Import profiles from CSV
- Membes Support
- Carly McDougall
Profile information can be self-imported into the administration system via the import function. To use this function, all profile information must be saved in a CSV file.
Video tutorial: Importing profiles
Preparing your data
Important notes about preparing your data:
Ensure your data is clean and tidy
Never is the saying 'Garbage in, garbage out' more appropriate than when importing your data into a new system. Take the time to review your data and remove any unwanted records, ensure you have included all the necessary data fields and clean up any malformed data or cell values before you attempt to import it.
Data format
All data imported must be well formed CSV. This is a common format for importing data, however if it’s not formatted correctly your data is unlikely to import correctly. This site provides detailed instructions on how to achieve well formed CSV - CSV on the Web: A Primer.
Include well-formed and descriptive field headings
Be sure that your file has column (field) headings. We recommend the column headings are descriptive of the value to help with mapping the fields correctly. Do not include numbers, spaces or special characters in the column headings as this will cause errors with the import process.
For the standard Membes system fields you can download a list of the system field headings to include as column headings in your data so the import process will automatically map those fields.
Custom fields and field options
When importing data into fields that have multiple options, you will need to ensure that your data exactly matches the field options you’ve created in Membes, if they’re not an exact match they won’t import correctly. If a column has multiple field options each option needs to be separated by a comma, and it’s critically important there are no spaces either side of the comma ie. option1,option2,option3. A space is considered a character and will result in your field options not being an exact match.
Plan your import
Spend some time working out exactly what fields you wish to import. It can help to create a field map showing which fields will import to where.
Conduct a sample import
Once you have cleaned your data and planned your import, save a separate CSV file with a number of sample records. Import the sample file and test the data to ensure it has imported correctly. If there are issues, you can delete the test batch, correct the data and re-import. If the import was successful, you can continue to import the remaining data.
Import in batches
If you have a large number of profiles to import, don't attempt to import them all at once. Break the import down into smaller batches, for example by membership type or state. This allows you to progressively check the imported data and identify any issues early on. If there are any issues with a particular batch you can delete it and re-import without having to delete all the data. A good batch size is around 25-30 profiles.
Accessing the import tool
Click on the gear icon to open the Configuration and Settings menu.
In the menu on the left, click Profiles > Interaction Types.
Uploading a file to import
Click Choose File and locate the CSV data file on your computer and click Open.
Click Upload File.
If you’re working with a big file that has a large number of records, the data may take a few minutes to upload.
Mapping Fields to be imported
Once your file has uploaded, you will be presented with a page to map the columns from your CSV file with the relevant fields in the administration system.
From the dropdown menus select the column heading relevant to the particular field label.
Notes about the import process
If a column heading in the CSV file is exactly the same as the field reference, the fields will automatically map.
The select box beside each field label is a searchable/selectable list of all the column headings in your CSV.
If you have used the standard Membes system field headings linked above, these will map automatically and save time in having to map individual fields.
Importing the Data
Once you have mapped all fields, click Import Data.
Your data is now being imported, please not this process may take a minute or two depending how many profiles are being imported.
When the import is complete, a green message will appear in the bottom right corner of the screen.
Reviewing the Import
Once your data has been imported, review it carefully to ensure it has imported correctly.
You can view the list of profiles imported by clicking the List Imported Batches button, then View Batch. This will display a list of imported profiles on the screen.
When you click on List Imported Batches, you will see a list of all batches imported.
To delete a batch of profiles that may have imported incorrectly click Delete Batch.
IMPORTANT: Once you click Delete Batch, all profiles and related data will be deleted and cannot be retrieved.
