Data Import & Export

Overview

dForge has built-in import and export at the platform level, available from any grid view and any report. Both honor the same security as direct querying — users can only import or export what they can already see.

Some details below describe planned behavior; the import/export feature is being refined as the platform evolves.

Importing Data

Import is available from the toolbar of any grid view. It creates or updates records in the entity displayed by the grid, and it respects the folder context — defaults from the current folder are applied to new rows automatically.

Workflow

1. Open a grid view for the entity you want to populate
2. Click Import in the toolbar
3. Pick an Excel (.xlsx) or CSV file
4. Map the file’s columns to entity fields
5. Preview the data and validation results
6. Confirm the import

Supported Formats

Format	Notes
Excel (.xlsx)	First sheet by default; header row used for column names
CSV (.csv)	Comma or semicolon delimited; header row used for column names

Column Mapping

dForge auto-matches file columns to entity fields by name similarity. You can:

• Reassign mappings manually
• Skip columns that shouldn’t be imported
• Resolve reference fields by code or display name (lookup)
• Override required-field mappings

Import Modes

Mode	Behavior
Insert only	Create new records; skip rows that match an existing record
Update only	Update existing records by key; skip new rows
Upsert	Insert new rows and update existing rows by key

For Update and Upsert, pick which field(s) identify existing records.

Validation and Preview

Before any rows are written, the importer shows a preview with validation results:

• Required-field checks
• Data type validation
• Reference lookup validation (e.g., a country code that doesn’t exist)
• Unique constraint checks
• Custom check constraints defined on the entity

You can choose to skip rows with errors and import only the valid ones, or fix the source file and retry. Imports run inside a transaction so a failed batch leaves the database unchanged.

Templates

Frequently-used mappings can be saved as import templates so you don’t have to remap columns every time. Templates can be personal or shared.

Exporting Data

Export is available from grid views and from reports. Export happens after data is loaded — it’s not part of the report parameter dialog.

From Grid Views

1. Open a grid view
2. Apply any filters and sort order you want
3. Click Export in the toolbar
4. Pick a format (Excel, CSV, or PDF)
5. The file downloads to your browser

The exported file includes:

• Only the visible columns of the current view
• The current filter (folder + view + user filters)
• The current sort order
• All matching records — not just the current page

From Reports

1. Run the report with your chosen parameters
2. Click Export
3. Pick a format and (optionally) a template
4. The file downloads

A report export includes all datasets. PDFs render charts as images; Excel exports preserve data types and put each dataset on its own sheet.

Supported Formats

Format	Best for	Notes
Excel (.xlsx)	Analysis, pivot tables	Preserves data types; multiple sheets for multi-dataset reports
CSV (.csv)	Data exchange, ingestion by other tools	Single dataset, plain text
PDF (.pdf)	Printing, archiving, formal reports	Formatted layout, includes charts

Templates

PDF and Excel exports can use templates that define layout, branding, and formatting:

• PDF templates — header/footer, logo, page orientation, column widths, chart placement
• Excel templates — header rows, number formats, multi-sheet layouts, conditional formatting

Templates can be shipped with a module (so the same invoice always prints the same way), defined by tenant admins, or — eventually — saved per user.

Security

Both import and export honor the full security stack:

• The user must have the entity rights required for the operation (S for export, I/U for import)
• Row-level security filters are applied to exports — users can never export rows they can’t see
• Column-level security is enforced — hidden columns aren’t included in exported files
• Imports go through the same validation and check constraints as any other write

There is no “raw export” mode that bypasses security. Exports are exactly what the user could already see in the UI, just packaged into a file.