Overview

SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol) is a secure method for transferring files between systems. Organizations often use SFTP servers to share CSV exports of contacts, customers, and other records.

Common uses for the Alchemer SFTP integration

• Send survey invitations to contacts from a scheduled CSV export
• Automate bulk processing of contact or customer records stored on an SFTP server
• Use CSV column values as merge codes to personalize workflows and surveys
• Skip suppressed contacts automatically before a workflow runs
• Reduce manual uploads of large CSV datasets

What can the Alchemer SFTP integration do?

• Start workflow for each row in a CSV file
• Start workflow for each row in a CSV file with suppression check

You will need

• SFTP login information. More details in the authentication how-to guide.
• An Alchemer plan that includes the SFTP integration add-on and the Integration Manager permission enabled.
  • Contact us if you are unsure if your plan includes integrations.

Setup Alchemer SFTP integration in Workflow

SFTP | Start workflow for each row in a CSV file

Starts a separate workflow run for each row in the CSV files pulled from your SFTP source directory.

You will need:

• SFTP login information. More details in the authentication how-to guide.
• Your CSV files located on an SFTP server
• At least one CSV file with the column headings you wish to be available as merge codes must exist in the source directory now

Configure the action

1. Open your workflow in Workflow Builder.
2. On the Select Initiator pop up select the SFTP initiator.
3. Select SFTP | Start workflow for each row in a CSV file.
4. Click Next on the initiator overview screen.
5. SFTP | Authentication: Select an existing authentication or create a new authentication using your SFTP details. Make sure SFTP is selected as the protocol when authenticating.
6. SFTP | Source directory: Select the directory where your source CSV files are located. At least one CSV file with the column headings you want available as merge codes must exist in this directory. All CSV files in the source directory will be processed during scheduled runs.
7. SFTP | Processed directory: Select the directory where CSV files will be moved once they are processed. The processed directory must be a subdirectory of the source directory.
8. SFTP | Column headers: After Alchemer finds your CSV column headers, click Next.
9. SFTP | Schedule for runs: Set how frequently you want to get the CSV files from the SFTP server. Runs take place at the specified interval, at the same time of day as the time set in Start running on. The date and time displayed are in your local time zone.
10. Click Save to complete setup. On this screen you can view all available merge codes.

SFTP | Start workflow for each row in a CSV file with suppression check

Starts a workflow run for each row in the CSV files pulled from your SFTP source directory, after checking the suppression status of each contact. A workflow run is only started for contacts that are not suppressed.

You will need:

• SFTP login information. More details in the authentication how-to guide.
• Your CSV files located on an SFTP server
• At least one CSV file with the column headings you wish to be available as merge codes must exist in the source directory now
• A column in your CSV file containing the contact's email address

Configure the action

1. Open your workflow in Workflow Builder.
2. On the Select Initiator pop up select the SFTP initiator.
3. Select SFTP | Start workflow for each row in a CSV file with suppression check.
4. Click Next on the initiator overview screen.
5. SFTP | Authentication: Select an existing authentication or create a new authentication using your SFTP details. Make sure SFTP is selected as the protocol when authenticating.
6. SFTP | Source directory: Select the directory where your source CSV files are located. At least one CSV file with the column headings you want available as merge codes must exist in this directory. All CSV files in the source directory will be processed during scheduled runs.
7. SFTP | Processed directory: Select the directory where CSV files will be moved once they are processed. The processed directory must be a subdirectory of the source directory.
8. SFTP | Column headers: Alchemer retrieves a sample file from your SFTP server to identify the column headers. Wait for discovery to finish, then select the column that contains the contact's email address. This is used to check whether the contact is suppressed.
9. SFTP | Schedule for runs: Set how frequently you want to get the CSV files from the SFTP server. Runs take place at the specified interval, at the same time of day as the time set in Start running on. The date and time displayed are in your local time zone.
10. Click Save to complete setup. On this screen you can view all available merge codes.

Testing and Troubleshooting

Testing and Validation

How to test

• Upload a test CSV file to your SFTP source directory before a scheduled run.
  • Monitor individual runs in the Monitor tab and click each run to view the metadata for each row.

How to verify results

• Verify that each CSV row generated an independent workflow run.
• For the suppression check initiator, confirm that suppressed contacts did not start a workflow run.
• Confirm processed files were moved to your processed directory.

Monitoring Integration Activity

Where to find logs

• Go to Monitor
• Check the individual workflow steps

What logs display

• Inputs received per row
• Workflow output or returned status

Troubleshooting

Authentication issues

• Incorrect SFTP host, username, or password
• A protocol other than SFTP selected when authenticating

Directory issues

• No CSV file in the source directory when setting up the initiator
• Processed directory is not a subdirectory of the source directory
• Other files in the source directory that you do not want processed

CSV issues

• Incorrect header formatting or missing columns
• Missing or invalid email addresses for the suppression check
• Invalid characters or malformed data

FAQs