Importing Contact Information
Last updated
Last updated
The first thing that probably springs to mind when considering importing data is “how do I get all of my business contacts and other information from my old system into Daylite”. There is no denying that importing a Contact’s details is really important, and the last thing you want is to lose any of their information.
Apple's Contacts application is built right into macOS. As such, it is easy to import People and Companies from Contacts directly into Daylite.
In Daylite, select File > Import > Import Contacts.
Next, you want to choose Import from Contacts app from the options presented. This will let you choose Contacts from the Apple Contacts app, including your iCloud account.
During the import process, you can assign specified Categories to your Contacts as you import them. For example, you could choose to assign a Category of Client to the first batch of imports, and Prospect to the next batch. Once these Contacts have been successfully imported, their Category will be updated automatically.
Select the Contacts you wish to import and then click the blue Import Contacts button.
Please note that only New Contacts are added during the import process. Daylite will update any duplicate Contact records accordingly.
Choose vCard (for iOS Contacts) and click Export.
Once again, open Daylite and choose File > Import > Import Contacts, and then save the file to either your Desktop or Download folder.
Navigate to your where you have saved the Google vCard file, select it and click Open.
If your contact manager or CRM doesn't support vCard exporting, or you are managing contacts in a spreadsheet, you can still import contacts into Daylite using the Import from Spreadsheet option. Microsoft Outlook for example uses a Comma Separated Values format, also known as a .csv format.
More often than not, the source code of your data will be will be either a spreadsheet or a text export from another system in what’s known as a CSV ( Comma Separated Values) or TSV (Tab Separated Values) format.
A CSV file separates it's data by, as the name implies, a series of commas. Sometimes errors may occur when a CSV file is imported in to Daylite because a comma has been placed in an address field. This can result in the data being shifted from one field to another, unrelated field.
A TSV file tends to be a bit more stable, as each field is separated by tabs. If given the option, you should always try to import using a TSV format if possible. Save the spreadsheet file as a tab-delimited Text file (.txt).
Select File > Import from Spreadsheet (CSV, TSV).
In the spreadsheet below there is a list of three people to import into Daylite. Remember, each one of the columns in the spreadsheet represents a corresponding field in Daylite.
Select the file you wish to import by clicking the Browse button.
Daylite pre-selects People, because that is the most common type of data that is imported. You can choose to import other types of data from the Kind menu.
Each spreadsheet column from the source data is displayed as a row in alphabetical order in the Source Column. You will need to match the Source fields from the spreadsheet with the Destination fields in Daylite. You will need to manually map each of the spreadsheet columns with the corresponding equivalent Daylite fields. In this way, you can tell Daylite where each piece of information should be added.
Each column heading in a spreadsheet is known as the Source, with a corresponding Daylite field, or the Target. For example, map the First name in the spreadsheet file with the First name field in a Daylite contact card. Care should be taken during this process to ensure that each field is mapped correctly.
Pro Tip:
Before pressing the “Import” button make sure to check the mapping one last time.
Here are a few things to bear in mind when importing your data:
Try to remove any data that is not required. This includes any extra rows top and bottom. Clean up your data so it is concise.
Make sure your data is consistent throughout to spreadsheet.
To avoid confusion during the import process try to make the spreadsheet columns match the source fields in Daylite.
In the screen shot below you can see that each of the Source columns have been associated with a corresponding Destination field in Daylite. It is important to know what each button, menu, or selection does so the data import goes smoothly.
Use the Preview option to check that data is assigned to the right fields. This view allows you to click through each row of the spreadsheet and shows you what the end result will look like once imported.
Sometimes a data export separates each field value with a "wrapper" character. The standard wrapper is "at the front” and " at the end”. In most cases you can safely ignore this feature.
An important step as you are preparing your import is choosing where it resides in Daylite. Double check the Source and Destination are matched accordingly. Don’t worry, you can preview your handiwork to see what it will look like in Daylite.
Although it is possible to import multiple addresses at one time, in most cases there will be just one address for a person and so you should use Primary Address for this. The primary address will be the first address in the list. If you already have the imported person in Daylite, it will firstly decide if it is a duplicate or a new person. If it is duplicate person then any pre-existing Phone, Email & Address information will be overwritten.
As we have mentioned before, Daylite maintains separate records for both People & Companies. You can import People and Company records separately in two import passes if you prefer. When importing People records where you also have the Company field present, you can import the person and either:
Create a new Company record whilst linking the Person to it. You can also use a role or job title field from the spreadsheet if it is available.
Link the Person to an existing Company record.
When importing People rows it is possible to also create and link Company records at the same time in one go. There are two ways to do this, but they produce different results.
Company (Overwrites Default Organization) If multiple People are associated with a single Company then the end result of the import would be multiple People linked to just one Company. This only works if the company name is spelt exactly the same in each row.
Company (Company/Work) This option will not merge the Company name so two separate company records would be created.
Daylite attempts to recognize and handle duplicates during the import process. It ensures that any new any new, additional information can be added to a record if it already exists. This is very helpful when updating information for People & Company records in Daylite.
Daylite does this by comparing three fields. First Name, Last Name, and Email address. If all three fields are exactly the same then Daylite will assume the record is the same person and will not add a duplicate. If any of the three fields are different, Daylite will create a new record.
When you are happy with the final data mappings you can press Import. So what will your database look like after you have done all this work?
If you look under People in your Daylite Sidebar you will see Last Import. Here is where you will find all of your hard work. Do you see how a single company record has been created with two people linked to it?
Here are just a few more ideas from a long list of import field options:
Importing data from People records into Forms
Importing Notes with specific dates
Importing Categories for both People and Companies
Importing birthdays and anniversaries
Importing Extra fields and Extra dates
Importing additional data about Companies
To mport Google Contacts into Daylite log into , select the Contacts you want to export, and then click Export on the left hand column.
