Templates for Data Import in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011

Megha Kainth, 05 May 2012

Whenever we want to import some data into our most commonly used applications or software, we need to feed in the data. Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 is such a powerful tool which has in-built functionality to create templates for Data import. In simple terms, we don’t have to worry about creating an Excel file from scratch and inserting the right information in appropriate columns to make it readable or compatible with Data Import option.

We can utilise the functionality of Templates for Data Import by following the steps below:

Click on Settings > Data Management > Templates for Data Import.

Select the suitable record type from the available options in dropdown and Click on Download.



You can save this file in excel format on your computer and then click on open to check the attributes of this excel file.



A excel sheet something similar to above image will populate on your screen which contains all the attributes of the selected record type.

Some of the attributes which are mandatory will be reflected in Bold. If you would like to further drill down to understand the significance of each column then just hover your mouse on that particular column and detailed information of that particular column will be displayed.

This feature helps us in thoroughly understanding the significance of each column e.g. Account Name column displays the characteristics as ‘Name of the account’; Primary Contact column displays the characteristics as ‘Unique Identifier of the primary contact for that particular account’.

Once you are finished inserting the data in this excel document, you can import this in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 via Import Tool.