Data Modeling and Management20% of the exam

Import and export tools and Salesforce Connect

When to use the Data Import Wizard, Data Loader or the Data Export service, how to prepare imports and updates, what each export includes and leaves out, and how Salesforce Connect adapters and external objects show outside data in real time with their own limits.

Official exam objective
Given a scenario, determine the options and considerations when importing and exporting data, including the capabilities of external data sources.

~8 min read · 15 practice questions ·

What the exam expects

  • Choose between Basic Data Import, the Data Import Wizard and Data Loader from volume, object, interface and automation needs.
  • Prepare an import or update file: CSV, matching identifiers, test runs and wizard limits.
  • Choose between the Data Export service and Data Loader Export or Export All, and know what each leaves out.
  • Choose a Salesforce Connect adapter and predict what external objects can and can't do.

Key terms:

  • Data Import Wizard: in-browser import of up to 50,000 records for supported objects.
  • Data Loader: client application to insert, update, delete or export records in bulk.
  • Data Export service: scheduled or manual backup of org data as zipped CSV files.
  • External object: an object that maps to a table in an external data source and reads it in real time.
  • Adapter: the protocol Salesforce Connect uses for an external data source, set in its Type field.

Key facts

Data Import Wizard volume
Detail
Up to 50,000 records at a time; CSV only
Data Loader
Detail
Up to 5 million records; all objects; command line is Windows only
Update files
Detail
Need a record ID or external ID per row
Wizard custom object matching
Detail
Match by Name is case-sensitive
Weekly export editions
Detail
Enterprise, Performance, Unlimited; monthly in all but Database.com
Export exclusions
Detail
Formula and roll-up summary fields always excluded
Export files
Detail
Deleted 48 hours after the email
Export All
Detail
Adds soft-deleted and archived activity records
Cross-org adapter
Detail
Lightning Platform REST API to other Salesforce orgs
External object records
Detail
Read only unless writable external objects are enabled
External object IDs
Detail
Can change; use the External ID
Sources for this section (9)
  • Why would an import that matches custom records by Name create duplicates?
  • When is Data Loader's command-line interface the right choice?
  • Which two field types are always missing from the weekly export?
  • Why shouldn't an integration store an external object's Salesforce record ID?

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

Keep reading with the Platform App Builder pack

  • Core concepts
  • Exam traps
  • Worked scenario

The pack includes:

  • All 26 lessons of the Platform App Builder guide, with reading progress
  • Interactive decision walks and step-by-step sequence steppers
  • Inline practice questions and one-click topic practice (15 questions for this lesson)
  • An official source cited for every claim
  • An AI tutor that answers from the guide
  • Unlimited timed practice exams

Practice for the Platform App Builder exam