Loading Data

How To Load Data into the Database

Often you need to load data from multiple spreadsheets, Outlook, accounting programs etc into the database. Here we describe the procedure for doing this.

1. Make sure your data is either in Excel, text files or Outlook.
   Most programs can export their data in either Excel or text.
2. Create in the database all the fields that you need.
   The program will not create fields automatically
3. Define field mapping and perform data load
   Field mapping tells the program what columns from the external file need to be loaded and where to.

We also discuss how SCD can collate the data from different sources or split the data into companies and contacts.

Make sure your data is either in Excel, text files or Outlook

Simply Contacts Database can load the data from Excel, delimited text files (.csv, tab-delimited etc) or Outlook. Most programs can nowadays export their data into either text or Excel file, so you can use them as intermediate files to transfer data into SCD. If unsure how to export data from your current program, look under File -> Export in the main menu:

Create in the database all the fields that you need

You can create fields in Simply Contacts Database to import all the information, but the program will not automatically do it for you from a file. You need to do it yourself and explicitly list all the fields you require.

Go to Setup Department -> Add/Remove Fields (in some configurations, Setup -> Add/Remove fields-> Add/Remove fields for Contacts) and enter the necessary fields into the table:

When done, press button Apply New Structure then proceed to the next step.

Define field mapping

Go to Data Exchange Department:

Functions 1-3 correspond to different data sources the program can use. You can find online help on each function by pressing the "?" button next to the function number.

Select the desired function - the program will display the parameter screen. The parameter screens differ somewhat depending on the data source, but the parameters below are common to all sources:

• Type of records – Contact (default), Communication, Organisation and so on – specifies where the information from the file will be loaded. Most of the time you will be loading Contact records. There are some cases where you will need to specify more than one type. They are discussed in section Separating Data later.
• First row contains headings ? – indicates if the first row should be treated as column headings. Can be True(Yes) or False(No). Default value is True
• Field Mapping – Specify here the name of the field mapping to be used for the file. The program comes with a few pre-defined field mappings, but if you are loading data from a spreadsheet or a supplied mailing list, you are unlikely to benefit from them. Type in a new name - the program will remember it and next time you load the data, you will be able to re-use that mapping.

If you are loading the data for the first time, you probably only need to type in a new name for field mapping. But please also check your file or Excel - see if the first row contains headings and adjust parameters accordingly.

Press Run and the program will proceed to the mapping screen:

The left-hand side shows the record types and fields from the database and cannot be modified in this screen. The right-hand side allows you to map the fields from the loaded file to the database fields. Use the drop-down to select the external field heading from the list.

If your file did not contain headings, then the drop down will contain items such as Column 1, Column 2 etc.

The mapping screen also allows you to specify default values. In the example above, we have entered "Spreadsheet 1" as default value for Contact Source, forcing all records loaded to have "Spreadsheet 1" in the corresponding field. In the example, Contact Source is not mapped to any external field, but it could have been. In that case, the value would have been taken from the external field and "Spreadsheet 1" only used when the external value was missing or blank.

If you are loading the data for the first time, all you need to do now is press button Perform Data Load. All records will be added to the database.

This procedure could be repeated for different file layouts, with a different field mapping specified for each layout.

Collating Data

The program can collate data from different files into a single database. For example, you may have customer name and contact details in your Outlook, while customer subscription status or membership details may be tracked in a spreadsheet. As long as there is a common field, such as customer name, that the program can use to identify who is who, it can assemble all customer information in one record.

To do this:

1. Load the first file as described above
2. Start loading the second file and get to the Field Mapping screen. Enter field mapping and then press button Specify Unique Identifer. The unique identifer tells the program how to find an existing record in the database.
3. The program will show the Unique Identifier Screen:
    
   This screen repeats the information from the mapping screen but only shows the fields that are either mapped or have a default value assigned. Only these fields can be included into a unique record identifier. Flag the required field.
   
   Note: Customer name is usually insufficient to identify customers. Different people sometimes may have the same first and last name and in some jurisdictions companies also may have the same name. Try using a combination of name, address and post code or city/town instead
4. Press Close to return to the mapping screen and proceed to Perform Data Load.

If you don't know whether all of the records you are loading already exist on the database, this procedure will still work. The program will simply add the records it cannot find and collate the ones it can.

Separating Data

If you have included org. structure add-on into your system, then your database includes companies and one or multiple people under each company. The program only stores details of each company once and these details apply to all contacts linked to that company. The spreadsheets and files you maintained earlier may not have this structure and so Simply Contacts Database will split each of your records into two - an organization record and a contact record.

For this to occur, specify two types of records in the parameter screen for defining field mapping:

The program will display both types of records in the field mapping screen so that you could match external fields to either record type. When you perform data load the splitting will then occur automatically.