---
title: "Step 4: Field mapping"
canonical: "https://support.soutron.net/space/HG/3278168/Step%204%3A%20Field%20mapping"
format: markdown
---
In this step you can define how the fields in the source data are to be mapped to fields in Soutron.
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To add a field to the mapping:
1. From the Soutron Record Field drop-down list, select the field in Soutron that you want to import data into
2. In the Data Source Field list, click on the field that is to populate the Soutron field and click the **Add to Expression** button> Macro (inline-media-image)
3. Finally, click **Add Mapped Field**> Macro (inline-media-image)
The mapping is then added to the list of mapped fields at the top:> Macro (inline-media-image)
4. > Macro (anchor)
Tick the "Report" box to include the field in the import report which is emailed once the import has finished. It is best to only tick a few fields, preferably a unique field so that you can identify the record in the source data, and fields that are the most likely to cause the record to fail, such as publication date, ISBN and ISSN.
5. Tick the "DD" box to override or define the duplicate detection value during import.
6. Continue in this way until you have mapped all the fields you need.
> ℹ️ Note that your import file does not need to include mandatory fields such as Title
You will define the Content and Record Type that the incoming records are to be assigned to, when defining the [import task](https://soutron.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/HG/pages/3278787).
Then go to [Step 5](https://soutron.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/HG/pages/3278174).
# > Macro (anchor)
Updating records
If you are importing a file of records that are to update records already in Soutron, you need to define one of the fields as the unique key to be matched on. To do this, click **Use as Key** next to the field. There is no need to specify a unique key if all you are importing is new records.
Unlike importing new records, the incoming records for updating can be a mixture of Content/Record Types. The Content/Record Type selected in the task will only apply if a match cannot be found for the incoming record, in which case a new record is created, with the Content/Record Type selected in the task.
> ❌ Important: do not specify a thesaurus field as the key field. If you do, none of the records will import.
# Importing a URL
There are three ways in which you can import a URL in to Soutron:
1. The URL by itself. For example: https://www.google.com
2. The URL with link text from an import file
3. The URL with pre-determined link text
**Importing URLs with no Link Text**
1. Choose the URL field in the Soutron Record Field list dropdown
2. Select the field from the Data Source Fields list containing the URL
3. Click "Add to Expression"
4. Proceed as described in the Field Mapping section
**Importing URLs with Link Text from the Import File**
1. Choose the URL field in the Soutron Record Field list
2. Select the field from the Data Source Fields list containing the URL
3. Click "Add to Expression"
4. Append the following text in the Field Mapping Expression text box:** +"^"+URLDescriptionField**
5. where "**URLDescriptionField**" is the field from the Data Source Fields list that contains the link description.
6. Click "Add Mapped Field"
The final result should look similar to this:
** ****URL+"^"+URLDescriptionField**
** **
**Importing URLs with Pre-Determined Link Text**
1. Choose the URL field in the Soutron Record Field list
2. Select the field from the Data Source Fields list containing the URL
3. Click "Add to Expression"
4. Append the following text in the Field Mapping Expression text box:** +"^YourLinkText"**
where "**YourLinkText**" is the text to use in place of the URL. For example, you could replace "YourLinkText" with "Link to Website".
5. Click "Add Mapped Field"
The final result should look similar to this:
** URL+"^YourLinkText"**
