General Import Setup

Before you begin an import, you must set up your import source file. Refer to this information to set up your file correctly.

  • To import successfully, select a comma separated file (.csv) file. If you have a Microsoft Excel file, you can save it as a .csv file in Excel.

    eTapestry does not support the following file types for import.

    • DOC

    • DOCX

    • Files created by Google Docs

    • Files created by Mac Sheets

    • ODF

    • ODS

    • PDF

    • XLS - To convert this file type to .csv, open it in Excel, and select to save it as a .csv file.

    • XLSX - To convert this file type to .csv, open it in Excel, and select to save it as a .csv file.

  • The file must have no more than 2,000 lines. If you need to import more records, use separate files of 2,000 lines or less and perform separate imports for each file.

  • The file must have column headers. eTapestry uses the column headers to map columns to fields in the database. Use descriptive column headers to make mapping easier. Never put data that you want to import on the first line of the import source file.

  • The file cannot contain blank lines. Any blank lines create an error in the import process.

  • To avoid import difficulty, make sure you remove line breaks within the fields or any fields that contain quotes.

  • Each import type has a number of required fields and your source file must contain information you can map to required fields. For example, Account Information types require the Country field. For more information required fields for import types, refer to Import Types.

  • If you plan to import addresses, make sure that your import file only includes addresses from one country. If you need to import addresses from other countries, create a separate import file and import definition for each country.

  • If you plan to import values into fields with fixed values (such as drop down menus or checkboxes), the values in the import source file must match the values in the database exactly. For example, if you import a fund value, the value in your file must match an existing fund in your database. These values are case-sensitive, and it must be spelled exactly the same.

  • If you plan to import user-defined values into a multiple selection field, you must delimit them in the import source file. In this case, use a single field for all the values, and separate them with on of the available characters. You must use the same delimiter throughout your import source file.

    • asterisk (*)

    • pipe (|)

    • comma (,)

    • semicolon (;)

    • tilde (~)