Using Data Loader

As a developer, you may have found the previous process a bit tedious, with all that clicking. In addition, if you are going to perform the same load task repeatedly, with different data, you won’t want to have to go through the Import Wizard every time. The Force Platform includes the Data Loader tool for not only importing data, but also for exporting data and deleting existing records.

You can download Data Loader from the same Data Management menu you used to access the Import Wizard. Data Loader is a desktop application that uses the Force Platform API to access objects on the platform. The Data Loader application includes a user interface that walks you through the same set of tasks as the Import Wizard, in a slightly different manner. But for you, the developer, Data Loader also includes a command line interface, which means you can simply use a command file to run any Data Loader job.

The script to use, and detailed instructions on how to use it, can be found in the Code Share project for this book, as described in Chapter 1: Welcome to the Force Platform. You use Data Loader to load the users for the book into your organization.

Throughout the rest of this book, you will be using Data Loader and command line files to add data to the objects that will be a part of your application.