Import Assistant Instructions

Our website explains about the Import Assistant at volsoft.com/support/utilities.htm.

The Import Assistant runs in two steps, one for Volunteers and one for Stations. You need a single or two flat files, or tables if you are using Access. An Excel spreadsheet is ideal.

Download the Import Assistant (Import.exe) into the Reporter’s program folder which is probably C:\Program Files\Reporter\Program. After downloading, run Import.exe and follow the instructions. When you run the utility, one cycle imports the Volunteer data and another imports the Stations data. You can run Volunteers in one session and Stations in a separate session, if you wish. But you cannot merge individual data or multiple tables as the importation overwrites the database.

 Warning! Import.exe MUST be saved to the Reporter’s Program folder. To locate the Reporter’s Program folder, in the Volunteer Reporter click on the Help menu | About the Volunteer Reporter.
Note the path to the Program Folder.

• The path is probably C:\Program Files\Reporter\Program
• or it may be simply C:\Reporter\Program as illustrated
• or however it is installed on this computer.

Steps to Use the Import Assistant

Close the Volunteer Reporter before running the Import Assistant. When you click importe.exe it warns if the Reporter is running.

When importing the stations data, if the dialog box title bar says, “Volunteer Table Required Fields,” you neglected to select STATIONS when first using a stations source. The message on the top reads:

Field Mapping — Access Table:
C:\Old Data\Stations.mdb to Volunteers — map fields for import.

Source fields are station fields
Target Fields are Volunteer fields.

Reporter’s phone field includes all 7 digits
WAreaCode + WPhone = Work Phone
PAreaCode + Phone = Home Phone

Spouse >? Emergency Contact Relation
VR Salutation =

To import volunteers indicate what starting date to use for any blanks and how the volunteer’s name is stored.

Default Starting Date

Name Field Information
How is the name field stored in your data? [Look at your spreadsheet]
* Separate Fields (First and Last)
* Combined in One Field

Guessed Combined in One …

Steps to Import from Excel

• Save Import.exe into the Reporter’s program folder
• Close the Volunteer Reporter
• Go to Reporter’s program folder and double-click on import.exe to open it
• Choose the Source File Format: Excel Spreadsheet

First Import Volunteer Data

• Choose Import Data To: Volunteers
• Browse to the Source File.
• Destination Data Set shows which data will be overwritten
• Click: Start Import

Confirmation dialog box: Please Confirm! Are you sure you wish to import data? Doing so will overwrite existing data in the Volunteer Reporter program. Yes

• Select Sheet Name if you have more than one sheet. You can use only one.
• Starting Cell (Top Left)
  Ending Cell (Bottom Right)
  The starting cell and ending cell are the ‘range’ of cells to imort. These must use the standard Excel spreadsheet reference of a letter or letters (such as AB) to reference the row. The ending cell must be greater than the starting cell. If you are not sure what the cell ranges are, open the spreadsheet in Excel to look at it, and then put the information in the appropriate places here.
• [_] Column Heading?
  Is the first row of the spreadsheet column headings? If this is checked, these will be used as ‘field names’ for the field mapping process. Please note that either you should check this box if the first row of the range is the column headings, OR uncheck this box and set the starting cell row to a higher value (useful if the column headings conver more than one row—you could use A3 instead of A1 to start, if that’s where the actual data starts.

• OK
• Volunteer Table Required Fields
  To import volunteers indicate what starting date to use for any blanks and how the volunteer’s name is stored.
  Default Starting Date __/__/__
  Name Field Information
  How is the name field stored in your data? [Look at the spreadsheet.]
  * Separate Fields (First and Last)
  * Combined in One Field
  * First Last
  * Last, First

OK

Map Source Fields to Target Fields:
Click item in Source Fields; click matching item in Target Fields; click Map Field.
Sample Data in Field Selected helps you to decide the content of the selected field.

When you have mapped all the fields to the available target fields, click Finish.

• OK
• You are returned to the original screen.

• If you have Stations or Jobs data, select “Stations (may include Jobs)”
• Select your Source File, which may be the same sheet as for Volunteers, or it may be a different sheet.
• Start Import and repeat the steps as for the Volunteers data.
• After you are finished and get the Import Complete! message, you will finally return to the initial screen. Click Close. A cleanup message will flash.

• Open the Volunteer Reporter and you can begin working with your data.