Options for Importing Contacts from LDAP

The following options are available when you select the Import contacts from LDAP option. You must first apply LDAP server and search options before you can import contacts. For details, refer to Common LDAP Import and Update Options.

After you have entered LDAP server and search options, click the Apply button. This contacts the LDAP server and populates sample data in the Contact Attributes Map section if the connection and search parameters are valid.

Contacts Attributes Map

The Contact Attributes Map enables you to map user account attributes defined in the LDAP schema to fields in the SBM Contacts table. The mapping assignments apply to importing and updating Contact records.

SBM Contact Attribute
This column lists the following Contacts table fields:
- All non-system, fixed-length Text fields
- The Company system field (used on-premise only)
Mapped LDAP Attribute
Type or select an LDAP attribute to map to the contact attribute. Use the attributes listed in the LDAP Attributes Sample Data section for guidance.
Tip: You can map attributes from multiple LDAP accounts, if necessary. To do this, map the attributes from the first LDAP account returned after you click Refresh in the LDAP Attributes Sample Data section. If this account does not contain all the attributes you need, click Refresh again to return another LDAP account. Map attributes as needed from this account, and continue to click Refresh until you have mapped all necessary attributes.
Equality Key?
After LDAP attributes and Contact fields are mapped, select at least one field to use as an equality key. An equality key is required for importing Contact records and helps ensure uniqueness. Consider the following information when you select an equality key:
- Equality key values must be identical in LDAP and SBM. The match is not case-sensitive, but space usage must be identical.
- Values in equality key fields are never updated when you use LDAP Import or Update features in SBM, so choose fields that have values that you expect to remain constant.
- First Name and Last Name fields might not be the best choices for equality keys due to possible duplicate values, name changes, misspellings, etc. An e-mail field might be a better choice.
- If your LDAP configuration contains an attribute such as a Customer Number, consider creating a similar field in the Contacts table and using these as equality keys. Remember when you create the field in SBM Composer that only fixed-length Text fields can be mapped to LDAP attributes.

Contact Import Options

Select one of the following options for handling LDAP user accounts that have the same equality key value as Contact records.

Do not modify
Select this option to ignore LDAP user accounts that already exist in SBM as Contact records.
Replace mapped attributes
Select this option to replaced mapped attributes that have changed in LDAP. This option is useful for updating information in existing Contact records when you import new records from LDAP.
Tip: You can use the Replace Mapped Attributes option to selectively update Contact records with information from LDAP. To update all Contact records in the SBM database based on a search filter and specified equality keys, use the Update from LDAP feature.
Create duplicate
Select this option to ignore specified equality keys and create duplicate Contact records containing mapped attribute values. Use this option cautiously, however, because when you later update Contact records, either or both Contact records can be updated with identical values, depending on the equality keys in effect at the time of the update.