What happens if I change the user or company information when I import data?

If you upload data with different company information configured in the importer than was used for previous imports, the company information for previous imports is changed to match the latest upload. This is because Flatfile uses the user ID as the primary identifier, and attaches information about that user to their user ID. Because of this, any data associated with that user ID will be updated if there is an upload with new, different information.

For example, if user1234 uploads data from Company Y, their user ID will be associated with Company Y. However, if they later upload data associated with Company X, the company information will be updated to match. This updated information will be displayed everywhere, even previous imports and uploads. 

The configuration for the importer in Flatfile Portal 3.0 looks something like the following:

app.get('/', async (_req, res) => {
  return res.render('index.html', {
    token: jwt.sign({
      embed: EMBED_ID,
      user: {
        id: '24710',
        email: 'user@company.com',
        name: 'Harry Potter',
      },
      org: {
        id: '28726',
        name: 'Samson Plumbing',
      }
    }, PRIVATE_KEY)
  })
})

Since the user ID is the primary identifier, any information attached to the user ID will be changed, even if that user has already made uploads. Flatfile does not store multiple combinations or iterations of user ID information. The information is stored in the configuration for the importer, so changes to the importer will change information associated with the user ID.

For more information about configuring your importer in Portal 2.0, see our data importer documentation.