There are three stages to follow when importing records into GoldMine from an Excel 2007 data source. The first is the preparation of the data in Excel, the second involves saving the Excel 2007 data as a csv file format and the third step involves using the import feature of GoldMine. This guide should outline the key steps and help you understand the process.
1. Preparing the Data
Follow the steps below to prepare the data prior to import into GoldMine.
1. Open the source data in Excel.
2. Change the column labels to match GoldMine’s field name that the column data will be imported into. Remove any underscores or spaces in the labels. Add labels if there are none and no label should begin with a number. This will save time and makes things simpler later on. Below is a listing of the standard fields GoldMine allows data to be imported into. Company,Contact,Phone1, Address1, Address2, City, State, Zip, etc. etc.
2. Formatting the Columns and Removing Comma’s
1.Select all the columns by clicking in the cell in the upper left hand corner of the excel sheet.
This is the cell right above the number 1 and to the left of column A.
2. Next select Format from the Home Menu Ribbon and choose auto format columns.
(it is located above column F in the image below)
3. Then the final step for data formatting is to remove/replace all commas (,) with an empty space.
This is done by choosing Find& Replace from the top right menu option under the Home Menu Ribbon.
3. Select Save As from the file menu. Specify a name for the file and change the file type on the ‘save as type’ to CSV (Comma delimited) (*.csv)
4. When this box appears click Yes.
5. Close the Excel 2007 file.
3. Importing the Data into GoldMine
The final stage is to use GoldMine’s Import Wizard to import the data into the database. The wizard will import the data into the currently opened database; therefore ensure you have opened the correct database before beginning the import. Because you will be making changes to your data it is very IMPORTANT that you backup your data before the import. First Direct Corp. cannot be held responsible for loss of data.
1. Select Tools >> Import/Export Wizard >> Import Contact Records… from the menu in GoldMine, ensure that you have open the correct database that you want to import into! Click on Next.
2. Select ‘Import a new file’ and select the file format as ‘ASCII file’, Click on Next.
3. Specify the location of the csv file that we just saved, click on the ‘…’ button on the far right to browse for the file, the file must not be open anywhere else otherwise GoldMine will generate an error, Click on Next.
4. The next screen previews the data that you are about to import, click on Next.
5. You now have to map the fields from the data source to the fields in GoldMine. The fields from the data source are displayed on the left hand-side, under ‘Import Fields’.
Because your field names were changed in the source to match those of GoldMine’s you can double click on the fields on the left hand side. This will automatically match the fields with GoldMine’s on the right. The field will appear under the ‘expression’ column on the right-hand side as seen in the example with the address1 field.
6. Selecting a mapped field such as address1 and clicking on properties allows further options to format the data, for example selecting ‘convert to proper case’ will capitalise only the first letter of each separate word. It is also possible to apply Dbase expressions to further qualify the data.
7. If you want to save the settings that you have just made for the import click on ‘Yes’ and then enter a profile name, you will be able to use the same mappings again without having to configure them. To use this profile you would select ‘Import a new file using an existing profile’ on the first page of the import wizard (step 2).
8. Once you are happy with everything click on Finish to begin the import. The records will then be added to the current database, although it is not strictly necessary it is advisable to perform a pack and rebuild of the database after import has completed.
Note: If you watch the Process Monitor in GoldMine, you will see the progress of the import.
GoldMine Import Fields
This is a list of the standard GoldMine (Contact1) fields that can be imported into, in addition to these are the (Contact2) User Defined Fields, the fields in the Fields Tab.
address1, address2, address3, actionon, callbackon, callbackat, closedate, callbackfreq, city, contact, comments, company, createby, country, createat, department, createon, dear, email address, ext1, ext2, ext3, ext4, fax, key1, key2, key3, key4, key5, lastatmpat, lastconton, lastatmpon, lastcontat, lasttime, lastdate, lastname, meettimeat, lastuser, meetdateon, notes, mergecodes, nextaction, phone1, phone2, phone3, source, prevresult, secr, zip, state, title
Notice to Users – Please back up your data before experimenting with any sort of automated routines. No representations or warranties, expressly or implicitly, of any kind are made by or with respect to anything in this report. In no event shall First Direct Corp. be liable for any incidental, indirect, special or consequential damages out of or related to this report or any use thereof, even if First Direct Corp. has been advised, knew or should have known of the possibility of such damages
