We are trying to import both primary constituent and spouse record in one profile run, name, address, business details.

I notice there isn't an ability for IOM to import the business details for the Spouse record in the first pass.  I know it can be a possible second run and alternate profile to populate the Spouse Organization Relationship for a newly created constituent spouse record.  But this isn't ideal and as the business record can be entered normally within the initial creation process could this be included in the features of IOM?

I'm also wondering how Spouse business details are populated for those that don't create an individual constituent record to process a second time.

Hi Andrew,

If you think about the relationships in the RE database as being a big layer cake, it can be easier to understand why ImportOmatic (IOM) behaves as it does and why it cannot do some things. It is also helpful to remember that importing data and entering through the front end of RE are different in that the Constituent records in RE, as you see them, are accessing data from what is actually many separate records in the back end of RE and they are being handed to you together to make the program far more friendly to use. When importing, you have to access each different record on its own - there is no handy combined location.

Our relationship cake will be four layers:

1. The Primary Constituent is the top layer.

2. The Spouse Relationship record is the second layer.

3. Any relationships to a full constituent spouse are the third layer.

4. The relationships to a non-constituent spouse are the bottom layer (Business and Education) and this layer is actually a supporting wire structure iced to look like the rest of the cake.

IOM is a standard table knife.

When you use the knife to cut the cake you can easily get to the first two cake layers, but your hand will hit the top layer before you can get to the third layer. At this point, you have to extract the knife and start over again at the top of the third layer to continue cutting the cake (a second pass).

Any relationships to a full constituent spouse have to be performed on a second pass. They are actually attached to the full constituent record for the spouse, not the relationship record (these are two separate records in the back end of RE) and that record is too many layers into the database to access on the first pass. Examples of these relationships include: Business, Education, and any children that are in the first pass and being linked to the primary constituent then. I will be happy to assist you with a two pass import!

Since the fourth layer is made of metal, the knife (IOM) can't actually cut (access) it. Neither RE:Import nor IOM allows you to import relationship information for a non-constituent record.

Please let me know if I can be of further assistance!

Thanks!

Tiffany

Hi Tiffany,

Sorry I had forgot to subscribe to the thread, and was waiting for a notification e-mail of a reply ... silly me.

Thank you for the reply. Yes incorrectly I saw the ability to input business details for a non-constituent spouse record as a possible means of being able to be done in one pass.

But that being said I've run into other issues with generating spouse records for primary constituents that have no spouse, with the primary profile configuration it's determined to create blank spouse records for those records.

I liked your cake analogy.

Hi Andrew,

I am glad you liked the cake analogy!

The attempt to create spouse records even when there is no name data usually comes from having Default Sets or a Virtual Fields containing data for fields associated with the Individual Relationship for the spouses. Both of those are blanket-like in their application in that they are applied to every row - period. It can also come from having a column/columns in your data file that are populated for every row, and mapped to a field associated with the Individual Relationship for the spouses. Common ones are: Relationship, Reciprocal, "Is Spouse?". This, too, is a blanket-like application. If you populate ANY field for the Relationship, RE tries to create the Relationship record and if there is no Last Name it is unable to save the record, resulting in an exception.

I will be happy to look over any profile and data file combination that is doing this and see if I can pinpoint why it is happening. Please email them to Support.

To send your ImportOmatic profile:

* IOM Configuration

* Highlight the name of the profile you are using

* Right click on it and choose to export

* Send me the .xml file that is created

* It will be named in this fashion: IOM_Profile_Export_.xml

Thanks!

Tiffany

Hi Tiffany,

Outstanding support here!

In a way I know why it's being created, I have a single file that contains the primary constituent, address and spouse record in one file. I use a profile with virtual fields to populate the spouse address from the primary address details. But not all primary constituents have a spouse record. Hence it creates a blank record [as we use system generated ID's] with a surname based on relationship 1 being the spouse.

Now was trying to get it to be 'smart' and not populate a new record if no details are present. I even tried to create a record with ID 0 [the blank ID can be zero] and have it 'error' out on that record. But it just linked all records to that fake record.

I was trying to avoid getting the spouse records split out, and handled via another profile due to the way relationship generation on just primary ID resulted in manual entries when I've done with the sibling file.

But I'm happy to have you look over any profile and data, that would be very helpful I'm sure.

Hi all,

I have an update to my original reply:

Per Article# BB74181 on Blackbaud's website, RE:Import will allow you to import relationship information for non-constituent records. The referenced article explains how to import Education information, specifically.

Thanks!

Tiffany