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Import People And Families

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Watch a 74s video about working with the Import People tool

What you can do with the Import People Tool

With the Import People tool, you can Import new data or update existing data on people and families from any external app using an Excel or CSV file. 

Introduction

When you first get started using ChMeetings, you can easily import your list of people, using a simple spreadsheet. 

This feature is also very useful when you want to make bulk updates to people’s profiles, because you can easily export your list, make the updates using the spreadsheet, then upload it back into ChMeetings. 

This guide shows you how to import People data yourself. If you have recently signed up for a paid ChMeetings account and would like our team’s support to make the import for you, please get in touch by email (info@chmeetings.com) so we can help.

Notes

  • Please make sure that you have properly configured the account Country and State/City in your Account Settings, before importing any data.
  • Please keep in mind that the import tool has a limit of 500 records per file. If you need to import more, please split your data into separate files, of maximum 500 records each.
  • The import template will reflect any people profile fields you enable or disable, as well as any custom profile fields you create. Therefore, please go to Settings > Profile Fields and ensure that people’s profiles include the fields you need.
  • Please use the provided template to import your data. The application doesn't support any custom template.
  • Only first and last names are required in order to import a new person.
  • The groups and notes data will not be updated if a person already exists.
  • You can export your list of people, make updates, then import it back. The exported spreadsheet uses the appropriate template for the import tool.
  • Please contact us by email (info@chmeetings.com) to help you fix any issues related to the import. We are regularly updating the import tool to make it better and easier.

Importing People

Please go to Settings > Tools > Import People to get started. Here is where you will find an import wizard that will take you through all the steps required in order to import people data into your ChMeetings account.

Here is an overview of what the entire process looks like. Please read below for detailed information on each step.

1_import_process.gif

Step 1: Download the Template

If you import your first people profiles into ChMeetings, please download the template first. 

Before you get started, it is important to note whether your source data file contains people’s names in one or multiple columns, e.g. “Name” or “First Name” and “Last Name”. 

  • If people’s full name is stored in one column, please select Single Name Column.
  • If people’s names are stored in multiple columns, please select Multiple Name Column.
  • If you want to import existing member QR Codes, please check the checkbox next to the Add QR Code Column.

The selections you make here will determine the template you download, which ensures correct formatting to successfully import your data. Click Download Template File to do so.

2 download template.png

Please populate this template with data to get it ready for import. Click Next when you are ready to proceed.

Step 2: Select your file

It is now time to upload your data file. Simply click Select File, find your spreadsheet and upload it. Please wait for the upload to complete. This might take a few moments, depending on how large your database is. When done, click Next.

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Step 3: Import People

This is where you can take a detailed look at your data. This screen is split into several sections, to allow you to narrow down on the impact of your import and any potential issues. 

4_import_people_-_all.png

This screen includes several tabs: 

  • All - contains all of your imported data.
  • Families - any newly imported families (each member is listed individually), as well as new members that match an existing family, both based on the Family ID, Please see the dedicated section below, to learn more about importing families.
  • Correct (New) - correct records that will create new people profiles.
  • Correct (Update( - correct records that will be updating existing people profiles.
  • Warnings - records with specific warnings, for example an invalid email. Even if there are warnings, your data can still be imported, but it is important for you to be aware of them.
  • Errors - The data cannot be imported if there are errors. These can vary from missing information (e.g.: first or last name) to a template that does not match the one required.

Additionally, you can decide whether to include new people into specific groups. Simply select them from the dropdown to do so. As a reminder: Group data is not updated for existing people. You can adjust their group memberships via the People or Groups module.

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The spreadsheet section of this screen lets you see the exact data that will be imported. 

Any existing warnings will be highlighted in yellow, and errors in red. Please go to the corresponding tabs for an overview. Correct any warnings or errors, then reupload your file by following steps 1 and 2.

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You can remove a specific record from the import using the Delete ( red bin) button next to it.

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To remove multiple records in one go, click their corresponding checkboxes, then click Remove, at the top of the spreadsheet..

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Note: Removing a record from the import does not delete any existing profiles, it only removes the record from the import tool, so no updates will be made to the respective profile. 

 

Once you have gone through your data and corrected any issues, please click on Import.

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Once the import is done, any new people will now have profiles. IF you have updated existing profiles, these will reflect as well.

9_new_people_added.png

Importing families

The family import is the same as the general one, but to group people into families and import them as such, you will need to create a Family ID that is unique to each family. This ID can be any number. We recommend that you decide on its length in digits, then to use consecutive numbers. To add people to the same family, simply add the same Family ID to their respective row in the import spreadsheet. 

All members of a family share the same ID, regardless of their Family Role. The last name does not have to be identical, though we suggest you make sure people are actually part of the family before configuring them as such.

Here is an example:

10_import_families.png

Note: Before importing, we suggest that you populate the Family Role column, so you don’t have to set it manually in the app. The same goes for any other piece of data you already have and can place into a field. (The family roles are: Primary, Spouse, Child, Grandparent and Other) If the Family Role column is left empty, then ChMeetings will set it as “Other”.

Custom QR Codes

When importing people, you can add custom QR codes that will be used all across ChMeetings (e.g.: profile, event check-in, people QR code exports, etc.). 

To add a custom QR code, add a 'QR Code' column to your people import file and enter any value for each person. Once imported, ChMeetings will read it as a QR code.

 

 

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