Import Manager | Pricefx Knowledge Base

Import Manger is being gradually introduced as a replacement of Excel Client. It enables modifying data in the Pricefx user interface after uploading an Excel file that has been previously downloaded from Pricefx and modified by the user. Further modifications can be done in Pricefx. An overview of changes and their validation is provided. You can configure an approval workflow, so that an approval is required before the changes are imported.

info Since the 16.0 version, you can import data to Products, Customers, Sellers, Product Extensions, Customer Extensions, Seller Extensions, Competition Data, BoM Data, Product References, Company Parameters, Price Lists, Manual Price Lists and Live Price Grids by Import Manager.

Exporting and Importing a Table in Import Manager

Follow these steps to import data to Products or Product Extensions using Import Manager:

Export the table that you want to edit. There are two ways to do it:
- Click Export > Export Excel, select the option Table with Pricefx import structure and click Download. The downloaded file will include all the table data (filtered if an advanced filter is applied).
- Click Import Products and select one of the available templates:
  - Download filtered table – Downloads an Excel sheet with the data (filtered if an advanced filter is applied).
  - Download empty table – Downloads an Excel sheet without data, only with the table columns (this option is not available for Price Lists and LPGs).
Edit the downloaded file as needed.
Go to Import Products and browse for or drag and drop your edited file (the maximum allowed file size is 1 GB).
The Import Manager page opens, providing the overview of changes in the data and validation errors.
After you have reviewed the changes and corrected the errors, click Import to finish the data import process.

In the downloaded file, the columns that are read-only in Pricefx are shaded light grey. The whole column is shaded, not only the header. Editable columns keep their standard formatting.

Import Manager List Page

On the list page, you will find the current and past imports that have been done using the Import Manager allowing you to review and track past changes or follow up on drafts.

To access the Import Manager list page, go to Master Data > Imports.

The list page is split into two tabs:

My Imports – Lists all imports done by you (the currently logged in user).
All Imports – Lists all other imports that you are entitled to access.

Imports do not stay in the list table forever but are automatically deleted after a certain period of inactivity. Imports in the Draft or Error status are deleted after 7 days, objects in the Finished status after 30 days. Both thresholds are configurable in the cluster config.xml but the maximum accepted value is 365 days.

Import Manager Detail Page

When you click on the list page on the name or label of an import, the detail page opens.

The header of the page indicates where the data is imported and displays a counter of item types/statuses which also serves as a filter when you click on it.

The table contains all the imported data and you can edit, add and delete rows as required. Cells with changed values or errors are highlighted; hover the mouse cursor over the icon to find out more information.

If necessary, you may re-upload the Excel file (Upload new file) and discard all the changes that you have made in Import Manager after the original upload.

Approvals in Import Manager

Import Manager supports standard Pricefx approval workflows so that data changes can be reviewed and approved before they are applied.

When an import is submitted, the applicable Import Manager workflow logic is evaluated to determine whether approval is required for that import.

If the workflow logic determines that approval is required, Direct Import is disabled for the import. Submit the import for review instead. The import then follows the configured workflow, for example DRAFT → SUBMITTED → APPROVED or DENIED.
If the workflow logic determines that approval is not required, the import can be applied directly without an approval step.

The existence of an active Import Manager workflow logic does not by itself mean that Direct Import is disabled. Direct Import is disabled only when the applicable logic requires a real approval for the proposed changes. This prevents users from bypassing a required approval while allowing imports that do not require approval to proceed directly.

To submit an import for approval:

Upload and review the import.
Correct any validation errors.
Click Submit to send the import for review.

While an import is waiting for approval, its content is locked. Users cannot upload a new file or edit the import inline while approvers are reviewing it. After the workflow is approved, Import Manager applies the validated changes to the target table.

Performance Recommendations

To improve performance, work with the smallest practical data set.

If you intend to make only a few changes, edit the table cells directly, there is no need to download the table.
Apply an advanced filter before downloading the table. If you only need to edit or add a few rows, use Download filtered table instead of downloading the full table. The downloaded file contains only the rows matching the applied filter.
If you only need to add rows and do not need existing table data, use Download empty table when it is available. This downloads the table columns without any data.
Avoid uploading rows that do not need to change. For very large updates, split the work into smaller files or batches. Very large imports on AWS instances can hit a hardcoded three-minute timeout.
Import performance depends on the table size, the data being processed, the environment, and the validations performed. For large tables or imports, allow additional processing time and reduce the file or batch size if an import times out.

Notes

Import Manager supports only MS Excel, Open Office and LibreOffice spreadsheets. Other spreadsheets (e.g., Google Sheets) are not supported.
When importing a table, you are not allowed to edit business keys because it could cause unexpected behavior. You can, however, enter values for ProductID and other business keys for newly added rows.
The Import button is disabled if the imported table has no business keys defined.
Added rows and changes to read-only columns in the Excel file cannot be imported to Price Lists and Live Price Grids. These changes will be ignored and an error message with details will be displayed.
If the imported file contains duplicate business keys, the import will fail.
Mass editing and deleting is available in Import Manager except for newly added rows. You can mass edit/delete up to 10,000 rows at once.
Importing a very large amount of data on AWS instances can result in a timeout that is hardcoded to 3 minutes.
A manager-level user role is required for imports and all other actions in Import Manager. To edit items restricted by the User Group (Edit) setting, the user must belong to that user group.
Excel formulas are not supported in Import Manager. If an uploaded Excel file contains cells with formulas, Import Manager does not evaluate those formulas and may treat the cells as invalid input (for example, as text instead of a number), which can result in validation errors. Before uploading, convert all formulas to static values (for example, by using Paste Values in Excel).