Clew ONLY | How Can We Import Attachments and Links?

Internal only: importing attachments and links

Why attachments and links are not part of a standard data import, and what to tell customers who ask

Contents

• 1. Introduction & Context
• 2. Key Features & Functions
• 3. Requirements
• 4. Step-by-Step Guide
  • Importing in bulk, via development
  • Adding an attachment to a record
  • Adding an external link to a record
• 5. Common Issues & Troubleshooting
• 6. Related Articles

1. Introduction & Context

Data imports work the same way for most record data. Attachments and external links are the exception. They are files and URLs rather than field values, so they do not travel through the standard import route and cannot be loaded from a CSV alongside everything else.

There are two ways they get into the system. In bulk, they are imported by development using a script. Individually, a user adds them on the record itself, through the Attachment and External Links panels.

Who is it for? Support and implementation. Use it when a customer asks whether their attachments or links can come across as part of an import.

What does it impact? Import scoping, timelines and cost. A bulk attachment import needs development time, so it is normally scoped as a separate piece of work and is usually chargeable. Identify it early rather than at the end of a migration, so the customer is not surprised by either the delay or the cost.

2. Key Features & Functions

3. Requirements

For a bulk import, development needs three things. Gather all three before raising the request, because a partial set is the usual reason these stall.

• A list mapping each attachment or link to its record, so the script knows where everything belongs.
• A folder containing the actual attachment files, with names matching the list.
• Development time to run the script. This is not self-service. It is normally scoped as a piece of work and usually carries a cost, so it needs agreeing with the customer as well as scheduling.

For a customer adding files themselves, all they need is access to the record and permission to edit it.

4. Step-by-Step Guide

Importing in bulk, via development

1. Confirm with the customer how many attachments and links are involved, and which records they attach to. Flag at this point that a bulk import is scoped as a piece of work and is usually chargeable.
2. Ask them for the list mapping each file or URL to its record, and for a folder containing the files themselves.
3. Check the list and the folder agree with each other before passing them on. Missing files and unmatched rows are what send the job back.
4. Raise the request with development, who will run the script.
5. Spot check a handful of records afterwards to confirm the attachments landed on the right ones.

Adding an attachment to a record

This is the route a customer uses themselves, and the answer to give when the volume is small enough not to need development.

1. Open the record the attachment belongs to.
2. Scroll down to the Attachment panel.
3. Click Add on the right-hand side.
4. Select the file, or several files, to upload. Multiple files can go up in a single action.
5. Add a description if you want one. This is optional.
6. Click Save.

Adding an external link to a record

1. Open the record the link belongs to.
2. Scroll down to the External Links panel.
3. Click Add on the right-hand side.
4. Enter the Title of the link. This is what people will see on the record.
5. Add a description if you want one. This is optional.
6. Enter the full URL, including https://, for example https://www.clew.io.
7. Click Save.

5. Common Issues & Troubleshooting

Best practices:

• Ask about attachments and links at the start of an import conversation, not the end. They are the part that needs development time, and the part that carries a cost.
• Agree the record key in the mapping list up front, and make sure it is genuinely unique.
• Reconcile the list against the folder before handing anything over. It saves a round trip.
• Where the volume is small, show the customer the Attachment panel instead. It is quicker than scoping a script.
• Suggest links rather than uploads where the document already lives somewhere the customer maintains.

6. Related Articles