Importing Names

Olympus provides a powerful feature to import names from CSV files. (Note: CSV was chosen as the standard, since most data can easily be stored in CSV format. For instance, Excel has a way to save any file as a CSV file).

The Import Names feature is accessed from the people pane's More... menu in the toolbar:

This launches an interface like this:

When this dialog opens, it immediately asks to pick a CSV file for import. Select a file from the dialog to proceed. Note that it is also possible at any time to load another CSV file through the Import CSV button. This will clear the current data from the import workbench and load the chosen file.

Mapping columns

One of the key tasks that needs to be performed when importing names is to map the columns from the CSV file into meaningful data fields in Olympus. When opening a new CSV file, the import tool tries to make a best guess at what the columns in the CSV file might map to. The degree to which the tool guesses correct mappings varies greatly with the source data. When the CSV file has meaningful column names, it will do much better than when they are very generic. Ultimately, it is up to the user to make sure the mappings are correct.

The user can change mappings by clicking on the map indicator in the header of the grid shown in the Data to Import tab of the dialog:

The list of Olympus fields the tool can map to is continuously extended. Here are the fields available at the time of this writing:

In an ideal import scenario, all source columns will be mapped to an Olympus field. Often it may be beneficial to map otherwise unmappable columns into the Notes field, which can act as a catch-all bucket.

Note that some fields are required for an import to take place, such as a name and some address information. (The tool will refuse to import if a minimum set of fields has not been mapped).

Import options

The top of the import dialog allows setting a number of general import options that apply to all imported records. They inciude the following:

Default values

This section defines default settings that are applied to imported records (these can be overridden by individually mapped columns. See above).

Data Tabs

The import workbench features five different tabs for data. They can be used to move data around, work with successful or failed imports, put certain records aside for the time being, and so on. With that, the tool is not just a one-shot tool, but provides the ability to work with data.

Note that every tab provides a way to export the data shown in the tab to a CSV file. This is useful to then work with the exported data, perhaps clean it uo more, and then use it for another import run later.

Data To Import

This tab shows the main data that will be imported. New data can be loaded using the Import CSV button (this removes all prior data).

It is also possible to select one or more records from the list (by clicking, CTRL-clicking, or by selection with the arrow keys in combination with SHIFT or CTRL, or by pressing CTRL-A to select everything, as well as other standard Windows key combinations) and then selecting Exclude Selected Rows to remove rows from the next import run. The excluded rows will be moved to the Excluded Data tab (see below).

This tab is also useful to map columns from the source into fields in Olympus (see above).

Whenever you are ready to import, click Import to let the import algorithm run. Note that depending on the data size and the selected options, an import run can take a while. It may be useful to limit the number of records and perform the import in multiple batches. Note that rows that exceeded the import limit remain in this tab and subsequent import operations can be triggered later. Or, the remaining records could be saved into another CSV file and dealt with later.

Excluded Data

This tab holds import data that was excluded frm the main data import tab. These records are not considered for import. They can however be saved into a separate CSV file, allowign to return to the excluded records later. Also, this tab allows moving selected records back to the import tab.

Imported

This tab shows records that have been successfully imported. Usually, these records do not need further attention.

It is possible to double-click any of the reords in this view and open the imported name in Olympus. (This does NOT work when the import run was only simulated).

Note that simulated import runs also move the “imported” records to this tab, even though they weren't really imported or saved away. This is still useful, since it provides information about how many records have actually been imported. However, to run a real import run later, the user should select all records in this tab (hit CTRL-A for instance, to select all rows) and move them back to the import tab.

Ignored Rows

This tab holds all the rows that were not imported because they would have been considered duplicates. (This only applies if a duplicate checking option was selected - see above). It is often useful to then save these records to a CSV file, investinage the matter further, perform some cleanup tasks, and perhaps use the new CSV file later for another import run.

Import failed

This tab holds all rows that failed to import for any reason other than being ignored duplicates. It is generally also useful to save these rows into a CSV file and investigate further what the cause of the error was.

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