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Import and Export

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Using the Import and Export features:

The import feature is used for importing very large directories. You will need to set up a spreadsheet containing your directory information to be imported. We recommend using Microsoft© Excel or Corel© Quatro Pro. Since each spreadsheet program varies we cannot give specific instructions on how to use each spreadsheet but we do provide some general instructions on what needs to be accomplished with your spreadsheet program.

The "Import" can be done in two different ways.

The first is to do a single spreadsheet, including, the category, associate, and linking information all at once.

The second option is to use three spreadsheets for categories, associates and links respectivly. We suggest using whatever works best for you. For a break down of what columns of information need to be included in each section of the separate spreadsheet click on Separate Spreadsheet.

For some it may be easier to keep up one large database and use the single spreadsheet rather than three smaller spreadsheet files. Trying to manage three files increases the chances of having a spelling error or other typo in one, thus creating duplicate files and errors when uploading. For this set of instructions we will focus on doing a single spreadsheet.

In order to prepare and fill out your spreadsheet begin by using the column headings below as the column headings in your spreadsheet. All the required fields must be used, but otherwise you may choose which headings you will actually use.

Below is a short description of each column, how data should be entered there, and the maximum size of each column.

Column NameSizeDescription
Category ID:n/a (REQUIRED) This field is essential to the functioning of your directory. The best way to think of the ID number is as a social security number for your categories. If we didn’t have social security numbers but were identified by our name instead it would be confusing to sort out who was who among the many "Freds" in the country. The EZ-Nettools system uses the Category ID field in the same way. Because it is an identifier EACH number MUST be unique. It is always best to use a sequence of numbers either counting up or down.
Category Name:40 Type in the names of the categories, such as Automobile Dealers or Banks.
Parent Category: 40(Optional) - If you would like to use parent categories to help organize your directory information, first add the name and ID of the parent category into your "Category" and "Category ID" columns, without any other information in the other fields of that row. Then, add a column for Parent Category (it helps to have it on one side of the Category column). The parent category has to be before it's sub-categories in the spreadsheet, so that upon import the parent category can match up with each subcategory as it is added.
Associate ID: n/a (REQUIRED) This field is also essential to the functioning of your directory. The EZ-Net Tools™ system uses the Associate ID as an identifier also so EACH number MUST be unique, this means it must also be different from the Category ID numbers. It is always best to use a sequence of numbers either counting up or down. To connect an associate to a category enter in the Category ID and name of the category you want to add this associate to into the category name and ID columns. When you upload your categories you will receive some duplicated entry errors because you are repeating your Organization ID and name. The system will only add one of any duplicated entries so you can ignore these errors.
Organization Name: 40 Type in the names of the organizations, such as Harry's Hardware Store or Elks Lodge #105. (Note: In your listings, some organizations may fit into more than one category. If this is the case, you can copy the organization information into more than one row of your spreadsheet, then change the category ID and name for each row.)
Associate Type: 1 For the organization's listing to be a premier (top of page, with links to email, website, etc), type a "1" (one). If it is a regular listing, then type "0" (zero).
First Name: 20 Type in the first name of the contact person for the organization.
Last Name: 20 Type in the last name of the contact person for the organization.
Address: 35 Type in the street address for the organization.
Address 2:35 This allows extra space for PO Box numbers, or suite or apartment numbers.
City: 25 Type in the city of where the organization is located.
State: 20 (REQUIRED) Type in the state of where the organization is located.
Zip Code: 10 Type in the zip code of where the organization is located.
Country: n/a (REQUIRED) Type in the country of where the organization is located.
Phone Number: 75 Type in the organization's main phone number.
Fax Number: 75 Type in the organization's fax number if applicable.
Toll Free Number: 75 Type in the organization's toll free number if applicable.
Email: 75 (Premier Only) Type in the organization's or contact person's email address. This information will only be shown if the listing is marked as premier.
Link to Website: 75 (Premier Only) Type in the organization's Web site address (Note: you must use the entire URL "http://www.domainname.com" path).
Link to Graphic (More Information): 75 (Premier Only) If there is a graphic, full Web page, or another source of information type in the address of the file here.
Audio File: n/a (Premier Only) Type in the name of the audio file that has been uploaded into the system already.
Password: 8 (Premier Only)Currently unavailable- Type in the password if the listing needs to be protected in the future. Organizations will be able to edit their own listing online with this password.
Description: 255 (Premier Only) Type in a short description of the organization. It is recommended that it be kept to 30 words or less.
GPS Coordinates: 25 (Premier Only) Type in the GPS Coordinates of the organization.
Subscription to Newsletter: 1Type Y if the organization would like to receive e-mail newsletters, type N if not.
Category Link to Website:75 (Optional) - Add a new column for Category Link to Website, and enter the URL of the Web site or page name if it is within the same site.
Category Link to Graphic: 75 (Optional) - Add a new column for Category Link to Graphic if there is a specific graphic for that category you would like to be displayed at the top of the Category page.

Most spreadsheet programs will not allow you to specify what character you want to use to separate the fields, usually they will only use a comma. However, this presents a problem if you are using commas within the directory. If you are not using commas at all, you can skip steps 1, 3,4,5,6,7:

  1. First, with your spreadsheet program open, do a Find and Replace to take out all of the commas and replace it with some odd character or combination of characters, such as &#, something that will definitely not be in your spreadsheet normally.
  2. Then, save the spreadsheet as a comma delimited file, (csv) format.
  3. Close down your spreadsheet program and open Word Pad on your computer
  4. Open the (csv) file you saved earlier in WordPad. You will see all of your directory like a text file, with a lot of commas, sometimes even several in a row. Each line will be a new entry.
  5. Do a Find and Replace for all the commas, and replace them with a && symbol. We use these characters often because of the unlikelihood that 2 &'s would be together in normal writing.
  6. After this is done, do a Find and Replace to find all of the odd characters you chose to symbolize a comma, such as &#, and replace with a comma.
  7. Now, save this new file as a text file.
  8. Select EZ-Directory from the Construction Tools and click Go.
  9. Click on Import. (Note:There will need to be 3 separate uploads using different columns in your spreadsheet in order to get all the information uploaded into the correct areas. First, the categories, then the associates, and then the relationships between the two.)
  10. Click on Categories.
  11. Click on Browse next to File to Import: to find the spreadsheet file on your computer.
  12. Click Open when you have selected the correct file.
  13. Type && (or whatever characters you are using) in the space next to delimiter.
  14. Some spreadsheet programs save information with a "text qualifier", usually double quotes (" "). If your spreadsheet does contain these, type in the character it uses next to Text Qualifier.
  15. If you used column titles in your spreadsheet, then click "Yes" next to "First row contains field name". (Note: Clicking "Yes" means that the first row of your spreadsheet will not be added as an associate. Otherwise, leave it at "No".)
  16. Now click on Submit.
  17. The next screen to display will allow you to pick which column goes to the item. You will see Category ID, Category, Parent Category, Link to Graphic, and Link to Website. If you click on the drop down menu you can choose which column goes to that item. This is why creating the database with column titles is useful.
  18. Click Submit when finished.
  19. The next screen will ask if you want to overwrite the backup with this new copy. This backup can be used later on if you need to restore the Directory. You should click "Yes", unless you don't want this particular file to be your backup copy. Now you may get some messages that certain Categories were duplicate file. "Duplicate Entry Category ID: ____ Description _____". This is okay. This should happen if you have more than 1 associate listed under a category. If you get any other kinds of errors, make a note of it. One cause is that you may have entered too many characters for that field. It will also tell you at the very bottom how many unique categories were added.
  20. Now click Continue. A new page will display and show you how many records were uploaded.
  21. Click on Return and you will return to the Import Main Menu.

Now that we have the categories imported lets move on to importing the Associate information.

  1. From the Main Import Menu, click on Associates.
  2. You will follow the same first step as with the category to choose the file and database format information.
  3. You will also complete the same steps to select the columns from your database. Again, the column titles come in very handy.
  4. It will ask again if you want to overwrite the backup, choose "Yes" unless you do not want this import to be your backup.
  5. Again, errors will occur if an associate is listed more than once in your spreadsheet, it will say the record is a duplicate. Other errors may occur of any of your character fields are too long. Click Continue, a new page will open showing how many associate records were uploaded.
  6. Click on "Return" to go back to the import Main Menu.

Now for the third import, we will upload the Category/Associate information. This import tells the system what associates belong to what categories.

  1. Click on Categories/Associate.
  2. Again, select the file and database format information and click Submit.
  3. Now choose from the drop down menu the column for category ID and for Associate ID. There will not be an option for Parent category, since that relationship is linked during the Category Import. Click Submit.
  4. It will ask again if you want to overwrite the backup, choose "Yes" unless you do not want this import to be your backup.
  5. The results page will open showing any duplicates or any other errors.
  6. If the upload succeeded click on "Continue".
  7. Click "Return" to go back to the Import Menu.

From here, you can click Return to Main Menu to go back to the EZ-Directory Main Menu. Now that you have the information uploaded, you can go into Pagebuilder and add the Directory Listing block to a page.

EXPORT

This feature is helpful if you have taken the time to add your information manually and would like to keep a backup on your own computer, or if you want to.

  1. From the EZ-Directory Main Menu, click on "Export".
  2. This Export page will allow you to select which part of the Directory you would like to export, the categories, the associates, the category/associate links, or all three parts into one file. Select the file you want to export.
  3. Type in which delimiter you would like to use (it would be wise to use a double ampersand [&&] or other strange character combination of you use commas in your Directory).
  4. Type in the text qualifier such as double quote if you would like to use one for your spreadsheet.
  5. Then select "Yes" or "No" if you want Column Titles as the first line. We suggest clicking yes because then each column in your spreadsheet will contain a heading.
  6. Now click Submit.
  7. Click Download File, which is highlighted in blue.
  8. The file downloaded is in a .doc format, which is normally a WordPad document. Depending on your browser and computer settings, this file may open in your browser. Simply click on "File" and "Save As" from your browser menu to save this file on your computer. Otherwise, you may save this file, or make additions or corrections if you want. If you want to reopen this file in a spreadsheet program and you downloaded your directory with a delimiter other than a comma, you will need to use WordPad to modify your document so it can be opened in a spreadsheet.
    1. Use Find and Replace to replace all the commas with characters, such as &#.
    2. Then Find and Replace the delimiter with a comma.
    3. Save your file, it is now ready to be opened in a spreadsheet program.
  9. If you did not use commas in your directory then you can open your file in a spreadsheet without any modifications, assuming you used commas as your delimiters.
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