How to successfully import contacts via .csv file into 4Degrees
Format Your Data Correctly
If your data is formatted wrong, your upload may not work at all, or your data may be imported incorrectly.
Format your .csv File
If you're not sure how to create a .csv file, read this article: Save a workbook to text format (.txt or .csv)
Format Recurring Reminder Data
If you want to include recurring reminders for your contacts. The column needs to be in a specific format. To be sure that your reminders will get imported correctly, navigate into a contact detail page (example image below) and look at the reminders box at the top right of the screen.
Whatever available selections you have in this box (for example: 6 mo, 3 mo, 1 mo) is what you should use in your .csv file. The available selections can vary, so make sure to check your 4Degrees account before moving forward.
Format Tags
If you want to include tags for your contacts, the tags must be separated into individual columns. You cannot have more than one tag inside of a cell.
The image on the left is the correct way to import more than one tag per contact. The image on the right is incorrect.
Formatting Custom Fields
For this section, we need to look at your edit fields page. Go to your contact list in 4Degrees, and press list settings in the upper right-hand corner. The page should look like this:
Single and Multi-Select Fields
In the edit Contact list page (shown in the image above), scroll down until you see a field type that has the "Options" button in it.
These are your single select or multi-select fields. If you are importing values that have a field type of single select or multi-select, follow the instructions below.
- Click on the "options" button to open up the options you have set for this contact field. Make sure the options you created match exactly to your .csv import cells.
- In this example, you need to double-check that every cell under Kinds of Situations is called Turnarounds, Growth Companies, or Low Multiples.
- The spelling must be exact. In the example above, if one of the cells had "Companies", that cell would not be imported.
Currency, Percentage, Numeric, and Date Fields
The next field types to look for are currency, percentage, number, and date.
Currency
Look in the type column for the word currency.
If you are importing values that have a field type of currency, follow the instructions below:
- Look at the column in your .csv file that matches the 4Degrees currency column and make sure that all the data in that column contains only numbers or currency symbols.
- Now take a look at the currency symbol that is next to the word currency. In our example, it is $. This is the currency symbol you have chosen for this field. Make sure your import values are in this currency.
- Cells that have letters or currency symbols (other than the one listed) will not be imported.
Percentage
We are still on the edit contact list page in 4Degrees. Look in the type column for the word percentage.
If you are importing values that have a field type of percentage, follow the instructions below:
- Look at the column in your .csv file that matches the 4Degrees percentage column and make sure that all the data in that column contains only numbers or the percentage symbol %
Number
Look in the type column for the word number.
If you are importing values that have a field type of number, follow the instructions below:
- Look at the column in your .csv file that matches the 4Degrees number column and make sure that all the data in that column contains only numbers.
- Cells that have letters or other symbols will not be imported.
Date
Look in the type column for the word date. If you are importing values that have a field type of date, follow the instructions below.
- Look at the column in your .csv file that matches the 4Degrees date column and make sure that all the data in that column is in month, day, year order.
- Cells in that don't follow the month, day, year order will not be imported correctly. Date can be in many different styles (see image above) as long as the order is month, day, year.
Double Check your Data
Now that your data is formatted correctly, let's double-check your data to ensure a smooth upload process!
Avoid Duplicate Contacts (contact upload only)
People can have the same name, but everyone's email address is unique. 4Degrees uses a contact's email address as a unique ID. If you are uploading a .csv file to your contact list, it's important to be aware of the email address column. If you upload a contact that has the same email address as a contact in 4Degrees - we will merge those contacts together upon import. If you upload a contact that does not match any email addresses in 4Degrees, we will create a new contact. Be very thoughtful about this when uploading contacts, as you could be accidentally creating many duplicate contacts that will be very laborious to clean up later.
Header Row
If you have a row with header fields (e.g.. Name, Phone Number, Address), make sure that this is row 1 in your .csv file.
In this image, the highlighted row contains headers; we will use that information to help import your contacts into 4Degrees. If the header row is located in row 2, the import will not work properly.
If you do not have a header row, that is fine and the upload will work properly.
Delete Unnecessary Information
Delete any information that you don't want to import into 4Degrees. It's much easier to delete it from your .csv file than it is to delete it from 4Degrees!
Double Check Your Data
Double-check that all your data looks right. Do the names and email addresses match? Do you have any duplicate contacts? Correct mistakes before you upload them.
Import
Save the changes you made to your .csv file and follow the instructions to import your .csv file!
Mapping Multiple Columns to One Field
Tags, multi-select, address, email, job - company, job - position, and phone number can be mapped to multiple times. All other fields can only be mapped to one time.
Click here to upload contacts via .csv.
Click here to upload deals via .csv