In Salesforce, we have various tools for Data Management, and one such robust data management tool is Data Loader.
In this Salesforce tutorial, we will learn to Update Data With a Data Loader in Salesforce. With the help of a data loader, we can update the records of both Salesforce Lightning and Salesforce Classic editions by following the same procedure.
Why use Data Loader to update Data in Salesforce
In the Salesforce CRM, Data Loader is a robust data management tool that facilitates the import, export, and update of data in our Salesforce environment. It’s a client application that simplifies the data loading process, offering both ease of use and powerful capabilities for handling large volumes of data.
The Data Loader supports bulk data processing, allowing administrators to handle large datasets efficiently, and with this capability, we can update and modify the data in bulk which might not be possible with other data management tools.
Update Data with Data Loader in Salesforce
To update the records data with the Data Loader in Salesforce, you must have installed the data loader in your system and have the necessary permission to update the records data.
If you meet the above conditions, then follow the steps below to update the data with the data loader.
In this example, I will explain the method of updating records using a few opportunity records where I’ll update the Amount(currency) field of those opportunity records.
To update the records we need a record ID of those records, and for that, the best way is to export the Opportunity records with a data loader including the fields ID, Name (for reference), and the fields that you have to update like Amount, Stage, etc.
1. To export the data open the data loader click on Export, log in with your credentials then select the object in which you to update records, select the fields ID, Name, and Amount (the field to be updated) then click on Finish to proceed export.
2. Save the export in a CSV file, and from here, copy the header ID and the Amount, then copy the IDs of the records that you have to update.
3. Now create a new CSV file with the header column ID and the fields that you to update. In this example, I will update the Amount field of the opportunities.
In the ID column, enter the IDs that you copied from the exported CSV file then enter the new values in the Amount column. After this save this CSV file in your system from where it can be accessed to the data loader.
4. Now again open the Data loader and click on the Update button.
5. In this step, select the data object and browse the CSV file that we have created to update the records, then click on the Next button.
6. As we click on the Next button the data loader will initialize the records from the CSV file and on successful initialization Batch size of the record and org’s API limit. Here, click on the OK button.