Importing cardholders and credentials - Security Center 5.10

Security Center Administrator Guide 5.10

Applies to
Security Center 5.10
Last updated
2023-06-12
Content type
Guides > Administrator guides
Language
English
Product
Security Center
Version
5.10

To accelerate the setup of your system, you can import cardholders and credentials from a CSV file instead of creating them manually in Security Center.

Before you begin

If you want to receive an email report after importing cardholders and credentials using a scheduled task, ensure that the user selected as the recipient of the schedule task is configured with an email address. This is configured in the User management task, on the Properties page of the user.

What you should know

Importing cardholders and credentials manually differs from doing so using a scheduled task. When configuring an Import from file scheduled task, note the following:
  • If you are using a network path, you must enter it manually and include the full file name of the CSV file, including the suffix.
  • By default, the CSV source file is automatically deleted after a successful scheduled import, and an email is sent to the recipient configured in the scheduled task; you must generate a new source file for the next scheduled import.
  • If the import fails, the source CSV file is renamed to include the word "Errors" in the file name, and an email is sent to the recipient configured in the scheduled task. You can use the Windows Event Viewer to see why the import failed.

Procedure

  1. Do one of the following:
    • To import cardholders or credentials manually, from the Config Tool home page, click Tools > Import tool.
    • To import cardholders or credentials using a scheduled task, from the Config Tool home page, open the System task, click the Scheduled tasks view, and then configure a new scheduled task as follows:
      Status
      Set to Active.
      Recurrence
      Select how often you want the task to run.
      Action
      Select Import from file.
      Recipient
      Select a user.
      File name
      Click Pencil to open the Import tool.
  2. On the Welcome page of the Import tool, enter the file path to the CSV file you want to import, and click Next.
    The Settings page opens.
    Settings page of the Import tool wizard in Config Tool.
  3. On the Settings page, configure the import settings:
    Encoding
    Select the character encoding type.
    Column delimiter
    Set the CSV field delimiter for columns.
    Decimal delimiter
    Set the CSV field delimiter for decimals.
    Thousand separator
    Set the CSV field delimiter for thousand separators.
    Start at line
    (Optional) Enter a value of 2 or greater to reserve lines for column headings or comment lines.
    Maximum picture file size
    (Optional) Set the maximum picture file size to minimize storage usage. The default value is taken from your access control system settings. Changing its value in the Import tool also changes your system settings.
    Add credential to cardholder key
    Select this option if the CSV file contains both cardholder and credential information.
    NOTE: This option is only applicable when cardholders and credentials are imported from the same CSV file. When this solution is not applicable, other cardholder information can be used to strengthen the cardholder identification.
    Card format
    Select the default card format to use when a card format is not specified in the CSV file.
    Credential operation
    Select one of the following options:
    Add
    This is the default option. All credentials read from the CSV file are added as entities to your system. If a credential already exists in your database, it will be updated.
    Replace
    With this option, you can replace old credentials with new ones. On the Bindings page, you will find additional options to specify old (previous) and new credential values.
    Cardholder group operation
    Select one of the following options:
    Add
    This is the default option. All cardholder groups from the CSV file are added to your system as entities. If a cardholder group already exists, the cardholder will be added to the group.
    Replace
    With this option, you can change a pre-existing cardholder's group membership. To reassign a cardholder to a new group, change their group value in the CSV file, then set the cardholder group column to Cardholder group on the Bindings page.
    Transparency color
    (Optional) If the cardholder pictures you are importing were taken in front of a chroma key screen, you can make the picture background transparent. This is helpful if you created a badge template with a background image. To set the background transparency of imported cardholder pictures, turn the option on, select the color of the chroma key screen the cardholder pictures were taken in front of (usually green or blue), and then set the transparency percentage.
  4. Click Next.
    The Bindings page opens.
    Bindings page of the Import tool wizard in Config Tool.
  5. On the Bindings page, for each sample value, select a corresponding database field in the Binding column.
    If you need to skip a column in your CSV file, leave the Binding column blank.
    NOTE: For entities like cardholders and credentials, a minimum amount of information is required to complete the import.
  6. (Optional) Add more fields to the cardholder key.
    If you need to differentiate cardholders, you can add additional information by selecting the Key check box beside each field you want to add to the cardholder key. The check box is disabled for ineligible fields.
    Tip: The other method to strengthen the cardholder identification is to add the credential data to the cardholder key.
  7. Click Next.
    The Import tool imports the contents of your CSV file into the database. A summary window opens, confirming the number of entities imported and the number of errors encountered.
  8. Click Paper and arrow overlapping a clipboard to copy and paste the contents of the report.
  9. Click Close.