The Data Import Wizard is a browser-based tool inside Salesforce Setup for importing or updating records without installing anything. You upload a CSV, map columns, click Start, and watch the rows load.
It’s purposely simpler than Data Loader — fewer features, fewer footguns, lower learning curve. It’s the right pick for occasional admin loads on common objects.
How to find it
Setup → Data → Data Import Wizard → Launch Wizard.
What it can handle
The wizard supports a limited set of objects:
- Accounts and Contacts
- Leads
- Solutions
- Campaign Members
- Person Accounts (if enabled)
- Custom objects (most of them)
Conspicuously missing: Opportunities, Cases, Products, Quotes, and most platform objects. For those you need Data Loader.
The flow
- Pick the object (Accounts & Contacts, Leads, Custom Objects, etc.).
- Choose the operation: Add new, Update existing, or Add new and update existing (Upsert).
- Upload the CSV file.
- Map the CSV columns to Salesforce fields — the wizard auto-matches based on header names.
- Start Import.
- Get an email when the job finishes, plus a results screen in Setup → Bulk Data Load Jobs.
Key limits
- Max 50,000 records per import.
- No scheduling — it’s interactive only, no CLI.
- No hard delete. Plain delete isn’t supported either; only insert/update/upsert.
- Limited object support — see the list above.
- No export. It’s import-only; you need reports or Data Loader to get data out.
- Built-in duplicate matching for Leads, Accounts, and Contacts — the wizard surfaces the standard duplicate rules and lets you choose how to handle matches.
When the Import Wizard wins over Data Loader
- Quick one-off loads under 50,000 records.
- Admin-friendly — no separate install, runs in any browser.
- Duplicate handling is built into the UI for Leads / Accounts / Contacts; with Data Loader you rely on org-level duplicate rules.
- Permission-light — doesn’t require API Enabled on Professional Edition (the wizard works on editions where Data Loader doesn’t).
- Email notifications when complete.
- Auto-assignment rules — the wizard has UI options to trigger them; Data Loader does not.
When Data Loader wins
- More than 50,000 records.
- Objects the wizard doesn’t support.
- You need export, delete, or hard delete.
- You want scheduled / CLI-driven loads.
- You need Bulk API performance.
A subtle point on the wizard’s modern incarnation
Salesforce now also offers the web-based Data Loader under Setup, which sits between the classic Data Loader (Java desktop) and the Import Wizard in capability. If an interviewer asks about “the new web Data Loader”, that’s what they mean — it isn’t the Import Wizard.
Verified against: Salesforce Help — Data Import Wizard, Data Loader Guide, Metadata API Developer Guide. Last reviewed 2026-05-17 for Spring ‘26 release.