This article explains the CatalogIt Import process and the steps you can take to ensure success. The Import tool is fairly robust, but it does require understanding some basic principles and limitations.

The data importation happens independently on the backend; as new Entries are created, they appear on the frontend, or client. Because of the independent and decoupled nature of how importing works, error reports occur via email. If your Entry counts after an import are incorrect or unexpected, that is often a sign that the import failed to complete successfully, and you should look for an email containing details about the error(s). If an import fails mid-process, any Entries that were already created will remain; you will need to delete them, correct the issue(s) in your source import data, and reimport. 

Prepare Your Data

You can import data from an Excel spreadsheet file (.xls and .xlsx) or from a CSV file (.csv). CSV is a universal format and many applications enable exporting CSV files.

Import File Requirements

• File is in Excel (.xls, .xlsx) or CSV (.csv) format.
• The first row is the header row. Each cell in this row contains the “title” describing the information of that column.
• All of the data for a single item is in one row and there are no Merged cells.
• Blank rows are removed from the bottom of your data and between rows of your data.
  • Blank rows will be skipped by the import process, but it’s best practice to keep your import file as clean and as small as possible.

Classifications

CatalogIt contains a rich set of Classifications for items. Divide your data into its basic Classification types and separately import each Classification type. For instance, create a CSV file for artwork items to import into the “Art” Classification, a separate CSV file for publications to import into the  “Publication" Classification, another for “Object/Artifact”, etc. 

Importing files individually by Classification ensures a clean, comprehensive and high-fidelity import, as each Classification has its own set of custom data entry fields. Please refer to our Classifications article for an overview of available Classifications.

Import into a New Folder

To import, you will need to create a new Folder by selecting “New…” and “Folder” from the Main Menu, or map into another Folder you’ve previously created. We recommend creating a new Folder to safeguard against import failures.

Once you are ready to import, click on the Actions Menu in the upper-right corner of your Folder and select “Import".

Importing Profiles

You can import both Entries and Profiles. If you have Profiles that include a rich set of information (i.e. People, Businesses, Accessions, etc) you can import them in addition to importing the actual Entries. 

If you have Profiles to import, you’ll typically import them first by going to Profiles from the Main Menu and selecting the Profile you’ll be importing into. When importing Entries you’ll reference the Profile via its “name” property (Profile names must be unique) — i.e. your Entry import data will contain a column that references the Profile’s name and you’ll map this column to the appropriate Profile field.

Mapping Properties

When configuring your mappings, you must map your columns to "Leaf" properties in the Property tree. “Leaf” properties have no children vs. “Branch” properties, which have children indented below them.

"Notes" Field

Mapping to the "Notes" field for any given section works very well. You can include a custom label via the “Include Label” checkbox which will serve to identify the information. 

At the bottom-left side, you can set options for what CatalogIt should do with problems it may encounter during the import: “Ignore Errors”, “Abort on Error”, or “Map to Notes”. “Map to Notes” will map the data to the nearest Notes field depending on the property you’ve mapped to.

“Create/Update” Fields

The “Create Date”, “Created By”, “Update Date”, and “Updated By” fields automatically record when and which authorized user Created or Updated an Entry record. These fields ARE NOT for recording when an object was created; use “Made or Created > Date made > Date” or similar fields for that information.

You can import to these fields if you have this information, but it’s important to understand how these fields are different from other “Create Date” fields.

Date Structures

The Import tool recognizes two Date structures: Strict dates and Fuzzy dates. 

Strict dates must be structured as an exact date: YYYY-MM-DD

Fuzzy dates can be expressed in varying or imprecise ways:

• Year Only
• Year/Month
• Year/Month/Day

Import Your Data

After you’ve finished mapping your columns, click the “Next” button in the upper-right corner. This brings you to a screen where you can view all of the columns you’ve mapped and the CatalogIt fields you’ve mapped them to. Confirm everything looks correct, then click “Import” in the upper-right corner, and you’ll see your import take shape. If it is particularly large (thousands of rows), it may take several minutes. You are done!

Reusing Import Configurations

Save Import Configuration

Creating an import file can be time-consuming, so saving it for future use can be beneficial.

To save an import configuration, click the “Save” icon on the Mapping or Confirmation step of the import process.

In the “Save Import Configuration” box that appears, enter a name for the import configuration and click “Save”. You can overwrite an existing saved configuration by entering the same name.

The import configuration will now be available to use for subsequent imports, saving you the effort of having to reconfigure the mappings!

Using a Saved Import Configuration

If you repeatedly import the same type of data (for example, a spreadsheet with the same column headers, but different row data) or you’re importing data with many columns, it can be a real time-saver to use a saved import configuration.

To use an existing import configuration, click the “Open” icon in the first step of the import process (the step immediately after selecting the file to import).

From the “Existing Import Configuration” box, select a previously saved configuration and click “Open”.

This will load the saved configuration into the new import file and use that configuration to execute the import function. You can make additional tweaks or continue directly with the import.