Email Security - API - Directories - Spreadsheet Import

This article describes how to import users en masse into your internal Mimecast directories via spreadsheet and is intended for Administrators.

Overview

Your users must have a user account to receive emails and sign in to our applications. You can add multiple user accounts at one time using our spreadsheet import function. This additionally allows you to set user permissions, user attribute data, and alias associations. You can also import delegate mailbox access settings. See Configuring Delegate Mailbox Access.

Creating an Import File

The steps described below are the minimum required to import basic user information. See the table in the Advanced Import Settings section for possible import settings.

You can create an import file by using the following steps:

1. Create a spreadsheet with a cell header value of email (case sensitive). This acts as the import file's checkpoint cell and tells us where to begin processing the data. This cell must be within the A1-M99 cell range. This column is where you must add all of the primary email addresses for the users being imported. Values must not contain spaces or surrounding quotes.
2. Add a cell header value of name (case sensitive) in the cell directly to the right of the email header cell. This column maps each user's Global Name to their email address.

3. Optionally add a cell header value of password (case sensitive) in the cell directly to the right of the name header cell. This column sets each user's Mimecast cloud password.

   Ensure the password(s) comply with your account's password complexity rules. See Configuring Password Complexity and Expiration. The password values are verified as part of the import process. Any passwords that don't comply cause the import to fail.

4. Save the spreadsheet as a XLS file.

   XLSX files aren't supported.

Processing the Import File 

If the file processing fails, an email notification is sent to the person who performed the import.

You can process the import file by using the following steps:

1. Log in to the Mimecast Administration Console.
2. Click on the Users & Groups | Imports menu item.
3. Complete the dialog as required:

Field / Option	Description
Import Format	This is set to the value of Mimecast Import and cannot be changed.
Upload Only (No Folder)	If selected, only user address details and permissions are imported without placing them in a group. Additionally, the Import Into Profile Group and Group Override fields are unavailable.
Import Into Profile Group	Click on Lookup to select a group into which the users should be imported.
Group Override	Select whether to add to or overwrite existing records.
Upload Spreadsheet (.xls)	Click on Choose File to select your imported file.
Add Note	Enter a Note of up to 100 characters. If entering multiple email addresses or domains, this note is associated with all of them.

4. Click on the Preview Changes button.
5. The import file is validated, and a Spreadsheet Information section is displayed. This summarizes the file's contents and the number of user accounts to be created.
6. Click on the Save button to complete the user account import.
7. Imports affecting existing Directory Users require manual Directory Synchronization immediately after the successful import. This ensures mail flow to them is uninterrupted.

Importing changes will cause those account types to be changed from Directory User to Manually Imported User. If the domain on which they reside uses the Valid Directory Users Only method of recipient validation, their messages will be rejected until re-synchronized.

Advanced Import Settings

The table below describes the settings that can be imported for a user in addition to those mentioned above. Each setting you choose to include represents a column in your spreadsheet.

Column Heading (Case Sensitive)	Description	Example Values
changepassword	This allows Administrators to specify a generic password globally, ensuring that users are forced to change passwords the first time they log on.	TRUE: This is the default value. Users are forced to change their cloud password. FALSE: Users aren't forced to change their cloud password.
passwordneverexpire	Controls whether a Cloud password should expire as per your account's password expiration configuration. E.g., you're logged on with an Administrator account with a non-protected role (e.g., a Basic Administrator) when running the import. In that case, you cannot change this setting for Administrator accounts with a protected role (e.g., Full or Super Administrators).	TRUE: The user's cloud password doesn't expire. FALSE: The user's cloud password does expire.
accountlockedout	Controls whether the user account is locked. E.g., you're logged on with an Administrator account with a non-protected role (e.g., a Basic Administrator) when running the import. In that case, you cannot change this setting for Administrator accounts with a protected role (e.g., Full or Super Administrators).	TRUE: The user account is locked. FALSE: The user's account is unlocked.
pop	Controls whether the user can retrieve messages from a Mimecast mailbox (internal / local addresses only) using the POP3 protocol.	TRUE: The user can retrieve messages. FALSE: The user can't retrieve messages.
submit	Controls whether the user can send messages from a Mimecast mailbox (internal / local addresses only) using SMTP Authentication.	TRUE: The user can send messages from a Mimecast mailbox. FALSE: The user can't send messages from a Mimecast mailbox.
alias1	Sets an alias email address for the user. You can import up to ten alias addresses for each primary address by adding a column for each alias with the heading "alias2", "alias3", etc.	[e-mail]
[Any customized value]	If the field doesn't exist, the import ensures the attribute is created.	telephonenumber Physical Address
remoteaccountcode	If your Mimecast account uses Advanced Account Administration, this can be used to import the Mimecast account code of the user's grouping or mail processing account. This is only available to the Master Administrator and the Migration Administrator roles on a Master Advanced Account Administration account.	CxAy
adminrole	If your Mimecast account uses Advanced Account Administration, this can be used to import account administrators for associated mail processing accounts. This is only available to the Master Administrator on a Master Advanced Account Administration account.	Basic Helpdesk Gateway

Performing a Manual Directory Synchronization

You can perform a manual Directory Synchronization, by using the following steps.

1. Log in to the Mimecast Administration Console.
2. Navigate to Users & Groups | Directory Synchronization.
3. Click on Sync All.