Importing contact from excel. some missing and "file as" not consi

[kevin129]

Outlook 2003. win xp pro sp2.
we have an excel sheet with approx 750 contacts listed with 11 column
headings named exactly as fields mapped for import (some cells are empty). we
have tried both excel and CSV import options.
although `company' is checked as our `file as' option. when imported, both
options
produce different results. Excel imports only imports 227 contacts and dosnt
`file as' company. CSV imports all 750 but still dosnt `file as' company. any
thoughts?

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

Derived fields are never populated correctly with importing of Contacts. You
should check with Karl Timmermans and the folks at ContactGenie to see if
they have come up with any solutions for this:
http://www.contactgenie.com:80/

 

[kevin129]

Russ
thanks for the reply. i found a bit of VB script on a MS support
site and created a new form so users can select the directory
the contacts are in, and have them resorted as required

Derived fields are never populated correctly with importing of Contacts. You
should check with Karl Timmermans and the folks at ContactGenie to see if
they have come up with any solutions for this:
http://www.contactgenie.com:80/
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Outlook 2003. win xp pro sp2.
we have an excel sheet with approx 750 contacts listed with 11 column
headings named exactly as fields mapped for import (some cells are empty).
we
have tried both excel and CSV import options.
although `company' is checked as our `file as' option. when imported, both
options
produce different results. Excel imports only imports 227 contacts and
dosnt
`file as' company. CSV imports all 750 but still dosnt `file as' company.
any
thoughts?

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

Right. That's been around forever and can be used to change your File As...
field after the import. I was assuming you were looking for a way to create
the File As... field correctly during the import.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Russ
thanks for the reply. i found a bit of VB script on a MS support
site and created a new form so users can select the directory
the contacts are in, and have them resorted as required

Derived fields are never populated correctly with importing of Contacts.
You
should check with Karl Timmermans and the folks at ContactGenie to see if
they have come up with any solutions for this:
http://www.contactgenie.com:80/
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Outlook 2003. win xp pro sp2.
we have an excel sheet with approx 750 contacts listed with 11 column
headings named exactly as fields mapped for import (some cells are
empty).
we
have tried both excel and CSV import options.
although `company' is checked as our `file as' option. when imported,
both
options
produce different results. Excel imports only imports 227 contacts and
dosnt
`file as' company. CSV imports all 750 but still dosnt `file as'
company.
any
thoughts?

 

[Karl Timmermans]

First thing re: Excel - check your "named range" to ensure that it covers
all 750 records (would bet that it currently only is set for the 227
contacts being imported).

Second - re: "FileAs" (FA)

As Russ pointed out - the FA field is a "derived field" which has different
behaviours depending on what you do, how and when so a quick summary (not
intended to be complete - applies to O'2003/'2007 can't remember offhand if
this is also identical for O'2000/'2002(XP)):

1) When creating a contact via the Outlook UI - the FA will be populated as
per the default set (but only for new contacts - not pre-existing ones)
2) When importing via the Outlook import wizard - FA set to (Last, First)
name (which coincidently is the first of the 5 options available when
setting the default)
3) When in the Outlook UI - if you change the contact name (and/or company,
if applicable)- the FA will also in turn be updated to conform to the
current default
4) If you happen to change the FA in the Outlook UI with a custom format,
that value will stick regardless of any changes made to the contact name (or
company etc). This will remain the behaviour until the FA value is changed
to one of the default formats at which point item #3 regains control

Since Russ mentioned ContactGenie - here are how our 2 import products work:

a) CG Importer - does not have the option to map to the FA field. When a new
contact is created - the Outlook FA default applies
b) CG DataPorter - if no value is mapped to the FA when a new contact is
created - the Outlook default format in force at the time the import occurs
applies. If a field is mapped to the FA - whatever value found when
importing will appear in the FA field. (CG DataPorter also allows for
"updating" pre-exisitng contacts whereas Importer does not). Only caveat is
that the current CGD version does not standardize pre-existing contacts
within any import run.

The next major version updates for these ContactGenie products will have
additional options that among many other things, will specifically address
exactly what should or shouldn't be in the FA field regardless of the
Outlook default setting as well as addressing standardization for
pre-existing contacts however CGD would be overkill for most simple one time
imports that don't involve custom forms/fields.

Having said all of the above - you may find the following link beneficial
which provides a program (ChangeNames) that allows you to set the FA field
according to its website (not related to ContactGenie - provided FYI only):

http://www.outlook-stuff.com/component/option,com_docman/task,doc_details/gid,1/Itemid,2/

Karl

___________________________________________________
Karl Timmermans - The Claxton Group
ContactGenie - Importer 1.3 / DataPorter 2.0 / Exporter
"Power contact importers/exporters for MS Outlook '2000/2007"
http://www.contactgenie.com