Extract Data from SFTP Files Task

About Extract Data from SFTP Files Task

The Extract data from SFTP files task allows you to import data from your SFTP server to use in Qualtrics. You can combine this task with other tasks, such as the Load data to XM Directory task, to import data into the Account Management Command Center and other places in Qualtrics.

Connecting a SFTP Account

Before you can use the Extract data from SFTP Files Task, you must connect an SFTP account for Qualtrics to extract the data from. Accounts may be added by Brand Administrators for other users in the brand to use, or by individual users for their personal use.

There are two different authentication options:

• Password: Authenticate with a username and password.
• SSH Key: Authenticate using a Secure Shell (SSH) key.

Adding an Account as a Brand Administrator

If you are a Brand Administrator, follow the steps in this section to add an SFTP account for some or all users in your license to use.

1. Using the navigation menu in the top left, go to Admin.
   
2. Go to Extensions.
3. Click the Extract data from SFTP files extension.
4. Click Add Account.
   
5. Give the account a name. This name is used for organizational purposes and to identify the account.
   
6. Enter the Hostname of the associated SFTP server.
   Example: Commonly these are in the format of sftp.example.com
7. Enter the Port number. Usually, this is 22.
8. Choose whether you’d like to authenticate with a Password or SSH Key.
9. If you chose password, enter the Username and Password for the SFTP account.
   
10. If you chose SSH key, enter the Username and the SSH key.
    
    Qtip: You must enter a non password-protected private key in this box. Additionally, the public key must be authorized on your SFTP server.
    Example:
    This is what an SSH key typically looks like (including the begin and end RSA key lines):
    —–BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY—–
    a1b2c3d4…
    —–END RSA PRIVATE KEY—–
11. Once finished, click Connect Account.

Adding an account as an Individual User

Follow the steps in this section to add an SFTP account for your personal use. Only you will be able to use the account that you connect.

1. Follow the steps in Setting Up an Extract Data from SFTP Files Task section until you get to the step where you select an account to use.
2. Click Add user account.
   
3. Give your account a Name. This name is used for organizational purposes and to identify the account.
   
4. Enter the Hostname of the associated SFTP server.
   Example: Commonly these are in the format of sftp.example.com
5. Enter the Port number. Usually, this is 22.
6. Choose whether you’d like to authenticate with a Password or SSH Key.
7. If you chose password, enter the Username and Password for the SFTP account.
   
8. If you chose SSH key, enter the Username and the SSH key.
   
   Qtip: You must enter a non password-protected private key in this box. Additionally, the public key must be authorized on your SFTP server.
   Example:
   This is what an SSH key typically looks like (including the begin and end RSA key lines):
   —–BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY—–
   a1b2c3d4…
   —–END RSA PRIVATE KEY—–
9. Once finished, click Connect account.

Setting up an Extract Data from SFTP Files Task

1. Using the navigation menu in the top left, go to the Workflows page.
   
2. Click Create a workflow.
3. Select Started at a specific time.
   
4. Click Get started.
5. If desired, rename your workflow by clicking the workflow name at the top.
   
6. Determine when the scheduled workflow fires. See scheduled workflows for more information about setting up scheduled workflows.
7. Click the plus sign ( + ) and select Task.
8. Choose the Extract data from SFTP files task.
   
9. Choose the SFTP account to extract files from. Any accounts added by Brand Administrators, as well as accounts you’ve added yourself, will be listed here.
   
10. If you want to add new SFTP account credentials, click Add new account and follow the steps in the connecting an SFTP account section.
11. Click Next.
12. Enter the File name pattern, which is used to identify what files to process by looking at the file’s prefix. All files with your specified prefix will be processed. Enter the desired prefix into the box.
    
    Example: Let’s say I have a file called Qualtrics-DataImport.csv. I can enter “Q” or “Qualtrics” as the prefix, depending on if there are other files in the server I want to process.
13. Enter the Pickup directory or the directory path to find the file on the server. You may enter either a relative path or an absolute path.
    Qtip: This directory path is case sensitive and must point to an existing folder or the workflow will fail. Qualtrics will not be able to access files if they’re in a higher level directory than the one specified in the pickup directory.

    Example: Depending on the path you enter, potential pickup directories could be:

    • /home/username/myFolder (absolute path)
    • myFolder (relative path)
14. Choose the Delimiter for the SFTP files to be processed. Your options include comma, semicolon, tab, and pipe.
15. If desired, select Decrypt files before importing using PGP. To learn more about this extra means of encryption and data protection, see PGP Encryption.
    Qtip: Make sure the files you want to import are encrypted with Qualtrics’ public key before uploading them to your SFTP server. To do this, you may need to talk to your IT team.
16. Choose what you’d like to happen after the file is processed. Your options include:
    • Delete the processed file: After processing the file, Qualtrics deletes it from your SFTP server. This option is enabled by default.
    • Keep the processed file: After processing the file, Qualtrics leaves the file on your SFTP server.
17. Click Choose file and upload a sample file, which will tell Qualtrics the fields you want to import, and will determine the subsequent tasks you can use with this task. The file you upload should contain the fields you want to import as part of this task.
    
    Qtip: Download the sample files in the task, or download the files in the example files section for templates on how to structure your data based on your use case. The only supported file encoding format is UTF-8. Some spreadsheet software saves as Unicode UTF-8, which is different from UTF-8, if you are getting unexpected errors. Please ensure that you are exporting in UTF-8 format and not Unicode UTF-8.
    
18. Click Upload.
19. Double check that your file is importing the data correctly. If you need to change your settings, click Back at the top of the task.
    

    Qtip: If all your data is being imported as one column, you are using the wrong delimiter. The below screenshot demonstrates what this looks like in the task window.

    

20. If your data looks correct, click Save.
21. Click the plus sign ( + ), select Task, and set up the task that should follow your SFTP data extraction. This should be a data loader task. See available loader tasks for a list of options.
    

Example Files

Below are example files for how to structure your data for import, depending on the type of data you want to import. Click on a file name to download the example file.

• User Data
• Survey Response Data
• Salesforce Contact Data
• Salesforce Account Data
• Salesforce Account Team Member Data
• Employee Data

FAQs