Importing Data into an Existing Table
You could import data into your existing Tables from locally stored tabular format files like CSV, XLS (Excel) and HTML files. The data in such formats could also be available as a URL or Web feed or even some application generated. You could also copy and paste such data into Zoho Reports and get it imported into the necessary table.
In this chapter we will discuss about how to import data into an existing table in your database. The steps involved are almost the same, as how you would Import data to create a new table in Zoho Reports.
Select the Table to Import
Select the table in your Zoho Reports database to import your data into. Click on the Import - > Import into this Table option in the toolbar. This will open up the import dialog as shown below.
All the settings and steps to be followed for Import are the same as that of Importing data to create a new table except for the setting How do you want to Import?. This setting alone is explained below. For all other steps refer to the documentation on Import data to create a new table.
How do you want to Import?
When you import data into an existing table, you need to also specify on how the data is to be imported. The following are the options:
Add records at the end: Choosing this option, Zoho Reports will add/append every record in the data imported, into the table selected.
Delete existing records and add: Choosing this option, Zoho Reports will delete all the existing records and add the currently imported data as new records to the table.
Add records and replace if already exists: From the data being imported, if you want to add the new records and update already existing records in the table with the new values, then you have to choose this option. When you choose this option, you need to also select the columns (from the list box provided) based on which the existing records in the table will be matched and updated with the new values.
Zoho
Reports will use the values in these columns as the key to match the existing records with the new records being imported. If all the values of the columns selected are the same in the table as well as for a record in the imported data, then it is considered a match. Once a match is identified, then Zoho
Reports will update that existing record in the table with the values from the new record present in the Imported data.
As mentioned earlier you could refer to the documentation on Import data to create a new table to know about the other steps involved in importing data into the existing table.
Related Topics: Upload tool, Datatypes supported by Zoho Reports
Next: Scheduling Imports periodically
