Updating Data with the Importer

The Universal Importer is not just for migration. Use it anytime you need to bulk-update data in cStar.

Common Use Cases

• Update 500 customer tags from a spreadsheet
• Fix a batch of wrong ticket priorities
• Add phone numbers from your CRM
• Sync ticket data from an external system monthly
• Bulk-update article categories

How Matching Works

Choose a match key to find existing records:

• Email - Best for customers
• Short ID - Match tickets by visible number
• External ID - Match by ID from another system
• Slug - Match articles by URL slug
• Custom Field - Match on any custom field value

Merge Strategies

For each mapped field, choose what happens on match:

• Always Update - Import data overwrites existing
• Update if Empty - Only fills blanks
• Never Update - Skips field on matched records
• Append - Adds to arrays (great for tags)
• Append with Newline - Adds text with line break

The Preview Step

Before anything changes, preview shows:

• New records (will be created)
• Matched records (will be updated)
• What specific fields change
• Skipped records

Pro Tip

Export first from Settings > Team Tab > Export, edit in a spreadsheet, then re-import with Always Update for changed fields and Never Update for everything else.