Re-importing contacts that are already on the database.

If a spreadsheet was imported, and some of the information was incorrect – instead of going through each contact manually and changing the necessary information – you can re-import the spreadsheet.

The first thing to do is get the contacts out again by exporting - so put the contacts in a group and export them onto a spreadsheet. You will see that the second column on the spreadsheet is headed Open-ID. Keep this column - as it makes a re-import MUCH easier. The Open-ID is a unique number created by the OpenNetworks CRM system for that specific contact.

There are a couple of things to keep in mind when re-importing the spreadsheet.

• The contacts are already on the database – so they will be overwritten when the new spreadsheet is imported. Only the columns that you re-import (so the ones on your spreadsheet) will be overwritten. The best thing to do is use the Open-ID column and the column(s) you need to correct the data in – whether that be company name, firstname, surname, a custom edit field or the notes field. Then the system picks up the contact by the Open-ID and overwrites that unique contact with the data in the columns on the spreadsheet.
• So bear in mind that if you have a column on your spreadsheet – the information in there will overwrite any existing information on the database for that specific contact. If the fields is blank - current data on the CRm will be overwritten by blank. That is applicable to all columns (so fields on the contacts page) except for the notes field. If you add a note column in – the note is amended, so it is added to the the notes field, it does not replace all the notes. If the contact on the spreadsheet has the email address cell blank - and there is an email address on the CRM - the blank cell will overwrite the email address on the CRM system - and you will lose the email address.
• If a contact is in a group, or part of an event – the contact remains linked to that group or event.