Import contacts and presenters

Arlo allows you to import contacts from a spreadsheet using the contact importer. This allows you to create new contacts and update existing records. It can be used for a one-off import or as part of a routine process to keep contact records synchronized with another system, e.g. HR, CRM, or member database.

Key points

Read our tips and tricks for importing data.

Requires only the FirstName, LastName and EmailAddress columns to be included in the import file. All other supported columns can be added or omitted as required.

Supports linking contacts with existing organisations or creates new organisations if they do not already exist.

Matches and updates existing contacts' details if the rules for updating contacts are followed.

Supports the ability to add a presenter role to contacts and add or update presenter profiles.

The import file must be a CSV (Comma delimited) file type. Use the Save as feature in Microsoft Excel to save the import file in the correct file type format.

The default limit for a contact import is 1000 at a time.

For regional platforms, the Regions field must be included in files when creating or editing contact records. If not included, the contacts in the file will be added to all regions (irrespective of any previous regions they were available in).

The only custom fields available for contact imports are contact custom fields.

Using the importer

Open the Contacts menu item.

Select More... and click Import Contacts.

Click Download the template file and fill it in with the information you would like to import. Ensure you review the columns and rules for using the importer.

Choose whether or not you want to update existing contact information, with any new information on the import file detected. Learn more about rules for updating contacts using the importer.

Choose whether you would like organisations to be automatically linked to imported contacts based on the domain of their email address.

Add your completed CSV import file to the wizard by pressing Browse.

Press Upload Contacts to begin the import. If any errors are detected they will be displayed onscreen.

Updating existing contact information

The importer is designed to allow you to update the details of existing contacts. Arlo will attempt to match a contact being imported with an existing contact when:

The Guid field is the same, or

The FirstName, LastName, and EmailAddress are the same

The FirstName, LastName, and EmailAddress fields still need to be included in all contact imports, even if using the Guid column.

The system will attempt to match on Guid first, and then Firstname, Lastname, and EmailAddress.

If the system matches Guid with an existing contact, all information including names and email address can be changed. This is useful if you need to change existing customers names without creating a new record.

If you try to update a contact's first name, last name, or email, without including the Guid field in the import file, a new contact will be created.

Update existing contact name and email details (using Guids)

To update existing contacts' first name, last name, or email address, include Guid as a field column heading in your import file, along with: FirstName, LastName, and EmailAddress.

To retrieve each contact's Guid value, use the Contacts List Advanced report.

Rules for updating existing contact information

If you choose to update existing information where a match is found, the following rules apply;

If the existing contact contains data in a field, and the same field being imported has no value (is blank), then the data in the existing field will be deleted. If you don't want the existing data to be deleted from these records, delete the columns from the sheet in Excel.

If the existing contact contains data in a field, and the same field being imported also contains data, then the data in the existing field will be updated with the data being imported.

If the existing contact contains data in a field, but the field is not included in the file being imported, then the existing data will remain unchanged.

If you do not choose to update existing information, then where a match is found the details for the existing contact will not be updated.

All columns and rules

The following table provides a list of columns that can be included in your import file. The table also includes any additional rules that must be followed for an import to be successful.

Column headings are not case sensitive.

Each of the fields listed must be activated on your platform before they are visible when editing a contact.

All fields have a maximum number of characters that they will accept. Typically this is either 63 or 127 characters.

If an import fails with an Inner Exception error, look for a field in your import file that exceeds this character limit then edit it down.

COLUMN HEADING	REQUIRED	VALUE	NOTES
Guid	No	Single line of text	Mandatory field only if updating an existing contact's name or email address. Retrieved via Contacts List Advanced report.
FirstName	Yes	Single line of text	Mandatory field
LastName	Yes	Single line of text	Mandatory field
EmailAddress	Yes	Valid email address	Mandatory field
Title		Single line of text	Your platform will be set up with a predefined list of values for this field. For example; "Mr", "Mrs", "Ms", "Miss", "Sir", "Dame", or "Dr". The importer supports importing any value into the field, provided it is in the format of a Single line of text. Once imported you will be able to edit the contact and view the imported value, but you will only be able to change it to one of the predefined values set up on your platform (above).
PreferredName		Single line of text	Use PreferredName field only if a contact wishes to be called by a name other than their given first name.
Information		Multiple lines of text	Field does not support HTML tags
NationalStudentNumber		Single line of text	NSN number
ContactCode
Phone Details
WorkPhone		Single line of text
HomePhone		Single line of text
Mobile		Single line of text
Fax		Single line of text
Internet
Website		Valid website address	e.g. www.google.com
Skype		Single line of text	Skype username.
Address Details
PostalAddressLine1	Yes - If other Postal Address lines are included. If you don't have this we suggest using 'Unknown'	Single line of text
PostalAddressLine2		Multiple lines of text	If an address contains more than two lines, use PostalAddressLine1 for the first line and concatenate the other lines into PostalAddressLine2. *Hint:* Read Concatenate (merge) two columns of data into a single column within Tips and tricks for importing data.
PostalAddressSuburb		Single line of text
PostalAddressPostCode		Single line of text (8 character limit)
PostalAddressCity		Single line of text
PostalAddressState		Single line of text
PostalAddressCountry		Single line of text	If you are setting the country to be something other than your platform's default, you must also import a value in PostalAddressLine1. If you don't have a value for Line 1 we suggest using Unknown.
WorkAddressLine1	Yes - If other Postal Address lines are included. If you don't have this we suggest using 'Unknown'	Single line of text
WorkAddressLine2		Multiple lines of text	If an address contains more than two lines, use WorkAddressLine1 for the first line and concatenate the other lines into WorkAddressLine2. *Hint:* Read Concatenate (merge) two columns of data into a single column within Tips and tricks for importing data.
WorkAddressSuburb		Single line of text
WorkAddressPostCode		Single line of text (8 character limit)
WorkAddressCity		Single line of text
WorkAddressState		Single line of text
WorkAddressCountry		Single line of text	If you are setting the country to be something other than your platform's default, you must also import a value in WorkAddressLine1. If you don't have a value for Line 1 we suggest using Unknown.
Area
Regions	Yes (for regional platforms only)	Short region name separated by commas or AllRegions	This column is only relevant to platforms that have multiple regions setup. Either set the value to; AllRegions, or include the Short Region Name. Where you are including multiple regions, separate these with a comma. If this column is not included, Arlo will associate contacts with all regions.
Organisation Details
OrganisationName		Single line of text	Arlo will attempt to match the OrganisationName with an existing organisation. If a match is found, the contact will be linked to the organisation. If a match is not found, a new organisation will be created and linked to the contact.
Position		Single line of text
ManagerText		Single line of text	e.g. John Smith
Department		Single line of text
BusinessUnit		Single line of text
Personal Details
SpecialDiet		Single line of text	e.g. Vegetarian. If the field is left blank then the tickbox will default to No.
Disability		Single line of text	e.g. Vision impaired. If the field is left blank then the tickbox will default to No.
Gender		Single line of text	Your platform must be set up with a predefined list of values for this field. The importer supports importing any value into the field provided it is in the format of a Single line of text. Once imported you will be able to edit the contact and view the imported value but will only be able to change it to one of the predefined values set up on your platform.
Citizenship		Single line of text	The column will need to be added to the import file.
DateOfBirth		Date format: d-mmm-yyyy	e.g. 1-Mar-2001. Learn about how to format the dates.
Status		Active or Inactive	If this column is not included in the import file then all imported contacts will be set as Active by default.
AgeGroup			Your platform must be set up with a predefined list of values for this field.
Ethnicity			Your platform must be set up with a predefined list of values for this field.
Resident		TRUE / FALSE	Enter TRUE if a resident or FALSE if not.
HighestLevelofAchievement			Your platform must be set up with a predefined list of values for this field.
Marketing
Newsletter		TRUE / FALSE	Enter TRUE to subscribe to a newsletter.
NewsletterTopics			Important: Your platform must be set up with a predefined list of values for this field. Where a contact is subscribed to multiple topics, separate the topic values with a comma in the cell, e.g. Marketing,Sales,Finance If your topics are more than one word, you will need to add speech marks around the values and then separate each value with a comma, e.g. "Marketing","Business Strategy","Sales"
NewsletterDelivery			Available options are: Email, Post, or Post and email
NoBulkEmails		TRUE / FALSE	Enter TRUE if Contact does not wish to receive bulk emails.
NoBulkPost		TRUE / FALSE	Enter TRUE if Contact does not wish to receive bulk post.
PreferredContactMethod			Available options are: Email or Phone
LastCampaignDate		Date format: d-mmm-yyyy	e.g. 1-Mar-2021. Learn about how to format the dates.
ReferredBy			Your platform must be set up with a predefined list of values for this field. For example; "Word of mouth" or "Colleague"
MembershipExpiry		Date format: d-mmm-yyyy	e.g. 1-Mar-2024. Learn about how to format the dates.
Presenter Details
PresenterRole		TRUE / FALSE	Enter TRUE if the Contact will be marked as a presenter.
PresenterProfile		Multiple lines of text
PresenterInterests		Multiple lines of text
PresenterQualifications		Multiple lines of text
PresenterOnWebsite		TRUE / FALSE
PresenterContactDetailsOnWebsite		TRUE / FALSE
PresenterContactDetailsInCommunications		TRUE / FALSE
Consent Details
contact_consent_system_name_is_granted	Required if either of the other two contact consent fields are present	TRUE / FALSE	This is the system name of the consent field that is generated by Arlo when you create the consent field. As the system name is unique to each field, you use this to import the consent field information. To find the system name: Open the Settings menu and select Consent fields. Copy the System name to the right of the field Name. system_name should be replaced by the system name of your consent field
contact_consent_system_name_response_note		Multiple lines of text	This is the Response text of the consent field that is taken at the time of consent. e.g. Yes, I'd like to receive your monthly newsletter of upcoming events and promotions. system_name should be replaced by the system name of your consent field
contact_consent_system_name_revision_number			This is the number of the version of this consent. Versions are used as a control if you change the wording of the consent, or change your marketing processes. You can create a new version of the consent, and be able to track which version of the consent your customers agreed to. You can then use the version number in your reporting and campaigns to ensure you are sending marketing information to those people who have agreed to receive that material. When importing your existing consents, enter the number of the version in this column, e.g. 1. To find the revision number of your current consent field in Arlo: Open the Settings menu and select Consent fields. Open the consent field you wish to check. View the Revision you are up to under the preview system_name should be replaced by the system name of your consent field
Security
IdentityProviderID	Required if you do not want the contact's identity provider to be Arlo default		This is the ID number of the identity provider you want the contact to use. The ID of the identity provider can be found in the Metadata ID field of the Identity provider settings slider.