Act-On supports the use of File Transfer Protocol (FTP) to import and export contact lists. You can schedule the transfer of data in and out of Act-On to keep your records up to date. 

This guide covers the technical setup to establish a connection with your Act-On account so you can begin to upload files. For information on how to import the files to a Marketing List once the file is uploaded, visit our User Guide here.

Using FTP with Act-On

File Types: FTP sync is intended for Marketing Lists. Only .xls, .xlsx, or .csv files will import to your account. We highly encourage you to upload .csv files as they will provide the best performance.

Data Transmission: Act-On’s FTP server transmits data using FTP over SSL/TLS, with TLS 1.2 preferred.

Authentication: Authentication is performed using AUTH TLS. Your password is encoded prior to transmission to Act-On - credentials are never sent in plain text.

Encryption: For enhanced security, you may use PGP encryption to transmit your data.

Prerequisites

• FTP enabled on your account
  • If this is your first time using Act-On's FTP, contact our support team for assistance.
• A FTP client to connect to Act-On and transfer files
• List data in .csv, .xls, or .xlsx format.

Setup

Create a FTP User for Act-On

1. Log in to Act-On as an Administrator.
2. Navigate to Settings > Connectors
3. Click on Data Sources, then click FTP 
4. Click Connect. Your FTP Username is generated for you and cannot be changed.
5. In the Password field, create a password and save it for future reference
6. If you are going to use PGP encryption, click to toggle Enable PGP on and enter the following: 
   • PGP Private Key*
   • Private key passphrase (optional)
7. Click Set Password

*To obtain a PGP private key and passphrase, you will first need to set up PGP encryption. More information below.

FTP Client Configuration

When setting up your FTP client, use the following configuration settings:

• Site name: Act-On
• Host / IP / URL: this varies by region*
  • US/West: ftp2.actonsoftware.com
  • IE: ftp4.actonsoftware.com
  • DE: ftp5.actonsoftware.com
• Port: 21
• Connection: AUTH TLS
• Use Passive mode

* If you do not know the region for your account, you may locate your FTP host in Act-On by going to Settings > Connectors > Data Sources > FTP

Configuring Core FTP (optional)

Act-On recommends the Core FTP client to transfer your data over to your Act-On account. This is a free client available for Windows operating systems. (If you would like to schedule transfers to Act-On, you can use CoreFTP Pro.)

1. Download and Install CoreFTP (free version) here: http://www.coreftp.com/
2. Open the application, and you will see the Site Manager
3. To add Act-On, enter the settings noted in General Configuration above.
4. Next, go to Advanced Settings:
   • General: Legacy Mode is checked
   • Connections: use Port Range 60,000 - 62,000
   • Encoding: Auto/ANSI selected 
   • SSH:
     • Use Legacy protocol options
     • Simulate ASCII mode for SFTP

PGP Encryption (optional, advanced)

Within the FTP connector settings, you can add PGP encryption when transferring your marketing lists. With PGP enabled, a private key will be used for all marketing lists for that account. If a marketing list fails decryption, either by virtue of being unencrypted or encrypted by a non-matching public key, you will see an error from the server.

If you enable PGP, every file you upload to Act-On must be encrypted. If you try to open a file that is not encrypted, the file will not work, including previously uploaded files. Replace any existing (unencrypted) files with encrypted ones.

Requirements:

• CoreFTP Pro, or other FTP software with PGP support
• GnuPG from gnupg.org

To set up your CoreFTP client with PGP encryption, follow these instructions.