External ID for SugarCRM Records

[jlabuelo]

Good Morning all

Lets see if you can give me a hand with this. We are evaluating SugarCRM to substitute our actual CRM Software by SugarCRM and we are having some questions about the way it works that we are figuring out with the tutorials and the posts in these forums. However we have a question about the "Import" functionality for SugarCRM Records.

We normally import our Contacts and Accounts from a 3rd party provider, which gives an "External Id" field for each Contact and Account so we can identify it every time new information is got for the Contact/Account. Normally we use that External ID value to search for the record and update it using ETL processes.

The import functionality for Accounts and Contacts in SugarCRM we see it pretty good for "first time creation records" however we do not understand exactly if what we do for updates can be reproduced in SugarCRM.

For example imagine that the 3rd party data provider, sends us a new set of contacts, each of them with the External ID set (field that we would add to Contacts with Studio in SugarCRM).

Then after 2 months the 3rd party data provider sends us again new information about two of those contacts in a txt file with the right format and the "External ID".

Is there any way that if I use the Import functionality for Contacts in SugarCRM, I can make the system search for that "Externaly Id" and if found update the record? and if so.... should I have to import all the information of the record, or will only update the fields included in the import file?

Hope it is clear what I tried to explain

Thanks a lot for your help

[andopes]

SugarCRM import function update records only if the id field is defined into importing file and if this id exists on SugarCRM table.
So you could consider using this external as the sugar id.
Another option is to hack the modules/Import/views/view.importstep4.php to make it consider the external id rather than the default id. But this approach is not upgrade safe.

Best regards

[jlabuelo]

Hi, thanks a lot for the answer.

I think we will take a look to the option 2, modifying the import module, even it is not upgrade safe (pity). The first option sounds like the more reasonable for sure, however the problem we have is that some times, rarely, Contacts come with no "External Id" and it must be set later ( a war with the 3rd data provider we have still in place...).

For sure if we get the all the new Contacts with "External Id" field not set to null we would use the External Id as Id of the record in SugarCRM... it is the more easy approach.

Thanks again for the answer