4.4 User Data File, Employee Import, and User Management Tools
Key Takeaways
- The User Data File (UDF) is a CSV used to add or change basic user data; rows 1 and 2 (system ID and label) must be preserved.
- The UDF is matched on USERID: unknown USERIDs create new users, and users missing from the file are not changed.
- The Employee Import tool is available only in instances without Employee Central.
- With Employee Central, basic user data comes from Import Employee Data > Basic User Import and HRIS sync, not the UDF.
- Employee import privileges come from Manage Employee Import, or from RBP after enabling it in Platform Feature Settings.
4.4 User Data File, Employee Import, and User Management Tools
Quick Answer: The User Data File (UDF) is a CSV of basic user data (status, IDs, names, manager, HR, department, and so on). In instances without Employee Central, it is imported with Employee Import. With Employee Central, basic user data is maintained in EC and synchronized to the user tables by HRIS sync. Importing the UDF there can overwrite EC-sourced data, so EC customers use Import Employee Data instead.
Who May Import Employees
Import privileges do not necessarily come from RBP. The tool Manage Employee Import lets you find a user, define the target population (divisions, departments, locations), and choose Save Definition For Selected Users. SAP's exercise notes that the save sometimes needs repeating even after a success message. To manage the privilege through RBP instead, activate Enable Control on Employee Import in Role-Based Permissions in Platform Feature Settings.
Ways to Manage User Data
- User Data File: a CSV created manually or produced by the HRIS. Import it manually in Admin Center or automate it through FTP. Only records with changes or additions are updated, and many users can change at once.
- Admin Center links (manual entry): quick one-off changes for one or two users. Changes made this way are overwritten by the next import if the CSV is not updated too.
Exporting the UDF
Use Employee Export (Action Search). Best practice is to download the current UDF before every change, because a stored local copy may be out of date after manual or automated updates. Options:
- Valid users only: active users only
- Short format: only system fields: required fields only. Do not use it if you need compensation data.
- Character encoding for languages such as Chinese or Japanese
- Export as a batch process for large populations, with a notification when ready
Save changes under a new file name so the original remains a backup.
UDF Structure
Rows 1 and 2 (system ID and label) must be preserved along with all required columns. Row 2 labels can be renamed during configuration.
| Required field | Rule |
|---|---|
| STATUS | active or inactive; all users on the initial load are active |
| USERID | Unique system identifier. Cannot be changed once set. Avoid leading zeros and special characters such as & or #. |
| USERNAME | Login name; must be unique |
| FIRSTNAME / LASTNAME | Employee name |
| GENDER | M or F; required for the Writing Assistant |
| Business e-mail used for notifications | |
| MANAGER | Manager's USERID; top-level people use NO_MANAGER |
| HR | HR representative's USERID; use NO_HR if none |
| DEPARTMENT | Also a standard filter |
| TIMEZONE | Used for time stamps |
The standard filter fields are DEPARTMENT, DIVISION, and LOCATION. More filters are created by a consultant during implementation. Job Code is optional and links a user to competencies through job roles. There are 15 custom fields.
File Behavior on Import
- The system updates only records whose USERID matches an existing user.
- An unknown USERID is treated as a new user and added.
- Existing users missing from the file are not changed.
- To inactivate a user, export, set STATUS to inactive, and import. Inactivation freezes the account, and it can no longer be changed.
Employee Import
Employee Import is available only in systems without Employee Central enabled. Choose the file, decide how initial passwords are assigned, and optionally select:
- Send welcome e-mail to new users (the template must be enabled, otherwise a warning appears)
- Validate Manager and HR fields
- Process inactive Employees: updates inactive employees' data. Employee Import cannot be used to import new inactive users.
- Re-activate purged users
Choose Validate Import File, fix errors, then Import User File. An e-mail reports results. Manager changes also send a document-transfer report. Import files are scanned, and fields containing cross-site scripting are skipped and reported.
Other User Management Tools
- Manage Users (Manage Employees > Update User Information) adds users and edits one user at a time: manager changes with form transfer, status, and name.
- Extended user information has three types: personal information (one-to-one), trend information (one-to-many ratings), and background information (one-to-many). Export backups before importing, especially before an overwrite import. The background import option Overwrite the data of users in the import file affects only users in the file.
Choosing the Right Tool
| If you want to… | Users managed in Employee Central | Users not managed in EC |
|---|---|---|
| Add or update basic user info in the UI | Employee and Manager Self-Service | Manage Users |
| Add or update basic user info by file | Import Employee Data > Basic User Import | Employee Import |
| Download basic user info | Employee Export | Employee Export |
| Add or update extended user info | Import Extended User Information, Import Employee Data > Extended Import or Background Import | Import Extended User Information |
| Validate user data | Check Tool > User Management | Check Tool > User Management |
The Employee Central Warning
THR81 is explicit. With EC, some talent modules still rely on the user tables, but HRIS sync fills them from EC. Do not update user data by importing the UDF, from the UI or a scheduled job, and do not use the Basic Import to update the legacy tables directly. Doing so can overwrite EC data and create inconsistencies. If that happens, run an HRIS sync job to restore the EC values (Section 7.4).
A company has Employee Central enabled and wants to create users from a file. Which tool applies?
A UDF uploaded to a non-EC instance does not include 200 existing employees. What happens to those employees?
What is the correct UDF value for the MANAGER column of the company's top executive?