Simple Data Transfer is a file-transfer solution for enterprise level clients that would like to schedule the upload of their data to Real Magnet. This integration can work with Secure FTP (FTPS).
Files are considered active if they've been updated in the last 90 days for uploads; after 90 days, and the original file has not been modified in the FTP, it will be archived. Tracking data is only stored in the Tracking folder for 30 days before it is archived.
NOTE: FTPS (FTP + SSL) is supported; SFTP (SSH + FTP) is not supported.
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Who should read this guide?
This guide is for Real Magnet users responsible for determining messaging and contact management guidelines. It assumes that you are familiar with:
- Using the Real Magnet system
- Managing an FTP server
- Managing data
Initial Setup
When first setting up, if access is granted via an FTP site, you’ll want to use an FTP service like FileZilla or similar. Once the service has been enabled by Real Magnet, you'll receive the following credentials:
- URL (transport.magnetmail.net)
- Username
- Password
Allowlist the Higher Logic IP address:
- 209.18.70.19
FTPS settings
FTPS is the preferred method, and the one we highly recommend. FTPS is available via Implicit SSL/TLS or Explicit FTP over TLS with a locally authored 2048 bit Certificate. This Certificate is locally signed and therefore requires an acknowledgement of acceptance by the client when configuring\accessing FTPS services for the first time.
- Port Range for implicit SSL/TLS is 990
- Port Range for explicit is standard FTP port 21
- Passive mode port range = 3300 – 5100
User Notifications
The integration upload jobs offer an automated failure report, which can be configured to send you and your team a notification if one of the configured uploads through Simple Data Transfer were to fail. The report includes the name of the file that was used, the group name that the file was mapped to, and any identifiable error message. This is a great way to make sure that your upload jobs are being completed successfully and get notified if they're not.
To start receiving these notifications:
- Select Tools.
- Select Simple Data Transfer.
NOTE: Some names may reflect custom settings per client (e.g., iMIS File Upload or File Management).
- Select Settings.
User-Access Requirements
A Real Magnet account administrator can designate what users in the account have permission to access the integration. Below you will find tables detailing what each permission level means and what a user can do with that permission.
To assign a permission:
- Select Tools.
- Select Account Management.
- Select Integration Access Levels.
Real Magnet User Permissions
Scheduled Upload
| Permission Level | View | Run | Create/Schedule | Edit | Delete |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full Access | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Read Only | Y | Y | N | N | N |
| No Access | N | N | N | N | N |
Tracking
| Permission Level | View | Edit |
|---|---|---|
| Full Access | Y | Y |
| Read Only | Y | N |
| No Access | N | N |
Configure Tracking Information in the Real Magnet Account
As a default, no tracking information is selected to send to the FTP site. In order to select what tracking information is pushed to the FTP site and when, an administrator must log in to Real Magnet. Real Magnet recommends that full access over manage tracking be a permission granted only to other administrators. Once tracking information has been selected, Real Magnet will only sync records with the FTP site from that point onward. It is for this reason that access to this panel should remain limited.
NOTE: This page also provides detailed error descriptions in the event any records have not synced the night before.
To enable tracking, log in to Real Magnet, and then:
- Select Tools.
- Select Simple Data Transfer.
NOTE: Some names may reflect custom settings per client (e.g., iMIS File Upload or File Management).
- Select Manage Tracking.
- Select the Tracking items to sync to the FTP site.
- Select the time you would like for this information to come over.
NOTE: With any integration platform, there is a known use of data; for this reason, Real Magnet recommends that the data be sent over in off-peak hours.
Options for tracking data that can be returned includes:
- Email Delivered
- Opens
- Click-throughs
- Unsubscribes
- Subscribes
- Suppressed
- All Bounces
- Soft Bounces
- Hard Bounces
- User Not Found Mailbox Full
- Bad Domain
- Temporarily Unavailable
- In Progress
- Send Failed
- Fax Sends
- SMS Sends
- Event Signups
- Survey Submissions
- Landing Pages Submitted
- Website Visits
- Goal Reached
Considerations Before Uploading
Uploading recipients from the Simple Data Transfer interface to Real Magnet can be performed a variety of ways. Below are the considerations that must be made before you upload your first query from Simple Data Transfer.
Unique Identifiers
Every database-driven system has a way to enforce uniqueness on records to avoid duplicates. Real Magnet offers two options for determining uniqueness:
- Email address
- AMS/CRM ID
NOTE: The default setting has the recipient’s email address as the unique ID:
Email as a Unique ID
When this default option is enabled, Real Magnet will only create one record for any single email address. For every record uploaded to Real Magnet that contains a custom ID and an email address, Real Magnet will create a unique record based on that email address.
NOTE: There can be NO duplicate email addresses with this method.
Implications
- Email addresses cannot be overwritten from the FTP site
Custom Member ID as a Unique ID
When custom ID is selected as the unique identifier, this will be generated by the unique identifier supplied with your AMS or API process.
Implications
- Every record uploaded to Real Magnet must contain a Unique ID
- Duplicate email addresses can exist
- Email addresses can be overwritten from the FTP site
Replace Real Magnet Records
Real Magnet provides two options when uploading a list:
- Adding recipients - If add to existing list is selected, Real Magnet will only add the records to the group with the records from the upload. Individual records will not be updated or overwritten.
- Replacing recipients - If Replace existing list is selected, Real Magnet will replace the records in the group with the records from the upload. The records being removed are not deleted, only removed from the group (they remain in the database), and there is no impact on the historical data.
NOTE: The replace method can be made the default. To do so, submit a request to your Implementation Project Manager or to Support.
If Replace is selected, Real Magnet’s default setting to overwrite existing data, based on the unique identifier will overwrite the corresponding data that exists in Real Magnet. This can be particularly useful in instances where there is one database of record that is in the process of being constantly updated.
NOTE: Add to Group will not update individual records in Real Magnet.
Character Limitations
When uploading a list to Real Magnet the maximum characters allowed per field are:
| Field Type | Characters |
|---|---|
| E-mail, Address 1, Address 2, All Custom Fields | 100 Characters |
| First Name, Last Name, Phone, Fax, City, State, Zip | 50 Characters |
| Company | 200 Characters |
| Enhanced Personalization Field | 250 Characters |
Upload Recipients to Real Magnet
All files that are transferred to Real Magnet are referred to as an Upload Job. Upload jobs that are allowed via the integration are:
- .csv files
- .txt files
Transfer Lists from Simple Data Transfer to Real Magnet
Data can be transferred from Simple Data Transfer to Real Magnet via a scheduled upload or one-time transfer from within Real Magnet.
The Real Magnet Upload Scheduler (RMUS) is a feature of the integration that allows for automated uploads to the Real Magnet system; it is extremely useful in the event there are any lists that you send to on a regular basis.
It allows the following upload job types:
- Run Now - This upload job will run once. Once completed, edits or changes cannot be made to this upload job.
- On Demand - This upload job will only run when the green play icon is clicked or using the Sync on Send functionality. This will deploy the upload job when a message is scheduled to send to the group attached to the upload job.
- Scheduled - This upload job will run on a scheduled basis, either daily or weekly, and can be manually run by clicking the green play button. When selecting a group connected to an active Marketing Automation campaign, this option can also upload groups on an hourly basis.
The RMUS can be accessed by logging into Real Magnet and selecting Tools. The details below will cover all aspects of the RMUS.
Icon Legend
| Icon | Description |
|---|---|
 |
Delete the upload job. |
 |
Edit the upload job. This function only applies to On Demand and Scheduled jobs. |
 |
Run job. This function only applies to On Demand and Scheduled jobs. |
 |
View the rejected individual records (Real Magnet validates all email addresses uploaded to Real Magnet). |
Upload Jobs Page Overview
This page contains a list of your existing upload jobs in the Real Magnet platform, you’ll see a list of the existing upload jobs and it will contain the following:
- List Name - The name of the file from the FTP site.
- Date Created - The date the upload job was created.
- Job Type - Whether the job is Run Now, On Demand, or Scheduled.
- Frequency - The frequency of the scheduled job, for Run Now and On Demand this will remain blank
- Scheduled time - The times the job has either completed or is scheduled to run next.
- Start Time (HH:MM) – The time the upload job is scheduled to start.
- Last Run (MM/DD/YYYY HH:MM) – The time the upload job was last executed and completed.
- Next Run (MM/DD/YYYY HH:MM) – The next scheduled time it is set to run.
- Group Results - The group in Real Magnet the query was uploaded to and the results of the last upload, that includes the total number in the group and the number added. Any error that may occur on upload will surface here.
- Actions - The allowed actions a user can make to the upload job.
Create an Upload Job
To create an upload job in Real Magnet:
- Select Tools.
- Select Simple Data Transfer.
- Select Create Upload Job.
- Select a .CSV or .TXT file.
- Select Create Map.
- Select View Entire Field List or One by One.
- Select which columns you would like to bring over to Real Magnet.
NOTE: These are a one-to-one relationship when mapping fields. This means that you can only map the fields on the left side of the screen with one item on the Real Magnet side once.
- Click Add Filters.
- Click Create Schedule.
- Select Create New Group or Add to Existing Group.
- Select either Add to existing group or Replace existing list.
- Depending on account settings the third upload step may reveal the option whether or not to update. Select Do not Update Existing Records (Only Add Records To Group) or Update Existing Records.
- Click Create.
- Select your frequency: Run Now, On Demand, or Scheduled.
- Click Submit.
Real Magnet Data in Simple Data Transfer
The only information to report back via Simple Data Transfer is the tracking items selected under Initial Setup. This tracking information will update once a day in a folder in the FTP site called tracking.
NOTE: This information will contain Activity Codes and Subcodes per recipient. See Activity Codes and Subcodes to learn more.
The fields returned in this tracking report:
- ID - The tracking record's ID
- Tracking Code - The Activity Code.
- Tracking Subcode - The Activity Subcode.
- Custom Member ID - The Custom Member ID of the recipient (this is generally the AMS/CRM ID).
- Email Address - The recipient’s email address at the time of the transmission of data.
- Recipient ID - This is the unique system ID of the recipient in Real Magnet (it's unique to Real Magnet).
- Event Date - The date of the interaction.
- Message Name - The name of the interaction (e.g., Event Item Title, Marketing Automation Campaign, etc.).
- Group Name - The name of the Group in Real Magnet.
- Category Name - The name of the category of the Group or the Message in Real Magnet.
- Link URL - The URL clicked, or the website visited.
- Link Label - The Link Label clicked.
Frequently Asked Questions
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| How do I remove a file I no longer need? | Delete the upload job in Real Magnet and then log in to the FTP site and delete the file. You can also work with your IT team to create a script or automated process to clear selected files. |
| Why was my file deleted? | Real Magnet archives files that have not been updated every 90 days, tracking files are cleared our every 30 days. |
| Why are there multiple opens or link clicks in my recipient’s activity history? | Real Magnet reports back gross opens and clicks. |
| Why is there no tracking data updating to my Tracking Folder? |
Did you select tracking data? Log in to Real Magnet and walk through the steps below:
|
| Why am I getting the message: “This upload job has one or more groups to which you do not have access.”? | Do you have access to the group? If you have an Enterprise account, you'll need to ensure you have access to the group the Upload Job is connected to, or ensure that the group has not been archived. |
| What happens if the tracking data portion is canceled mid-stream? | Real Magnet logs the failure and re-attempts to send the data through. |
| What happens if I am using Internet Explorer? |
Due to Internet Explorer’s security configurations, as part Real Magnet’s compatibility steps, we recommend clients complete the following:
|