Troubleshooting bulk import issues in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0Updated: June 1, 2007 Find answers to common questions about how to use the Bulk Import Wizard to import data into Microsoft Dynamics CRM. As we identify new solutions to common issues, we'll update this page. For additional assistance, visit the Microsoft Dynamics CRM community or the Microsoft CRM Sandbox.
General Issues| Q. | How can I leave some fields in my source file unmapped? | | A. | Every field in the source file must be mapped to a unique field in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. To leave some fields unmapped, you have the following options: | • | Remove unused columns from the file that contains the source data in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. To do this easily, copy the source file, and then open it with Microsoft Office Excel. Delete unused columns, and then save the file as a comma-separated values (.csv) file. | | • | Customize the entity in Microsoft Dynamics CRM by adding new attributes so that there is a destination for each source field. |
| | Q. | How do I define who owns the imported records in Microsoft Dynamics CRM? | | A. | When you use the Bulk Import Wizard, all imported records are owned by the user who imported them. To import data owned by multiple users, you have the following options: | • | After you have imported data by using the Bulk Import Wizard, if you have the necessary security role and privileges, assign the imported records to other Microsoft Dynamics CRM users.
1. | Use Advanced Find to find the records. For example, you could search for all records in one entity using two criteria: User Equals Your user and Created On Equals Today. | 2. | Select the records you want to assign to one user. | 3. | On the Actions toolbar, click Assign, and then assign the records to another user. |
Tip 1
If you have imported records that you want to assign to multiple users, you could temporarily customize Microsoft Dynamics CRM by creating an attribute named NewOwner. Import the user name to the NewOwner attribute. Use Advanced Find to find all the records with NewOwner equal to a particular user, and then bulk assign those to other user. Tip 2
If you want to easily identify imported records, you can import the records to a marketing list. When you have finished importing the records, open the marketing list, and then assign the leads, contacts, or accounts directly from the list. Because the leads, contacts, and accounts are contained in the marketing list, you don't have to search for them. Notice that you cannot use this procedure for campaign responses. | | • | Use the Data Migration Framework to import your data. The Data Migration Framework imports ownership information. For more information about the Data Migration Framework see Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 Data Migration Pack.
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| | Q. | How can I import products and other record types that aren't included in the Bulk Import Wizard? | | A. | You can use the Microsoft CRM Data Migration Framework to import data for the following entities: Account, Address, Case, Competitor, Contact, Contract, Contract Line, Discount, Discount List, E-mail, Fax, Invoice, Invoice Product, Lead, Letter, Note, Opportunity, Opportunity Product, Phone Call, Price List, Price List Item, Quote, Quote Product, Order, Order Product, Sales Literature, Subject, Task, Unit, and Unit Group. For each customizable entity, the Data Migration Framework can export data into default and custom attributes. Data cannot be exported into custom entities. For more information about the Data Migration Framework see Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 Data Migration Pack. | Q.
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Failure issues| Q. | Why do I receive the error message “Error” in the Failures area of the Bulk Import form? | | A. | This error can be caused if the format of data in one field in the row does not match what is expected in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. For example, you will receive this error if you have a string in the Birthday attribute in a contact record. To see a list of default attributes for accounts, contacts, and leads together with the data type and maximum length of each attribute, see the article Save time when you import leads, contacts, and accounts. | | Q. | Why do I receive the error message “Number of columns does not match the header row” in the Failures area of the Bulk Imports form? | | A. | When you see this error message in the Reason column of the Failures area, you also see 0x8004032d in the Reason Id column. This error occurs when the number of columns that are present in the data row differ from the number of columns present in the column heading (header row) of your import file. For example, if you format the data in an import file for contacts with two column headings, or "header rows" (Last Name and E-mail), but three columns of data, the third column does not have a header value. The result is shown in the following table in comma-separated values (.csv) format. Hamilton | Kevin.Hamilton@northwindtraders.com | 555-1234 | Adams | Ellen.Adams@southridgevideo.com | 555-5678 |
The data in the previous example will not import successfully. To correct the problem, add a column header value to the import file, as the following table shows. Hamilton | Kevin.Hamilton@northwindtraders.com | 555-1234 | Adams | Ellen.Adams@southridgevideo.com | 555-5678 |
| | Q. | Why do I receive the error message “Data in row did not match the import type” in the Failures area of the Bulk Imports form? | | A. | When you see this error message in the Reason column of the Failures area, you also see 0x8004032d in the Reason Id column. Each entity in Microsoft Dynamics CRM has named lookup attributes that are used to connect one record with another record. For example, the Account entity has the Parent Account (parentaccountid), which refers to the parent account record. Similarly, the Campaign Response entity has a required attribute, Source Campaign (campaignid). The value must be a valid Microsoft Dynamics CRM GUID, which is a unique 128-bit value that identifies a record. If you have data that maps to a lookup attribute, you have the following options: | • | Use the Data Migration Framework, instead of the Bulk Import Wizard, to import your data. The Data Migration Framework can link records without a GUID. | | • | Create a temporary attribute for each lookup attribute in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, and then import your data into that attribute. After you import your records, open each imported record, click Lookup next to the attribute, and then select the record that matches the value in your temporary attribute. After you have finished associating records, delete the temporary attribute. | | • | Remove the columns for lookup attributes from your import file so that you can import the remaining information. After you have imported the records, open each one, click Lookup next to the attribute, and select the record. | | • | Look up the GUID for the record that is referred to, and then paste that GUID into your import file. To look up the GUID, in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, open the record, and then press F11. The Address box of the Microsoft Internet Explorer browser shows the GUID. |
These are the lookup attributes for each record type: Account | • | Parent Account (parentaccountid) | | • | Territory (territoryid) | | • | Originating Lead (originatingleadid) | | • | Price List (defaultpricelevelid) | | • | Primary Contact (primarycontactid) | | • | Preferred User (preferredsystemuserid) | | • | Preferred Service (preferredserviceid) | | • | Preferred Facility/Equipment (preferredequipmentid) |
Contact | • | Originating Lead (originatingleadid) | | • | Price List (defaultpricelevelid) | | • | Preferred User (preferredsystemuserid) | | • | Preferred Service (preferredserviceid) | | • | Preferred Facility/Equipment (preferredequipmentid) |
Lead | • | Source Campaign (campaignid) | | • | Campaign Response | | • | Source Campaign (campaignid) |
| | Q. | Why do I receive the error message “Data Out of Range” in the Failures area of the Bulk Imports form? | | A. | When you see this error message in the Reason column of the Failures area, you also see 0x8004022c in the Reason Id column. This message and reason indicate that a value in the import file exceeds the maximum number of characters that can be entered for the field. For example, when you include a value for the “Street 1” field in a lead import file that exceeds the 50 character limit, you will receive the “Data Out of Range” error message and the record will not import. To work around this issue, you must reduce the number of characters in the field, and then run your import again. You can find the maximum character length for each field in the entity.asp file. This file is located on the computer where Microsoft Dynamics CRM is installed. To view the maximum character length for a field, click the entity, and then view the value for the field in the Length column. | | Q. | Why does my bulk import activity have a status of Pending in the Bulk Import view instead of completing? | | A. | If your bulk import activity has a status of Pending, and no records have been imported, ask your system administrator to follow these steps: 1. | Stop and restart the Microsoft CRM Workflow Service. Verify that the Microsoft CRM Workflow Service is running. If it is not, follow these steps: 1. | Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Services. | 2. | Right-click Microsoft CRM Workflow Service, and then click Start. Leave the Services window open. |
| 2. | Cancel the bulk import operation. To do this, you must stop and restart the Microsoft CRM Workflow Service. | 3. | Right-click Microsoft CRM Workflow Service, and then click Restart. | 4. | Start the bulk import operation again. |
If the import fails again, check the Application log on the server for a message that resembles the following:
"FAILED to start process 'GUID' for object: (number,GUID). Caller is 'SYSTEM'. Error code 80048306." If you see this message, the problem is that the Microsoft CRM Workflow Service and CRMAppPool, in Internet Information Services (IIS), are not running under the same account. Ask your system administrator to follow these steps to change Microsoft CRM Workflow Service and CRMAppPool to run under the Network Service account: 1. | Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager. | 2. | Expand Computer name (local computer), expand Application Pools, right-click CRMAppPool, and then click Properties. | 3. | Click the Identity tab, and then click Predefined. | 4. | Select Network Service from the drop-down list, and then click OK. | 5. | Right-click the CRMAppPool, and then click Stop. | 6. | Right-click the CRMAppPool, and then click Start. | 7. | Close Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager. | 8. | Follow these steps to change the account for the Microsoft CRM Workflow Service: 1. | Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Services. | 2. | Right-click Microsoft CRM Workflow Service, and then click Stop. | 3. | Right-click Microsoft CRM Workflow Service, click Properties, and then click the Log On tab. | 4. | Click the This Account option, type NTAUTHORITY\Network Service, and then click OK. | 5. | Right-click Microsoft CRM Workflow Service, and then click Start. |
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| | Q. | Why do I receive the error message “The source import file is corrupt” when I run the Bulk Import Wizard? | | A. | This problem can occur under either of the following conditions: Condition #1 If the import file uses standard ANSI format and contains prohibited characters, such as +, -, or *, the Bulk Import Wizard returns the error message “The source import file is corrupt” when you click Next. (ANSI format is the default format for both Microsoft Office Excel and Notepad.) For example, this issue can occur when the source data contains a + character in the phone field, which is a common value for international telephone numbers. To solve this problem, save the file in Unicode format, Unicode big-endian format, or UTF-8 format by following these steps: 1. | Start Notepad. | 2. | Open the comma-separated values (.csv) file that you imported. | 3. | On the File menu, click Save As. | 4. | In the Encoding list, click Unicode, Unicode big endian, or UTF-8. | 5. | Click Save. |
Condition #2 The Bulk Import Wizard was idle for longer than the expiration duration of the Web remote procedure call (WRPC) token. The default expiration duration is 1,440 minutes (24 hours). To restart the Bulk Import Wizard and solve the problem, follow these steps: 1. | Start Microsoft Dynamics CRM. | 2. | Click Tools, and then click Import. | 3. | Click Browse, and then locate a valid source import file. | 4. | Click the file, and then click Open. | 5. | Click appropriate values in the following boxes: | • | Record Type | | • | Field Separator | | • | Field Data Delimiter |
| 6. | Click Next. | 7. | Map any appropriate Target Field and Source Field values, and then click Next. | 8. | Click List Values, select appropriate values, and then click Import. |
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