CSV Import won't update Issues, log shows "Only new items will be imported"

[Lenn Bond]

I am using the "system JIRA import wizard" to update existing issues.  My import CSV has 3 fields - key, summary, created.

In the Setup step I am selecting the project (rather than "Defined in CSV").

In the Setup step I am defining the date format to be dd/MM/yy HH:mm

If the Fields step I see the message "You have selected Issue Key mapping. Please note that importer will update existing issues matching the Issue Key from the CSV file."

(this is what I want!)

In the Fields step I map summary>Summary, created>Date Created, key>Issue Key

I then check each of the "Map Field Value" checkboxes

In the Values step everything matches up, so I just click <Begin Import>

The import completes with the message "1 projects and 0 issues imported successfully!"

When I look in the log I see:

2019-11-01 20:12:18,181 INFO - ------------------------------
2019-11-01 20:12:18,182 INFO - Importing: Issues
2019-11-01 20:12:18,182 INFO - ------------------------------
2019-11-01 20:12:18,182 INFO - Only new items will be imported
2019-11-01 20:12:18,195 INFO - Importing issue: [externalId='autoid-1950990744408516289', summary='60002 - CERTIFICATE - Certificate of Automobile Insurance - Newfoundland and Labrador - English Only']
2019-11-01 20:12:18,233 INFO - Importing issue: [externalId='autoid-8833976040596730003', summary='60005 - CERTIFICATE - Certificate of Automobile Insurance - Prince Edward Island- English Only']
2019-11-01 20:12:18,255 INFO - Importing issue: [externalId='autoid--8219133826194254816', summary='60007 - CERTIFICATE - Certificate of Automobile Insurance - British Columbia - English only']
2019-11-01 20:12:18,287 INFO - 0 out of 3 issues successfully created

Why does it indicate "only new items will be imported" when in the prior step it said "importer will update existing issues matching the Issue Key"?

My Issue Keys perfectly match existing Issues - why did it not update them?

[Stephen Crandell · Accepted solution]

try making the summaries in the csv null. Keep the column, just leave the values empty. I have had better success that way. Also the log doesn’t say anything specific about “issue updated” but when you go look at the actual issue, the fields are updated. 

[Lenn Bond]

Leaving Summary as null seems to be the secret....importing via update worked as expected by doing this.   Thanks!

[Brian Sweet]

I'm having the same problem. My goal is to add a resolution date to completed issues that didn't have their workflow configured properly.

Here's my CSV (using this issue as a test):

Issue key,Summary,Resolved
BS-15,,"Aug 09, 2019 3:04 PM"

As you can see, the summary field is blank for this issue, yet the log still says:

2020-02-13 20:41:50,747 INFO - ------------------------------
2020-02-13 20:41:50,747 INFO - Importing: Issues
2020-02-13 20:41:50,747 INFO - ------------------------------
2020-02-13 20:41:50,747 INFO - Only new items will be imported
2020-02-13 20:41:50,776 INFO - Importing issue: [externalId='autoid--7511088372789587672', summary='null']
2020-02-13 20:41:50,944 INFO - 0 out of 1 issues successfully created

Not sure what to try next...

[Stephen Crandell]

@Brian Sweet make sure the following:

• You are using the admin External system import, not the end user Import from CSV
• check the date format for the system and field. They have to match

[Brian Sweet]

I confirmed using the "External system import" option from the main Jira settings sidebar.

I also confirmed the correct date format. The importer was initially saying it couldn't pass the data correctly, so I eventually found the correct one (or I think I did...the importer no longer complains about the format). The format I'm now using is: MMMM dd, yyyy h:mm a. This should follow the format of dates that I saw when first exporting issues as a CSV.

[Jonathan Cunliffe]

Hi,

I'm having the same issue as Brian.  I'm using the External System Import to import a CSV to correct Resolved Date using this format:

Issue key,Summary,Resolved Date
GCA-432,,26/Mar/2021 12:00 AM

In the import dialogue I'm leaving the date as the default format and I do not get a parse error. The import appears to work but reports zero issues imported.  The log gives nothing away.

2021-04-28 21:57:10,751 INFO - Import started by ug:28255e39-c0df-4b7d-a252-844a5f1d3e84 using com.atlassian.jira.plugins.importer.imports.csv.CsvDataBean
2021-04-28 21:57:11,374 INFO - ------------------------------
2021-04-28 21:57:11,374 INFO - Importing: Users
2021-04-28 21:57:11,374 INFO - ------------------------------
2021-04-28 21:57:11,374 INFO - Only new items will be imported
2021-04-28 21:57:11,376 INFO - 0 users associated with import. All of them imported as inactive, this can be changed after import in User Access step.
2021-04-28 21:57:11,376 INFO - ------------------------------
2021-04-28 21:57:11,376 INFO - Finished Importing : Users
2021-04-28 21:57:11,376 INFO - ------------------------------
2021-04-28 21:57:11,376 INFO - 0 users successfully created.
2021-04-28 21:57:11,378 INFO - Retrieving projects...
2021-04-28 21:57:11,387 INFO - Project ExternalProject{id='null', key='GCA', externalName='null', name='Guest&Crew Self Service Portal', type='null', template='null'} exists and found correctly.
2021-04-28 21:57:11,397 INFO - ------------------------------
2021-04-28 21:57:11,397 INFO - Importing: Versions
2021-04-28 21:57:11,397 INFO - ------------------------------
2021-04-28 21:57:11,397 INFO - Only new items will be imported
2021-04-28 21:57:11,397 INFO - ------------------------------
2021-04-28 21:57:11,397 INFO - Finished Importing : Versions
2021-04-28 21:57:11,397 INFO - ------------------------------
2021-04-28 21:57:11,397 INFO - ------------------------------
2021-04-28 21:57:11,397 INFO - Importing: Components
2021-04-28 21:57:11,397 INFO - ------------------------------
2021-04-28 21:57:11,397 INFO - Only new items will be imported
2021-04-28 21:57:11,397 INFO - ------------------------------
2021-04-28 21:57:11,397 INFO - Finished Importing : Components
2021-04-28 21:57:11,397 INFO - ------------------------------
2021-04-28 21:57:11,401 INFO - Retrieving custom fields...
2021-04-28 21:57:11,406 INFO - ------------------------------
2021-04-28 21:57:11,406 INFO - Importing: Issues
2021-04-28 21:57:11,406 INFO - ------------------------------
2021-04-28 21:57:11,406 INFO - Only new items will be imported
2021-04-28 21:57:11,541 INFO - Importing issue: [externalId='autoid-5217676227840421389', summary='null']
2021-04-28 21:57:11,615 INFO - 0 out of 1 issues successfully created
2021-04-28 21:57:11,617 INFO - ------------------------------
2021-04-28 21:57:11,617 INFO - Finished Importing : Issues
2021-04-28 21:57:11,617 INFO - ------------------------------
2021-04-28 21:57:11,661 INFO - ------------------------------
2021-04-28 21:57:11,661 INFO - Importing: Issue Links & Subtasks
2021-04-28 21:57:11,661 INFO - ------------------------------
2021-04-28 21:57:11,661 INFO - Only new items will be imported
2021-04-28 21:57:11,663 INFO - ------------------------------
2021-04-28 21:57:11,663 INFO - Finished Importing : Issue Links & Subtasks
2021-04-28 21:57:11,663 INFO - ------------------------------
2021-04-28 21:57:11,663 INFO - ------------------------------
2021-04-28 21:57:11,663 INFO - Importing: Issue remote links
2021-04-28 21:57:11,663 INFO - ------------------------------
2021-04-28 21:57:11,663 INFO - Only new items will be imported
2021-04-28 21:57:11,665 INFO - ------------------------------
2021-04-28 21:57:11,665 INFO - Finished Importing : Issue remote links
2021-04-28 21:57:11,665 INFO - ------------------------------

 Any ideas anyone please?

Thanks,
Jon C

[Jonathan Cunliffe]

I've solved my own problem.

Even if you have a Resolution already set against an issue, you must still include the Resolution field in the import CSV.  Where's that written down? :-)