Subscriber and Data Management26% of the exam

Import file settings, data actions and field mapping

The settings that make an import succeed: file requirements, delimiters and their file extensions, case-sensitive FTP names, date format and encoding, the four data actions, Map by Header Row, Ordinal (zero-based for lists) or Manually, and why primary key defaults and nulls reject rows.

Official exam objective
Given a customer's business requirements, determine how to import data into Marketing Cloud.

~7 min read · 9 practice questions ·

What the exam expects

  • Check a file against the Import Wizard's requirements: header row, at least one data row, a delimited format, size and name length.
  • Set the delimiter, file name, date format and encoding so the file is found and read correctly.
  • Choose Add and Update, Add Only, Update Only or Overwrite from what must happen to new and existing rows.
  • Choose Map by Header Row, Map by Ordinal or Map Manually, and number ordinal columns correctly for lists and data extensions.
  • Key terms: data action (import type: how rows are written to the destination); text qualifier (double quotes that wrap a value containing the delimiter); Map by Ordinal (columns matched by position); File Naming Pattern (the activity's file name, which can be dynamic by date); Nullable (whether a field may be empty on import).

Key facts

Wizard file
Detail
Header row plus at least one data row; delimited; 20 MB max
My Computer file name
Detail
99 characters or less
FTP file name
Detail
Case-sensitive
Comma / Tab / Other
Detail
.csv / .txt / one-character delimiter
File Encoding
Detail
Defaults to UTF-8 when empty
Add only
Detail
New keys created; existing keys ignored
Primary key default
Detail
Not applied during imports
Primary key column
Detail
Required unless Overwrite
Map by Ordinal
Detail
Lists start at 0; data extensions at 1
Dated daily files
Detail
Dynamic File Naming Pattern; Blank File Behavior for empty files
Sources for this section (2)
  • Why must the file name end in .zip when Compressed is selected?
  • Which ending must an import file name have when Encrypted is selected without Compressed?
  • Why would a wizard reject a header-only file?
  • What does the Import Wizard default to for the import type and for bad rows?

The questions are free to read. Answers with their sources and self-grading are included with the pack.

Keep reading with the Marketing Cloud Engagement Specialist pack

  • Core concepts
  • Exam traps
  • Worked scenario

The pack includes:

  • All 31 lessons of the Marketing Cloud Engagement Specialist guide, with reading progress
  • Interactive decision walks and step-by-step sequence steppers
  • Practice exams purchase adds inline bank questions and topic practice (9 questions for this lesson)
  • An official source cited for every claim
  • An AI tutor that answers from the guide
  • Choose guide-only, practice-only, or save $4 with both

Practice for the Marketing Cloud Engagement Specialist exam