Import Excel or CSV contacts into FileMaker safely

1. Start with a separate practice file

An import is successful only when the right values reach the right fields. A message saying that three records were imported does not tell you whether a postal code lost its leading zero or whether a name went into the email field.

Use a new, empty FileMaker practice file for this exercise. Do not import directly into Sales Starter, Contact Journal or another working solution: its relationships, validation and scripts need a separate mapping plan. Keep the original spreadsheet unchanged. For a local FileMaker file, make a backup using Save a Copy As; a hosted file needs the appropriate server backup process.

2. Prepare three rows and a mapping

Download the fictional contact CSV. It contains exactly three data rows and one header row. Inspect it in a text editor before opening it in a spreadsheet, which may automatically change numbers and dates.

Create these five fields in a Contacts table. These SourceID values belong to the incoming list; they are not a recommendation to replace the internal primary keys of an existing app. For the first import, there are no auto-enter fields or relationships to configure.

3. Import as new records

1. Open a layout based on the practice Contacts table. Choose File → Import Records → File and select the CSV. For an Excel workbook, select the intended worksheet.
2. In the import mapping dialog, choose the action that adds new records. Map each source column to the field with the same name; do not rely on matching column positions.
3. Identify the first row as column names so it does not become a contact. Check the preview for the first actual person, including SourceID and PostalCode.
4. Run the import, then read the result message. Stop and investigate skipped records or validation errors before proceeding.

FileMaker also supports matching updates and replacement imports. Those can overwrite existing values. They are deliberately outside this exercise; an add-records import is not a deduplication or synchronization process. Claris explains the different import actions.

4. Check values, not only the record count

• There should be three contacts, not four. A contact named FullName means the header was imported.
• The first SourceID should be 001 and its PostalCode should be 02108.
• The name Ana López should retain its accent. A damaged accent suggests an encoding problem.
• JoinedISO should still contain the supplied text, such as 2026-01-05.

Use Show All Records before checking the total. Repeating this exercise in the same file with Add new records produces another three records. If you want a clean retry, start another empty practice file rather than assuming the import will recognize previous rows.

5. Decide how a real import should work

For real data, write down the source identifier, destination key, required fields and rules for blank values. A blank source phone number might mean “unknown,” not “erase the number we already have.” Agree on that meaning before using a matching update.

Once the raw data is checked, convert dates into a real Date field with an explicit interpretation of year, month and day. Do not assume every workstation interprets a slash-separated date the same way. If leading zeros were already removed in the source spreadsheet, changing the destination field to Text cannot restore them.

Finished result: three readable contact records with unchanged source IDs and postal codes. Keep the CSV and your field mapping together so the next import can be reviewed against the same plan.

References

• Import methods and mapping

Use a practice copy and verify the result in your FileMaker version. Menu wording and platform behavior may differ.