Custom Mapping: CSV Source

A CSV (or other delimited text file) can be used as a Source of information to update an LDAP directory. Use custom mapping as outlined below to sync the desired Source data.

Create a new connection. On the connection creation pop-up window, select Source Map Template type CSV. The default sync engine will also be CSV.

Configure the Source tab as described previously.

Each CSV Source file is unique and therefore default mappings are of limited use. The SMTP address and Name fields will be mapped successfully by default based on your input on the Source tab. The rest of the columns must use custom mapping. Use the actual CSV column names to customize your mappings. If your data file does not contain a header line, use the default headers of field0, field1, field2, etc.

Go to the Custom tab to create and configure your custom object map.

Once you create your custom object map, you’ll need to edit the mappings using the following format:

DestinationAttribute=^CSVColumnName^

Change the field names on the right of the expression to match those of your CSV column headers. Alternatively, you can set up your CSV data file so that the column headers match those listed in the default map file.

IMPORTANT NOTE: When a column header contains a space character, the space is converted to a dash character for the purpose of attribute definition and mapping. If the Source header is Last Name or Last_Name, you must reference this column by specifying Last-Name as that is what the attribute name will be in the ldif.txt file. In fact, the allowed character set of column header values are limited to:

a-z A-Z 0-9 and - (dash)

In a Source CSV column header, any characters outside this set are converted to - (dash). This applies to field definitions on the Source tab as well as mappings in your custom object map or custom list map file.

The initial map file generated for you upon creation of your connection will include a few standard mappings which may need to be modified. However, if you fill in the Source tab correctly, you may leave the default mappings that utilize internal variables (denoted by tildes ~ as in ~mail~). The remainder of the mappings are commented out with a # character at the beginning of the line. To incorporate these mappings, remove the preceding # character and customize the column name as instructed above.