Uploading allowlist and blocklist exceptions in bulk

You can upload allowlist and blocklist exception information in bulk if you have the blocklist or allowlist exceptions for all of your users and groups in a single file.

The file must be in comma-separated value (CSV) format, and the header of the file must be this string exactly: “Apply To, Address, Description”. Every line must contain 3 fields separated by commas:

  • An email address, domain name, or group that the allowlist or blocklist address applies to (no wildcards permitted).
  • An email address or domain name (wildcards permitted).
  • An optional description (free text, up to 255 characters).

The fields can be quoted or not. If a field contains a comma, it must be quoted. If 1 field is quoted, the rest of the line must be quoted. If a field contains a quotation mark, this character must be surrounded by additional quotation marks. If a line contains more than 3 fields, the file is rejected and an error message is displayed.

For example:

Apply To, Address, Description

“UK Sales”, “address1@domain1.com”, “Description of address1, containing comma”

john@example.com, address1@domain1.com, Description of address1 without comma

“example.com”, “domain2.com”, “Description of domain2”

“Marketing”, “address2@domain1.com”, “description of address2”, “this field is not processed”

To upload the file:

Steps

  1. On the Antispam Exceptions page, do one of the following:
    • To upload a bulk allowlist, click the link Upload addresses from a CSV file under Allowlist Bulk Operations.
    • To upload a bulk blocklist, click the link Upload addresses from a CSV file under Blocklist Bulk Operations.
  2. Browse to the name of the file to upload.
  3. Select an action:
    Action Description
    Append to current list Elements imported from the file are added to the existing elements. The resulting list is a union of all elements.
    Replace current list Elements already existing in the list are deleted and replaced by the elements in the file. You are asked to confirm this action.
  4. Click Upload. Note that large files take a while to transfer to the server. If the file is empty, too large, or cannot be opened, an error results. An error also results if any of the elements are invalid.

    You can also download the current blocklist and allowlist into a CSV file for viewing and editing in a spreadsheet.

    Note that if no exceptions are created, the default spam policy will apply.