Importing Contacts Using a CSV File

You can use our Import Contacts process to import the First Name, Last Name, and Email Address of people you want to include in the Contacts list in your Participant Center on our site. First, you must either create the csv file or export your contacts from another source into a .csv file.

Note: .csv files are in the comma separated value format or comma delimited format. You can often use the Save as option, select the Other formats option (typically at the bottom of the list), and select the CSV or comma delimited format to save a file correctly, such as an Excel spreadsheet.

When you export your file from another email service, you should place it on your computer in an easy to remember location. The Export option is typically under a File or Tools menu on your contacts list or address book. (Refer to the Help in the email service provider for their instructions if necessary.)

The system will attempt to match a First Name, Last Name, and Email Address column within the .csv file. The information will be displayed and you can remap the columns if they are not correct. For example, you may choose to use a Nickname column as your first name or the system matched the First Name column in your file incorrectly so you must choose the correct column to use from your csv file.

The system then compares the name and email address information for each contact in your .csv file with the information that exists in your Participant Center Contacts list. It adds a new contact to the Participant Center if nothing similar exists, places the contact in the Possible Duplicate Contacts list if it finds a name or email information that is similar to a contact in your Participant Center, or places the contact in the Rejected list if a problem exists (such as a malformed email address). You can then examine the information in the lists to fix potential duplicates or make notes about rejected contacts to add them manually later with the correct information.

Step 1: Prepare Your .csv File

If you are going to:

• Import your contacts from another email service, use the appropriate Export tool to export and save this file as a .csv file on your computer. Tip: Save the file with a recognizable name (for example, MyOutlookContacts.csv or MyAOLAddressBook.csv) in your work directory so you can easily locate it.
• Create your own file:
  1. Open your text editor (or an Excel spreadsheet) and start a file.

  2. On the first line, type First,Last,Email (using commas to separate the words). Note that this format is case sensitive.

  3. On the next line, type in a contact by entering their first name, last name, and email address in the format above (for example, Pat,Smith,patsmith@friends.net).

  4. Repeat this step for each contact you want to include in the file.
  5. Click Save as and select the .csv or comma delimited file option (which may require you select the In Other File Type option before actually selecting the .csv or comma delimited choice.

Step 2: Display the Import Contacts Page

1. After accessing your Participant Center Home page, click Add Contacts from the navigation on the right side of the page (or, click the EMAIL from the top navigation and click Contacts from the right navigation on the Compose Message page that displays.)
2. From the Contacts list page, click Import Contacts.

Step 3: Import Your .csv File

1. From the Import Contacts page, click the File-based Import option button.
2. Click the Browse button that displays and navigate to the .csv you prepared in Step 1.
3. Click the .csv file and then click Next.

Step 4: Verify that the Correct Information Was Retrieved

1. On the Preview page, examine the 3 columns of information.
2. If a column of information was not the column you expected:
   1. Click the change the column mapping or the encoding link.
   2. Click the drop-down list on the column and click the actual column from the .csv file that should be used.
3. If the .csv file is encoded in something other than ASCII, click the correct option from the Encoding drop-down list.

Step 5: Select the Contacts You Want To Import

1. On the Monitoring Contact Retrieval page, when the message about being ready to import retrieved contacts displays, click Next.
2. On the Select Contacts to Import page, to import:
   • All contacts from your Yahoo! mail account, click Next.
   • Only selected contacts:
     1. Click the Import some of the retrieved contacts option.
     2. From the list of contacts displayed, click the checkbox next to each contact and then click Next.

Step 6: Resolve Duplicate Contacts

1. Click anywhere in the Possible Duplicate Contacts heading.
2. In the list displayed, if the contact:
   • Already exists in your Participant Center Contacts list with a variation of this information, click:
     • Update icon to replace the name or email address in your Participant Center with the one from the .csv file.
     • Ignore icon to keep the information as is in your Participant Center Contacts list.
   • Is someone different, click the Add icon to copy this contact into your Participant Center Contacts list.

Step 7: Make Notes About Rejected Contacts

1. Click anywhere in the Rejected Contacts heading.
2. Examine the list displayed and make notes about the rejected contacts so you can manually add them later or ignore them.

Step 8: Finish the Import and Return to the Contacts List

1. Click the Finish button (located below the lists).
2. On the confirmation pop-up displayed, click Confirm Finished.