Data Import Wizard matching and add-or-update actions
Key Takeaway
The action decides what the wizard does with matched and unmatched rows. The matching type decides which rows match existing records, and that choice is how you prevent duplicates.
The Data Import Wizard loads a CSV file into Salesforce. It can add new records, update existing records, or do both in one pass. To decide whether a row is new or an update, the wizard compares the row to existing records using a matching type that you pick, such as name or email.
Choosing an action
At the start of an import, you choose an action. The actions differ in how they treat two kinds of rows: matched rows, which match an existing record, and unmatched rows, which don't.
| Action | Matched rows | Unmatched rows |
|---|---|---|
| Add new records | Ignored, so no update happens | Added as new records |
| Update existing records | Updated | Ignored, so nothing is added |
| Add new and update existing records | Updated | Added as new records |
One import file can hold a mix of new records and updates to existing records, and the Add new and update existing records action handles both in one pass.
When the wizard updates a matched record, the record takes the file's values even if the file is out of date. Before you import, check that your data is more current than what is in Salesforce.