Prepare your file for import

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The import function is of great use when you want to import new contacts, if you want to group contacts with labels, or when updating existing contacts using a CSV file.

Follow these general steps when you prepare your file:

• The file type requirement is CSV. When you save your file in Excel make sure to "Save as" CSV (comma delimited).
  
  
• The file must include a column for the key field (the required field for a specific contact type).
  
  
• The contact import validates on primary key but doesn't have any validation on unique attributes, meaning the CSV importer will not check if any contacts share a unique attribute. Make sure to remove all duplicates for both key and unique attributes before importing a file.
  
  
• Separate different contact types to avoid duplicates.
  
  
• The file should include headers so you can map the right receiving field in Engage (this can be changed manually during the process if the match is incorrect).
  
  
• Use labels. A good habit is to always add a column in your file with a unique label, you can always delete this later in Engage. It is very helpful if you quickly need to find your newly imported contacts.

Follow these steps for specific fields:

• Multiple values in one field must be separated with a comma (i.e. label1,label2,label3).
  
  
• Phone numbers should always begin with the country code or +. Phone numbers missing the country code will be interpreted as a phone number from your standard region.
  
  
• The date of birth must be 8 digits with dashes (for example 1995-12-07).
  
  
• Personal identification number for Sweden can be 10 or 12 digits, with or without dashes. A Finnish Personal identification number can be 11 digits, with or without dashes.
  
  
• Gender must have the format Male/Female with a capital letter or be left empty. (Please note: This field should not be included if your settings allow the Personal identification number to set the age of the contact automatically.)
  
  
• Recruited store must be entered with the store's external ID and the header name of the column must include "ID". (Please note: If you import contacts with recruiting store, the favorite store in Engage will automatically be set as the same store.
  
  
• The country association must be entered according to standard country codes: SE, FI, NL, DE

Read about how to manually import your file here.