Step 1 - Enter Initial Data

Import Data Files

Data can be imported into the Company Profile form, the Personnel form, and the Profile for Company Shareholder form from MS Excel, Symphony, Lotus 1-2-3, or RapidFile.

Before starting, back up the data in the application and backup the file that is to be imported.  There is very little likelihood of destroying data but why take the chance.

To import data into the Company Profile or Personnel forms, select File from the main menu, then Import From., and Another Application.  To import data into the Profile for Shareholder Companies form, press the 'Import Data from External Application' button at the bottom of the form.

 The Import Process page appears.

The Profile for Shareholder Companies form describes the process and lists the data that can be imported.  The type of data that can be imported differs among the three data forms. 

Data that can be imported into the Company Profile form is listed above and data that can be imported into the Personnel form is below.

Ø     Press the Next button to move to the next page.

The type selection page appears.

Ø     Select the type of data file you want to import and

Ø     Press the Next button.

The file selection page appears. 

Ø     Press the Locate button at the top left of the page. 

A standard Windows Open File box appears.  Locate the file you want to import and press the Import button.  Make sure that it's the same type of data file you selected on the previous page.

The empty area on the page fills with data from the import file. 

Ø     Press the Next button. 

The row selection page appears.

Ø     Check the boxes for the rows that you do NOT want to import.

You can delete records once they have been imported but this is much faster.  When finished selecting rows you do not want in the database

Ø     Press the Next button. 

A notice appears indicating that once this point is passed you will not be able to return to modify data.  If you later find that you've made a mistake you will have to cancel the process and start over. 

Ø     Press the Yes button to continue or the No button to make further modifications to the data. 

The data type page appears.  The type of data to be imported is listed at the top of the page.  This is important.  The data types must match.  For example you can not import a date into a character field.  The types of fields that can be imported are pretty much limited to character fields.

You must identify each column that you want to import.  The application will put the data into forms based on your selections.  Data fields listed on the right can be left out and nothing will be imported for that field.  For example, you don't have to indicate that one of the columns is a FAX number if you don't have the FAX number in the imported data. 

Ø     Use the arrow buttons to move from one column to the next.

Ø     Use the buttons on the right to select the type of data in each column.

Leave the 'Not Applicable' button selected for any columns you do not want to import. The name of the selected column is listed at the top of the column.

Ø     Press the Next button when you are finished identifying the columns. 

The last page of the import process appears.

You've finished.  All that's left is to actually put the data into the database.  When you're ready

Ø     Press the Finish button or press Cancel if you do not want to import the data.

The original form will appear, in this case the Profile for Shareholder Companies form. 

Look through the imported data to be sure that it's accurate.  You can modify the imported data or delete any of the records using the standard delete process described in this Help file.