or to delete records from the data source.

In the second step, you map the columns in the CSV file with the fields in the entity.

Typically, there is no pre-defined template for the initial import. If there is a complicated mapping, you can save the configuration as a template at a later step in the process. This helps to avoid configuration mistakes and reduce preparation time.

You can choose a column in the CSV file as a key by selecting a column that matches existing records in the entity. You then select an Update type for records that already exist in the data source and select the Always update option to update the records in the destination. It is also possible to only update matching records if the values in existing records are blank, or to only update matching records if the values in the CSV file are not blank.

If you clear the Update all fields checkbox, you can select the update type at the field level.

To modify the data that is imported, you can use the Mapping options for each field. By default, the value in the CSV file is used when importing, but it is also possible to use a Lookup, Decision Table or Decision Tree to modify the values.

In the third step, you choose the Import options. Here, you can change the format of date and time values when importing, and define validations. You select the Save import settings as a template checkbox to store the configuration as a template. Data is automatically validated during import.

The final step shows a summary of the validation of the records.

The Import progress dialog box shows the duration of the process, and shows the number of processed rows.

For more information, see Managing profile data sources in Customer Profile Designer.