Update existing assets using import

Data Integrity Suite
Product
Spatial_Analytics
Data_Integration
Data_Enrichment
Data_Governance
Precisely_Data_Integrity_Suite
geo_addressing_1
Data_Observability
Data_Quality
dis_core_foundation
Services
Spatial Analytics
Data Integration
Data Enrichment
Data Governance
Geo Addressing
Data Observability
Data Quality
Core Foundation
ft:title
Data Integrity Suite
ft:locale
en-US
PublicationType
pt_product_guide
copyrightfirst
2000
copyrightlast
2025

Updating assets in bulk is a key part of maintaining data accuracy and consistency across your system. The import process uses the xref or other unique identifiers in your spreadsheet to match records with existing assets. When a match is found, the asset's fields are updated based on the data and operations specified in the import file. Only columns included in your spreadsheet are affected; other fields remain unchanged.

  • The default Add/Update import action allows you to efficiently modify existing assets, including their tags and relationships, without requiring separate processes.
  • Validation and error handling: The system validates updates for required fields, data types, and field constraints (such as cardinality for relationship fields). If an update fails validation, the record will be included in the error file with a descriptive message.
  • Reviewing update results: After the import, download the error and success files to review which assets were updated and which encountered issues. The error file provides details for each failed record, while the success file lists all successfully updated assets.

Note: When importing data, the system uses key fields such as xref or key to determine whether to add a new asset or update an existing one. If the key is not found in the system, a new asset will be created. If the key matches an existing asset, the system will update that asset with the provided data, modifying only the specified fields. You can specify only the columns you want to update; other fields remain unchanged, except for required columns. This process allows for efficient bulk management, enabling both creation and updates within a single import operation.

Manage fields during update

This section explains how to update various fields, including tags, relationships, and other properties. For detailed instructions on structuring your spreadsheet, see Understand import spreadsheet template.

  1. Update tags and relationships: Include the following operations and examples in your import spreadsheet. Prepare your data with the correct syntax for each action.
    • Append (default behavior): Adds new tags or relationships without affecting existing ones.
    • Replace: Overwrites all existing tags or relationships with new values.
    • Remove: Deletes specified tags or relationships.
    • Example use cases: The syntax determines how the system updates the tags and relationships.

      • Update tags
        Action Syntax Description Example Result
        Append (default) None Adds new tags to existing ones tag3 Existing tags + tag3
        Replace [replace]:tag4;tag5 Overwrites all existing tags [replace]:tag4;tag5 tag4, tag5
        Remove specific [remove]:tag1;tag2 Deletes specified tags [remove]:tag1;tag2 Removes tag1, tag2
        Remove all [remove] Clears all tags [remove] No tags (all cleared)

      • Update relationships
        Action Syntax Description Example Result
        Append (default) None Adds new relationships to existing ones object1;object2 Existing relationships + new ones
        Replace [replace]object1;object2 Replaces all existing relationships [replace]object1;object2 All previous relationships replaced
        Remove specific [remove]object1 Deletes specific relationship(s) [remove]object1 Removes the specified relationship(s)
        Remove all [remove] Clears all relationships [remove] No relationships (all cleared)
        Note: Do not include any extra characters, spaces, or line breaks within the field.
  2. Update other fields
    • Since append is the default behavior for all fields, providing a new value will update the existing value by appending the data. For other fields (such as text, multi-select lists, etc.), you can provide a new value to update or leave it empty to keep the current value unchanged.
    • To remove a value from any field, use [remove].
    • For multi-select list fields, [remove] will clear all selected values.