Assigning the CSV columns to the database columns
The Import Assistant now reads the CSV file in and analyses it in exactly the way defined in the import profile. If the column names in the import profile are identical with the column names of the CSV file, both columns are automatically assigned to one another. In the next window, the system displays a preview of the recipient data to be imported, showing a maximum of the first 20 lines of your CSV file.
Fig. 4.19: The Import Assistant shows a preview of the CSV file of up to 20 lines in length.
In the preview, only the columns that are actually to be imported appear. Note that this is only a preview and the data cannot be changed. If you discover errors here, you must change these in the original file and prepare a new CSV file for import.
Please note: In this first step, OpenEMM only checks whether the CSV data is in the correct format and whether a filled-out key column exists for each recipient. If for example the email address has been defined as being the key column, it must contain content. OpenEMM does not however carry out deeper syntactical checks here. The system therefore does not check either capitalization or spelling of the CSV data.
For this reason, you should go through the complete CSV list carefully before the import. Experience shows that import files often contain erroneous data. This can cause considerable problems after the import. When such erroneous recipient data has been stored in the OpenEMM database, tracking it down is difficult and takes a lot of effort. Voluminous imports in particular often harbor much potential for conflict.
In addition to the preview, in this import step the Assistant offers you the possibility of directly allocating the recipients listed in the CSV file to a mailing list. You can find out more in chapter "Selection of mailing lists". Clicking on the Start import button starts the actual import procedure.
Please note: To allow the recipient data to be allocated to a mailing list, this must already have been created in OpenEMM. You can find out more on the subject of mailing lists in chapter "Mailing lists - Managing list subscription".