Import

Appointments, tasks, and contacts created with other applications can be imported. This has the following advantages:

Supported file types

Following file types are supported:

  • ICAL

  • VCARD

  • CSV

Files of the type ICAL serve the standardized exchange of calendar data like appointments and tasks. The standard name extension is ics.

Files of the type VCard serve the standardized exchange of contact data as electronic business card. The standard name extension is vcf.

Files of the type CSV serve the exchange of text data in table form. Contact data can be imported from a CSV file. The standard name extension is csv.

Importing appointments and tasks

Supported iCal objects

The Open-Xchange Server supports most of the iCal objects. A description of all iCal objects can be found in the document RFC2445.

In the following table you can see which iCal objects are supported by the Open-Xchange Server when being imported as appointment or task. The details in the "appointments" and "tasks" column have the following meaning:

  • An "X" says the object will be imported. The object's value is defined in RFC2445.

  • The number "255" means the object will be imported. The figure stands for the maximum allowed number of characters.

  • "Unlimited" means the object will be imported. The number of characters is not limited.

  • "-" means the object will not be imported.

Table 8.1. Supported iCal objects

CategoryiCal objectAppointmentsTasks
Calendar PropertiesCALSCALE--
 METHOD--
 PRODIDXX
 VERSIONXX
Calendar ComponentsVALARMXX
 VEVENTXX
 VFREEBUSY--
 VJOURNAL--
 VTIMEZONEXX
 VTODOXX
Component PropertiesATTACH--
 ATTENDEEXX
 CATEGORIESXX
 CLASSXX
 COMMENT--
 COMPLETEDXX
 CONTACT--
 CREATEDXX
 DESCRIPTIONUnbegrenztUnbegrenzt
 DTENDXX
 DTSTAMPXX
 DTSTARTXX
 DUEXX
 DURATIONXX
 EXDATEX-
 EXRULE--
 FREEBUSY--
 GEO--
 LAST-MODIFIED--
 LOCATION255-
 ORGANIZER--
 PERCENT-COMPLETE-X
 PRIORITY-X
 RDATE--
 RECURRENCE-ID--
 RELATED-TO--
 REPEAT--
 REQUEST-STATUS--
 RESOURCESX-
 RRULEXX
 SEQUENCE--
 STATUS-X
 SUMMARY255255
 TRANSP-X
 TRIGGERXX
 TZIDXX
 TZNAMEXX
 TZOFFSETFROMXX
 TZOFFSETTOXX
 TZURLXX
 UIDXX
 URL--
Property ParametersCUTYPEXX
 DELEGATED-FROM--
 DELEGATED-TO--
 DIR--
 ENCODINGXX
 FMTTYPE--
 FBTYPE--
 LANGUAGE--
 MEMBER--
 PARTSTAT--
 RANGE--
 RELATED--
 RELTYPE--
 ROLE--
 RSVP--
 SENT-BY--
 TZIDXX
 VALUEXX

Not supported iCal object properties

The Open-Xchange Server supports appointments like e.g.: "The last Sunday of a month". It does not support appointments though where the days are counted from the month's end. Example: "The next to last Sunday of a month". If an appointment includes such an information the appointment will not be imported.

The Open-Xchange Server does not support repeated reminders. Example: "Remind me four times". If an appointment includes such a detail the information will be ignored.

Importing

To import appointments and tasks click on Configuration in the module bar and then on Import in the folder tree. The import dialog shows the import configuration options.

Select the file type ICAL. To import appointments select Appointments in the drop-down field. To import tasks select tasks in the drop-down field.

Click on Browse and select the file to be imported. Please be sure the selected file has the type ICAL.

To execute the data import click on the panel function Import.

Figure 8.2. Importing appointments and tasks

Importing appointments and tasks

The appointments or tasks will be imported to your private folder.

Importing contacts in VCARD format

To import contacts click on Configuration in the module bar and then on Import in the folder tree. The import dialog shows the import configuration options.

To import contact data as electronic business card select VCARD.

Click on Browse and select the file to be imported. Please be sure the selected file has the type VCARD.

To execute the data import click on the panel function Import.

Figure 8.3. Importing contacts in VCARD format

Importing contacts in VCARD format

The contact data will be imported to your private folder.

Importing contacts in CSV format

Following CSV files are supported:

  • Default CSV files, separated by commas

  • CSV files from MS Outlook

Default CSV file

A default CSV file contains contacts in table format. The columns of a row contain the data fields of the contact. The end of a line is marked by a line break. The data fields are separated by commas. The first line is the column header. It contains the data field names.

A CSV file can e.g. be created with a spreadsheet program or a text editor. Make sure that following details are considered.

  • If there are umlauts in the data fields of the CSV file, it has to be utf-8 encoded.

  • The first row of the CSV file has to contain at least one of the column titles mentioned further below.

  • The column titles are case sensitive.

  • The columns can have any order at all. The imported data will be assigned to the data fields of the Open-Xchange Servers via the column headers.

  • The data fields are separated with commas.

  • If there are invalid data in a data field the respective contact will be skipped. Data are invalid if:

    • The number of characters are exceeded. The table further below shows the allowed number of characters for each data field.

    • A data field has the wrong format.

  • The data fields have to have following format:

    • All E-Mail fields have to contain the "@" character.

    • The data fields have to be in a valid format. The following date formats are valid:

      • dd.mm.yyyy

      • dd/mm/yyyy

      • yyyy-mm-dd

    • All other data fields can contain any characters at all.

    • It is allowed to have an empty data field.

The first row of the CSV file has to contain one or more of the following column headers:

Display nameSur nameGiven nameMiddle name
SuffixTitleStreet homePostal code home
City homeState homeCountry homeMartial status
Number of childrenProfessionNicknameSpouse name
NoteCompanyDepartmentPosition
Room numberStreet businessPostal code businessCity business
State businessCountry businessNumber of employeeSales volume
Tax idCommercial registerBranchesManager's name
Assistant's nameStreet otherPostal code otherCity other
State otherCountry otherTelephone business 1Telephone business 2
FAX businessTelephone carTelephone companyTelephone home 1
Telephone home 2FAX homeCellular telephone 1Cellular telephone 2
Telephone otherFAX otherTelephone pagerTelephone telex
Telephone TTY/TDDInstantmessenger 1Instantmessenger 2Telephone IP
Email 1Email 2Email 3URL
CategoriesDynamic Field 1Dynamic Field 2Dynamic Field 3
Dynamic Field 4Dynamic Field 5Dynamic Field 6Dynamic Field 7
Dynamic Field 8Dynamic Field 9Dynamic Field 10Dynamic Field 11
Dynamic Field 12Dynamic Field 13Dynamic Field 14Dynamic Field 15
Dynamic Field 16Dynamic Field 17Dynamic Field 18Dynamic Field 19
Dynamic Field 20privateBirthdayAnniversay

During the import the data fields of the CSV file will be assigned to certain data fields of the Open-Xchange Server. The following table shows the contact fields of the Groupware and the fields they are assigned to. The table further shows the maximum number of characters allowed for the data field.

Table 8.2. CSV file data field assignment

Data fields in the contact dialog windowCSV data field
TabData fieldMax. chars
BusinessTitle64Title
 First name128Given name
 Middle name128Middle name
 Last name128Sur name
 Suffix64Suffix
 Display name320Display name
 Company512Company
 Street256Street business
 ZIP64Postal code business
 City128City business
 Country64Country business
 State64State business
 Department128Department
 Position128Position
 Room number64Room number
 Employee ID64Number of employee
 Phone (business)64Telephone business 1
 Phone (business 2)128Telephone business 2
 Fax (business)64FAX business
 Phone (company)64Telephone company
 Mobile64Cellular telephone 1
 URL128URL
 E-Mail (business)256Email 1
 IM (business)64Instantmessenger 1
 Tags1024Categories
 Type private
PrivateProfession64Profession
 Date of birth Birthday
 Street256Street home
 ZIP64Postal code home
 City64City home
 State64State home
 Country64Country home
 Nickname64Nickname
 Phone (private)64Telephone home 1
 Phone (private 2)64Telephone home 2
 Fax (private)64FAX home
 Mobile (private)64Cellular telephone 2
 IP-phone (private)64Telephone IP
 E-Mail (private)256Email 2
 Marital status64Martial status
 Anniversary Anniversay
 IM (private)64Instantmessenger 2
 Pager64Telephone pager
 Comments5680Note
AdditionalStreet (other)256Street other
 ZIP (other)64Postal code other
 City (other)64City other
 State (other)64State other
 Country (other)64Country other
 Phone (other)64Telephone other
 Fax (other)64FAX other
 E-Mail (other)256Email 3
 Phone (car)64Telephone car
 TTY/TDD64Telephone TTY/TDD
 Sales Volume64Sales volume
 TAX ID128Tax id
 Commercial Register64Commercial register
 Branches64Branches
 Manager64Manager's name
 Assistant64Assistant's name
 Telex64Telephone telex
 Spouse's name64Spouse name
 Children64Number of children
 Optional 1 .. 2064Dynamic Field 1 .. 20

MS Outlook CSV file

All MS Outlook files that are created via the export function in MS Outlook are supported. To create a CSV file in MS Outlook that can be imported to the Groupware proceed as follows:

  1. Go to the menu item File|Import/Export.

  2. In the dialog window Import/Export Wizard choose the entry Export to file. Click on Next.

  3. Choose the entry Comma separated values (Windows). Click on Next.

  4. Select the contact folder to be exported. Click on Next.

  5. Set the name and location for the output file. Click on Next.

  6. To complete the export process click on Finish. Note: Leave the check box Export contacts from ... activated. Do not click on Assign fields. Leave the default assignment unchanged.

The new CSV file contains all data fields of the exported contacts. Following data fields are imported in the Groupware:

AccountAnniversaryAssistant's Name
BirthdayBusiness CityBusiness Country
Business FaxBusiness PhoneBusiness Phone 2
Business Postal CodeBusiness StateBusiness Street
Car PhoneCategoriesChildren
CompanyCompany Main PhoneDepartment
E-mail 2 AddressE-mail 3 AddressFirst Name
Home CityHome CountryHome Fax
Home PhoneHome Phone 2Home Postal Code
Home StateHome StreetLast Name
Manager's NameMiddle NameMobile Phone
NotesOrganizational ID NumberOther City
Other CountryOther FaxOther Phone
Other Postal CodeOther StateOther Street
PagerProfessionSensitivity
SpouseSuffixTelex
TitleTTY/TDD PhoneWeb Page

If a data field of the MS Outlook CSV file contains more than the allowed number of characters the respective contact will be skipped during import.

When importing the data fields of the MS Outlook CSV file will be assigned to certain data fields of the Open-Xchange Server. Following table shows the assignment by listing the data fields that are displayed when editing a contact in the Groupware. The table further shows the maximum number of characters for each data field.

Table 8.3. MS Outlook CSV file data mapping

Data fields in the Contact dialog windowMS Outlook CSV data field
Data fieldtabMax. number of characters
BusinessTitle64Title
 First name128First name
 Middle name128Middle name
 Last name128Last name
 Suffix64Suffix
 Company512Company
 Street256Business Street
 ZIP64Business Postal Code
 City128Business City
 Country64Business Country
 State64Business State
 Department128Department
 Phone (business)64Business Phone
 Phone (business 2)128Business Phone 2
 Fax (business)64Business Fax
 Phone (company)64Company Main Phone
 Mobile64Mobile Phone
 URL128Web Page
 Email (business)256Account
 Tags1024Categories
 Typ Sensitivity
PrivateProfession64Profession
 Date of birth Birthday
 Street256Home Street
 ZIP64Home Postal Code
 City64Home City
 State64Home State
 Country64Home Country
 Phone (privat)64Home Phone
 Phone (privat 2)64Home Phone 2
 Fax (privat)64Home Fax
 Email (privat)256E-mail 2 Address
 anniversary Anniversary
 Pager64Pager
 Comment5680Notes
AdditionalStreet (other)256Other Street
 ZIP (other)64Other Postal Code
 City (other)64Other City
 State (other)64Other State
 Country (other)64Other Country
 Phone (other)64Other Phone
 Fax (other)64Other Fax
 E-Mail (other)64E-mail 3 Address
 Phone (car)64Car Phone
 TTY/TDD64TTY/TDD Phone
 Commercial Register64Organizational ID Number
 Manager64Manager's Name
 Assistant64Assistant's Name
 Telex64Telex
 Spouse's name64Spouse
 Children64Children

Importing

Some important hints on the import

Make sure to use valid import files. Please find some hints on valid import files in the sections the section called “Default CSV file” and the section called “MS Outlook CSV file”.

If an import file contains invalid data the respective contact will be skipped during the import.

There is no check for double entries during the import. Contacts are entered as many times as they are imported.

To import contacts from a default CSV file or a MS Outlook file proceed as follows:

To import contacts click on Configuration in the module bar and then on Import in the folder tree. The import dialog shows the import configuration options.

To import contact data from a CSV file select CSV.

To import data in default CSV format select Comma separated. To import data in MS Outlook CSV format select Outlook file.

Click on Browse and select the file to be imported. Please be sure the selected file has the type CSV.

To execute the data import click on the panel function Import.

Figure 8.4. Importing contacts in CSV format

Importing contacts in CSV format

The contact data will be imported to your private folder.