Introduction
To successfully build your event on Swapcard, you may need to import data from other systems. For example, if you are using an external registration tool instead of Swapcard Registration, you will need to import registrants as people. Similarly, you might want to automatically import exhibitors, items, sessions, or documents from a third-party system.
Data can be imported manually via Excel files, but connecting APIs for automated data transfer is recommended. Swapcard has developed and maintains API integrations with up to 30 event technology platforms, enabling seamless data importation into your event.
These connectors help you integrate and sync data with various ticketing/registration tools, exhibitor resources, session management platforms, and more. You can configure which fields are imported into Swapcard, keeping in mind that this process is one-directional: updates in the third-party tool will reflect in Swapcard, but not vice versa.
How to connect and set up your third-party system
1. Access the Connectors list
Once your event is set up in the Studio, navigate to the Event Builder section. Click on the Integrations tab and select a third-party API Connector from the list of available connectors.
These systems facilitate importing participants, exhibitors, sessions, and other content. You can choose any third-party API connector from the list. Yours isn't listed? Contact your Account Manager to suggest a new integration.
2. Connect with your third-party system credentials
Select the third-party system from the list you wish to import data from. A form will appear where you need to enter the credentials to access the third-party API and set up the integration.
You can add multiple third-party API connectors to the same event by clicking the Add Integration button and selecting another connector from the list.
3. Map registration types and categories
After providing the correct credentials, the connector will appear on the Integration Tab as Inactive, displaying details such as the provider's name, initial connection date, and last sync.
Click on the integration in the table to set it up. The type will be automatically assigned based on the connected system. Types include:
People
Exhibitors
Sessions
Items
Each type can have different labels. For People, each registration type or ticket will have a unique label. Assign groups for People and Exhibitors or types of items for Items on the right side below "Import here as." No assignment is needed for Sessions.
Assigning the correct groups is crucial for defining permissions and targeting specific groups for emails, notifications, and ads. Learn more about Groups and Permissions.
If a new ticket is created in the third-party system, click "Reload list" to fetch the updated list.
Groups mapping based on field values
You can import people and exhibitors with the same label (registration type, ticket, category) into different Swapcard groups by mapping them based on specific field values.
To achieve this, select "Multiple groups" from the group options. Then, configure multiple group mappings by specifying:
A field
An operator (is, is not, less than, greater than)
The corresponding field value
The group to assign
You can create an unlimited number of group mappings. Additionally, you must define a default group to assign participants if none of the mappings apply.
Once the assignment is complete, enable the import by toggling the switch on the left for each label you want to import.
4. Map the fields
For each label you plan to import, define which fields from the third-party system will be imported into Swapcard fields. Click the edit icon on the right to start mapping fields.
In the mapping table, the fields from the third-party tool are on the left, and Swapcard fields (internal fields) are on the right. Basic fields like Email, First Name, and Last Name for People are pre-mapped. You can select additional fields:
Basic field: which are the fields that are existing by default (ex: Job title and Company for People)
Social media (People and Exhibitor only): which is the list of social media that can be added to people and exhibitor profiles.
Custom field: which are the additional fields that you can create to store any other information. Make sure the custom field is set as "Not editable" to allow the import. Learn more why custom fields are crucial for your event.
Code or badge (People only): to import badge codes for lead capture or badge files for access and printing. When mapping to "Badge code", you have the ability to associate a Ticket, if you have created some (Learn more about creating Tickets), to display the ticket name below the code in order to let the user differentiate them if they have multiple (Learn more about My ticket page).
Condition (People only): allows you to define to import or not, or as visible or not based the value of this field, this is particularly useful to apply a specific rule according to a user consent, for GDPR purpose for instance. It also allows you to link the person to an exhibitor as member, if the value matches the Exhibitor external Id.
"Do not import"
After having mapped the fields you want to import, you can click on the top on Do not import all "To define" fields, to assign "Do not import" to all other fields that you haven't mapped.
Once you have finished the mapping, make sure to click on Save changes at the bottom.
Managing case format and overwriting rules of mapped fields
After mapping a field, you can click on the ⚙️ icon to customize the case format or set overwriting rules for that field.
Case Format Options
You can specify how the field value should be formatted during import:
Original case: Imports the value exactly as received from the third party.
UPPERCASE: Converts the entire value to uppercase.
lowercase: Converts the entire value to lowercase.
Capitalize first letter: Capitalizes the first letter of the value.
Capitalize Words: Capitalizes the first letter of each word in the value.
Overwriting Settings
These settings determine whether imported data will replace existing data in the mapped field:
Overwrite when creating a new record: Enable this option to apply imported data to the field when creating new records.
Overwrite when updating an existing record: Enable this option to update the field with imported data during record updates.
If you modify any of these settings, a small red icon will appear on the gear icon, indicating that a custom setting different from the default has been applied to that field.
Importing to multiple fields
You can assign multiple fields by clicking the duplicate icon. This is useful for importing a field into a basic and custom field for search filters (ex: "Country) or applying conditions.
Others settings in the fields mapping
Import as "not visible": this feature allows you to import all Participants of a ticket type as "not visible". This can be useful, for example, if the ticket concerns the integration of your VIPs. Users can edit their visibility afterward.
Force conflicting ids: allow multiple external IDs on a profile or update an email address for an existing profile.
5. Enable the importing
Once the labels are mapped and enabled (step 3), and the fields are mapped for each label (step 4), you finally have to click on the top right green button Enable importing to start the synchronization. Data should begin appearing in the Content section after a few minutes.
Sync configuration: How to refresh or delete your integration
Once the integration is set up, access the Sync Configuration tab to view sync details and perform actions:
General information
ID: Integration identifier
Provider: Third-party provider name
Label: Event name in the third-party tool
Frequency: Default synchronization delay is 60 minutes. Contact your Customer Success Manager to increase frequency (up to 5 minutes), subject to third-party approval to avoid API rate limits.
Next run: Schedule for the next sync. Click "Sync now" below to force an immediate sync. Please avoid making it too often as it might result of reaching the 3rd party API rate limit.
Last run: Timestamp of the last sync.
Data streams
After the first import, you will be able (for some connectors) to download for each object the API data stream received from connected third-party systems, facilitating better data management and troubleshooting.
Settings
Lead Capture (Visit connector only): Enable to connect to Visit Leads API for badge scanning.
Sync new data: Force the next run immediately
Re-sync all historical data: Perform a hard refresh to import the entire dataset again, but avoid doing this more than once per day.
Delete integration: the integration will be deleted, resulting in deleting permanently the entire mapping setup. Data imported will remain. We recommend to pause the importing instead of deleting the integration.
Integration Logs: understand and debug easily
Access the Logs tab to view imported data and troubleshoot potential errors. Learn more about logs in the dedicated article.
Read more