Importing and exporting custom fields and values

What's my plan?

When you create a new drop-down or multi-select field for tickets, users, organizations, or custom objects, you may have a large number of field values to include. For example, a new field that lets agents choose a software version or product type might include hundreds of choices. Rather than add field values manually, one at a time, you can add many field values in a bulk import. You can also export custom drop-down and multi-select fields and values to archive or use in other applications.

Importing values is only available during the creation of a new drop-down or multi-select field. You can't import values for existing fields.

This article contains the following sections:

• Creating the CSV field value file
• Importing the CSV field value file into a new custom field
• Exporting fields and values for custom drop-down and multi-select fields

Related articles:

• About custom field types

Creating the CSV field value file

To import values for custom drop-down and multi-select fields, you must first create a CSV (comma-separated values) file that contains the values you want to add. You can download a template CSV file and use it as a model for adding your own field values. See example below.

The following table lists the fields to include in the file. The first row of the CSV file is the header row, and you must include it in the file.

Field	Description
value	(Required) Value that appears in the drop-down or multi-select field for tickets, users, organizations, and custom objects.
tag	(Recommended) Tag associated with the field value. The tag is used as a ticket property that can be used in triggers and other business rules.
default	(Required for ticket fields only) Identifies the default value for the drop-down or multi-select field. Use true to identify the default value. Use false for all other values.

When you create a list of field values to import, you'll probably generate this list of values from some other system. Most of these systems have some facility for creating a CSV export file. If you need to create the list from scratch, you can use a program such as Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets.

The file must be properly formatted CSV and saved using UTF-8 character encoding. The actual number of supported values depends on the field type, but the import CSV data file can contain a maximum of 3,500 rows of data (one row for the header, and the rest for field values).

Importing the CSV field value file into a new custom field

After you create the CSV file, you can import these values into a new drop-down or multi-select field. You can't upload a CSV file for existing drop-down and multi-select fields.

To import the CSV field values

1. In Admin Center, navigate to the correct location to add your new custom drop-down or multi-select field:
   • • In Admin Center, click Objects and rules in the sidebar, then select Tickets > Fields.
     • In Admin Center, click People in the sidebar, then select Configuration > User fields.
     • In Admin Center, click People in the sidebar, then select Configuration > Organization fields.
     • In Admin Center, click Objects and rules in the sidebar, then select Custom objects > Objects. Click the name of the object containing the drop-down or multi-select field you want to export, then click the Fields tab.
2. Click Add Field and then select Drop-down or Multi-select.
3. In Field values, click Upload CSV.

   

4. Click Choose a file and open the CSV file you want to import, then click Upload. Alternatively, you can drag and drop the file you want to import.
5. When you successfully upload the CSV file, Field values are updated to include the new data.

   

6. Finish adding information about your new field, then Save your changes.

Exporting fields and values for custom drop-down and multi-select fields

As your list of ticket, user, organization, or custom object custom fields and field values expand, you may find it useful to export your custom fields and values to a CSV file. For example, you may want to use the CSV file as a checklist to verify that the latest product types or software versions are available for your tickets.

Note: For tickets, users, and organizations, you can export a list of all custom fields and values for custom drop-down and multi-select fields. For custom objects, you can export a list of values for custom drop-down and multi-select fields from Admin Center, but exporting a list of fields for a custom object is only possible through the Custom Objects API.

To export a list of values for a custom field

1. Navigate to the list of custom fields:
   • In Admin Center, click Objects and rules in the sidebar, then select Tickets > Fields.
   • In Admin Center, click People in the sidebar, then select Configuration > User fields.
   • In Admin Center, click People in the sidebar, then select Configuration > Organization fields.
   • In Admin Center, click Objects and rules in the sidebar, then select Custom objects > Objects. Click the name of the object containing the drop-down or multi-select field you want to export, then click the Fields tab.
2. Click the name of a drop-down or multi-select field from the list of custom fields.
3. Next to Field values for the ticket, click Download CSV to export a list of values in CSV format.

   

   See example below.

   

To export a list of custom ticket, user, or organization fields

1. Navigate to the list of custom fields:
   • In Admin Center, click Objects and rules in the sidebar, then select Tickets > Fields.
   • In Admin Center, click People in the sidebar, then select Configuration > User fields.
   • In Admin Center, click People in the sidebar, then select Configuration > Organization fields.
2. (Optional) Filter or sort the list, or change which columns are displayed. This changes what is included in the exported CSV file.
3. Click Actions at the top of the page and select Download CSV to export a list of ticket fields in CSV format.

   

   By default, the exported file includes the following information for each ticket field: Display name, Type, Field ID, Date modified, and Tags. For example:

   

   The file can be opened in text editors and spreadsheet applications, such as Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets, for further processing.