File Upload | Yext Hitchhikers Platform

Overview

With the File Upload Generic Source you can upload Excel, CSV, and JSON files within the Connectors framework. This new source allows users to take advantage of the data cleansing capabilities of the Connectors workflow for ingesting and updating data..

With the addition of this new data connector source there are now two ways to ingest data files to pull data into Yext:

  • Existing Entity Upload
  • File Upload via Connectors

To note, there are feature gaps between File Upload via Connectors and the existing Entity Upload framework. See those details outlined below:

Supported File Types

  • Excel (.xlsx)
  • CSV (.csv, .tsv, .txt, .psv, or any delimited file)
  • JSON

File Upload Connector Source vs Data File Upload Framework

The table below outlines key feature differences between the two systems. Though there are additional features and benefits to using the Connector system, keep in mind that:

  1. This system is much newer and does not yet match the capabilities of the existing system.
  2. If you want to be able to preview the changes the file upload will make to Yext Content, and subsequently accept or reject the updates, then you must use the existing system.
Feature File Upload via Connector Existing Entity Upload
Supported File Types Excel (.xlsx), CSV (or any delimited file), JSON Excel (.xlsx), CSV
Robust Transform Library Yes No
Saved Configuration Yes Yes (limited)
Improved Speed Yes No
Preview of Results No Yes
Multiple Entity Types No Yes
Move Entities of a certain type to a new folder No Yes
Multiple Sheets Yes No
Maximum File Size 48 MB 48 MB


Additional Feature Details

Below we will add additional detail about the features that are not supported in the Field Upload Connector Source.

Additional Notes on Handling Files

  • Invisible sheets are skipped
  • Formulas are not executed by the connector. If the cell value is ‘=A1+B2’, the value in the connector will be the string ‘=A1+B2’, and not the computed value.

General Connector Gaps

  • Field values are never cleared by the Connector. So, if a blank value is mapped to a field, if an existing field value exists it will not be cleared.
  • When mapping to a list field, the mapped value is considered to be comprehensive – this means that the connector will not append these values to the list, if there are existing values on the field already

Moving Entities to a New Folder

You can add entities to an existing folder, but you cannot create a new folder via the connector.

Multiple Entity Types

To upload multiple entities types you will need to create one connector per entity type.

New, Missing, and Existing Entities

In the existing entity upload framework, you can take action different actions based on the status of the entity — for example, new entities in the upload, entities missing from the upload, or existing entities that are in the upload. The File Upload Connector source does not have this concept. The Connector maps to fields - meaning entities can be mapped to a folder, and added to that folder, but we cannot take action dynamically based on the “status” of the entity in the upload.

Preview of Results

  • You cannot preview data prior to applying it
  • You cannot fix errors via the upload flow - failed entities will be returned in the Connector for additional troubleshooting.
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