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Import users from CSV

Regular automatic import

Create a scheduled task on the server with a recurrence period of e.g. 1 time per day that runs the following command:
%ProgramFiles%\ALVAO\MailboxReader\ImportUsersCsv.exe /csv <path to CSV file> /server <sql_server> /db <database_alvao> /add /remove

One-time import

To import portraits once on the server, run the created scheduled job once or copy the ImportUsersCsv application from the server to your computer and run it from the command line. The application is installed together with the ALVAO Service Desk MailboxReader in the "%ProgramFiles%\ALVAO\MailboxReader" folder.

Utility ImportUsersCSV

This utility imports users from a CSV file into Alvao. You can use it, for example, to update users in Alvao according to data in the HR system, etc.

Syntax command lines

ImportUsersCSV /csv "path and name of CSV file" {/con "connection string" | /server "database server name" /db "database name"} [/key "key column"] [/cols "column list"] [/utcdate] [/nohdrs] [/add] [/remove] [/help]

Detailed description of parameters

Parameter Description
/csv The path and name of the CSV file from which the import is to be performed.
/con
/server
/db
These parameters are used to set the connection to the Alvao database. It is possible to use a connection string (e.g. /con "Data source=.\sqlexpress;Initial Catalog=test;Integrated Security = True"), or simply specify a specific SQL server and DB (e.g. /server ".\sqlexpress" /db "test").
In case you use the /server parameters and /db, the database connection is made using Windows Integrated Authentication. If you specify all these parameters, only /con is used parameter, /server and /db will be ignored.
/key The key column is used to search for an existing user in Administration. If no parameter is specified, the key column is Login (must exist in the CSV).
/cols Allows you to specify the meaning and order of the columns in the CSV (CSV does not contain headers). If 0 is specified in the list (zero), the corresponding column from the CSV will not be imported (ignored).
Note: The list on the command line may not contain the same number of columns as the CSV (unlisted columns will be skipped - ignored).
/utcdate Date columns are in UTC time. If the switch is not specified, the time data in the CSV is considered in the current time zone of the computer (local time).
/nohdrs The imported CSV does not contain a header (first row) with column descriptions.
/add Create new users in Alvao.
Note: If this switch is not specified, the import will not create new users, but only update existing ones.
/remove Remove users from Alvao that it does not find in the CSV file.

Description of all supported columns

Name of column in CSV
(on the command line - /cols)
Importance Related column in tPerson Note
ID The unique identification number of the person in the CSV (e.g. the ID from the system from which the CSV is exported). - If the CSV contains a ManagerID or DelegateID, the import requires this column, otherwise it will exit with an error.
FullName Person's first and last name withPerson Must not be filled in - in this case the value will be composed as [FirstName LastName] (if filled in).
Login UserName withPersonLogin (if the value is of the form domain and is an AD user, then SamAccountName) The username can be entered in the following forms:
  • login@domain (UPN)
  • login
  • domain/login
Email E-mail withPersonEmail
Phone Phone withPersonPhone
Mobile Mobile withPersonMobile
Office Office withPersonOffice
Department Department withPersonDepartment
JobTitle Job Position withPersonWorkPosition
Pswd SHA1 hash of the user's password sPersonPswd
IsAccountDisabled "Account is disabled" bPersonAccountDisabled Values allowed: 0,1
OtherContacts Other Contacts mPersonContact
Notes Notes mPersonNotes
City City withPersonCity
ManagerID Manager ID. The person ID must exist in the CSV. - Requires ID column.
DelegateID Delegate ID number. The person ID must exist in the CSV and the related persons must have the same company (Company). - Requires ID column.
PersonalNumber Personal Number withPersonPersonalNumber
OutOfOfficeSinceDate Unavailable as of date. Common date and time formats are supported.
Example of supported formats:
- 2012-11-21
- 2012-10-9 15:24:48
- 2010-08-15 14:18:44
- 2010-07-14
OutOfOfficeSince
OutOfOfficeUntilDate Do not include the date and time. Common date and time formats are supported (see OutOfOfficeSinceDate). OutOfOfficeUntil
LocaleId User's preferred language, this is the "language code", e.g.:
- Czech: 1029
- English: 1033
- Polish: 1045
- Germany: 1031
iPersonLocaleId A good number.
Company Organisation - Search for an organization by name. If it does not exist, a new organization is created by name.
FirstName FirstName withFirstName
LastName LastName withLastName
TimeZone TimeZone - must match Windows time zone ID - more here. TimeZone
AdGUID GUID from Active Directory withPersonAdGuid
AdPath Path in ActiveDirectory withPersonAdPath
AdSID AD SID in text form (S-1-5-21-55544...) withPersonSID
IsHidden "Hide in menus" bHidden Allowed values: 0,1
IsShared This is a "shared account" bPersonShared
Country Country withPersonCountry
CountryAbbr Country (abbreviation, 2 characters) withPersonCountryAbbr
CountryCode CountryCode andPersonCountryCode Cell number
PreferredLang Preferred language (abbreviation, 2 characters) withPersonPreferredLanguage
Note:

Attributes can also be mapped to any existing custom field from the tPersonCust table, except for those items of type int that use a list of values. The attribute name must be "@"+[tPersonCust] +[database column name], e.g. @tPersonCust.Title.

Chefs

Recommended CSV file structure

It is recommended that the imported CSV file contains the following columns:

Name of column in CSV
(on the command line - /cols)
Importance Note
ID The unique identification number of the person in the CSV (e.g. the ID from the system from which the CSV is exported). If the columns ManagerID and DelegateID are blank, they do not need to be filled in.
FirstName FirstName Must be filled in FirstName and LastName, or FullName.
LastName Surname The FirstName and FirstName must be filled in. LastName, or FullName.
FullName Person's first and last name Must not be filled in - in this case the value will be composed as [FirstName LastName].
PersonalNumber PersonalNumber
Login User Name The column must have values.
Phone Phone
Mobile Mobile
Email E-mail
Office Office
Department Department
JobTitle Job Position
Company Organisation
IsAccountDisabled "Account is disabled" Allowed values: 0,1
ManagerID Manager identification number. The person ID must exist in the CSV. Requires ID column.
DelegateID Delegate ID. The person ID must exist in the CSV and the related persons must have the same company (Company). Requires ID column.
LocaleId User's preferred language, this is the "language code", e.g.:
- Czech: 1029
- English: 1033
- Polish: 1045
- Germany: 1031
A whole number.
Note:
Optional columns can be empty - be careful in this case the corresponding data for the person in Alvao will be removed (they will be empty).
Sample CSV file
ID;FirstName;LastName;FullName;PersonalNumber;Login;Phone;Mobile;Email;Office;Department;JobTitle;Company;IsAccountDisabled;ManagerID;DelegateID;LocaleId;@tPersonCust.Title44;David;Ostrý;;PN1111;ostry;3256;+420987654321;ostry@demo.cz;321;Marketing;Manažer;;0;46;45;1029;Mr45;Petr;Novák;;PN2222;novak;3247;+420111222333;novak@demo.cz;323;Promotions;Manager;;1;;1029;Mr46;Veronika;Clements;;PN3333;clements;3244;+420121353255;clements@demo.cz;111;Marketing;Head of Department;;0;;44;1033;Mrs

Import CSV with recommended structure

CSV contains a header with column names. The import will do a full synchronization, i.e. it will remove users it doesn't find in the CSV and create new users. The key column is Login. Import command line:

.
.
ImportUsersCsv.exe /csv "c:\data\users.csv" /server server\sql2005 /db alvao /add /remove

Less common scenarios

HR system generates CSV with many columns, we want to import only some data into Alvao

HR system generates CSV with fixed structure. This structure cannot be changed. We want to create new users and at the same time remove users who are not in the CSV (full synchronization). Example: the CSV contains 30 columns. We want to import only "login name" (first column) and "first and last name" (4th column). The other columns have no meaning. The CSV does not contain headers (column names). We will use the command line:

ImportUsersCsv.exe /csv "c:\data\users.csv" /server server\sql2005 /db alvao /cols "Login,0,0,FullName" /nohdrs /add /remove

Import of users from AD and additional update of persons from HR system

Import users from AD (new users are created and deleted). We need to update other data from the HR system - the key is the personal number (we don't want to create new or remove users based on the HR system). HR system generates column names to CSV according to Alvao definition.
Usage example:

ImportAD.exe ...
ImportUsersCsv.exe /csv "c:\data\users.csv" /server server\sql2005 /db alvao /key PersonalNumber

 

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