Import Function

[ccwebb]

I have just ordered the demo disk but have one question in advance of receiving it:

Is there an import function in PC9? - like I could import a CSV file that contains names, addresses, etc into the membership module.

Thanks

Charlie

[NeilZ]

I have just ordered the demo disk but have one question in advance of receiving it:

Is there an import function in PC9? - like I could import a CSV file that contains names, addresses, etc into the membership module.

Thanks

Charlie

Frankly, no. There are so many different database systems, whether commercial or homegrown that trying to create even a CSV approach to import can be a nightmare.

However, depending on the size of the database you want to import, you can either enter it all by hand, which is what we did for a church of 150 (now at over 600). Or, the PC+ Software group will do an import of your current data, for a fee, but that is a small price to pay to save on manual entry of alot of data.

How much data are you talking about ??

[Jeff]

Neil is part right. There is not an import that will bring in personal information into the program. Largely because of the reasons mentioned. If all you are importing is family information however, there is a built in process for doing that. In the demo, go into the Help (press F1), Select Contents and then select Index. Search for Import, select the "Importing data,Family Mailing List" topic. In a nutshell you will want to get your data out of your existing application into Excel. (this is usually the hardest part), reorder the columns in Excel to the order in the help file. Save your spreadsheet in an Excel 5 format and then import it into PC+.

If you have personal information, such as birthdates, anniversary dates, work phone numbers, etc, you might want to contact us to do the data conversion for you. We have a flat price to do the conversion and it is currently only $200. If you want us to import contribution information as well, it might be more depending on your current program. If you have a lot of information, this will save you from rekeying everything in.

Here is a link to an article with more information about the data conversion process. http://www.powerchurch.com/support/answ ... icle_id=40

[ccwebb]

Thanks for the two replies - I'll look at it when I get to work on the demo disk after xmas and new years (I just ordered it).

Our size is small - 150 families - but just looking for a way to avoid some grunt work. I'll look at the help file for the excel method.

Charlie

[Dish-Man]

When we switched over to PC 8.0, I used the "translation table" and it was time consuming, but it worked great! We too had around 250 families and it really saved some typing! Warning: make sure that your family names are CORRECT before you import them. once you get the info into Excel is a good time to "clean up" your info BEFORE it goes into PowerChurch. You will probably have to add additional info once it gets into PowerChurch, but a lot of it will be done for you.

[ccwebb]

Jay,

Thanks for the advice

Charlie