---
schema_version: "1"
id: 5840b2a1db25e5b997f5c56b6a767e51d6dbd107e982e56458206d4ea8eadfcc
title: Salesforce Data Extensions in Marketing Cloud Connect
collection: admin
version: current
locale: en-us
portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/admin/current/en-us/mktg/264-0-0/mc_co_salesforce_data_extensions.md
canonical_url: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.mc_co_salesforce_data_extensions.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5
source_site: help.salesforce.com
content_type: documentation
content_hash: 0fcc7b273e48d29d2348bf7a3ee35e37cadeacfbf1cc56b4fe792fe1036901b9
description: A data extension is a table that contains your data. With Marketing Cloud Connect for Marketing Cloud Engagement, push tracking data from Engagement back to your Sales or Service Cloud orgs using a Salesforce data extension (SFDE). Push any tracking data for emails sent to SFDE audiences using Salesforce Sends to the Salesforce Contact or Lead record in the connected org. An SFDE can use the same Engagement segmentation and filtering tools as a standard data extension. Data extensions created from sends to reports or campaigns have a hard-coded retention policy of 5 days.
products:
  - Marketing
  - Cross Cloud
release: "264"
---
# Salesforce Data Extensions in Marketing Cloud Connect

A data extension is a table that contains your data. With Marketing Cloud Connect for Marketing Cloud Engagement, push tracking data from Engagement back to your Sales or Service Cloud orgs using a Salesforce data extension (SFDE). Push any tracking data for emails sent to SFDE audiences using Salesforce Sends to the Salesforce Contact or Lead record in the connected org. An SFDE can use the same Engagement segmentation and filtering tools as a standard data extension. Data extensions created from sends to reports or campaigns have a hard-coded retention policy of 5 days.

![Note](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-mktg-mc_cross-cloud_products-264-0-0-production-enus/bd617332-480f-48e8-b283-3477883c1320/images/icon_note.png)

Note Connect users to the CRM on their User Detail record in Engagement to access this functionality. The User Detail record shows Integrated for Salesforce.com Status.

## Prerequisites

Before you get started with Salesforce data extensions, check the subscriber key, Email field, and field names.

- Use an 18-digit Salesforce Contact or Lead ID (not 15-digit) to map to the subscriber key. If the report field containing the Contact or Lead ID is called Contact ID or Lead ID, subscriber Keys automatically convert from 15 to 18 digits. A field labeled 'ID' uses the 15-digit Contact or Lead ID, which can result in duplicate IDs in Engagement. Contact or Lead IDs that are imported into a standard data extension using a manual flat file import aren’t automatically converted from a 15-digit to an 18-digit subscriber key.
- To import into an SFDE, the email field must be set to type 'email address'. If not, the report is imported into a standard data extension and tracking isn’t returned to the Sales or Service Cloud.
- Field names can’t contain the ? or % characters.

## Importing Salesforce Data Extensions

Import Salesforce data extensions into Engagement through Interactions. Create import activities with accessible Sales or Service Cloud reports. For example, if you can’t access a report in Engagement, you can’t access it in the Marketing Cloud Admin folder of Sales or Service Cloud.

Manual and automated imports behave differently in scope-by-user accounts:

- Manual import activities respect scoping, so the number of records that appear in the report are specific to the user who is running the import.
- All automated import activities are executed as the Marketing Cloud API user. Therefore, the number of records reflect the Salesforce system user’s (tracking user) level of access to data.

With non-scope-by-user accounts, imports return results based on the Salesforce system user’s data access.

#### See Also

- [Permission-Based Access](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.mc_co_permission_based_accessibility.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "If you purchased Marketing Cloud Engagement Licensing after our September 2016 Release, you can access Marketing Cloud Connect functionality. You can access the features when your Marketing Cloud and CRM users are connected: enter a valid username in the Salesforce.com status field on the Marketing Cloud user record.")
- [Data Extensions with Enhanced Subscriber Features in Marketing Cloud](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.mc_es_de_enhanced_subscriber.htm&language=en_US)
- [Create a Data Extension in Email Studio (Enhanced)](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.mc_es_create_data_extension.htm&language=en_US)