Import Steps

What is an Import Cycle? What steps are involved during it?

An Import cycle is a sequence of tasks needed to successfully complete importing contacts into CiviCRM.

The steps involved are

Upload File:
An ascii text file in CSV (comma separated values) which stores contact information is
selected for Import.
Match Fields:
Fields from the import file are mapped to matching CiviCRM fields. Suggested mapping is
determined by Import which can be overriden by the user manually.
Preview:
Preview the results of the import. The parser checks for duplicate/erroneous contact
data.
Summary:
Final step. The data is inserted into contact tables (via an API) and Summary is displayed.

See Importing Data for more information.