Forum Discussion

AaronB's avatar
AaronB
Qrew Trainee
2 years ago

How to add data from a .csv file to existing Quickbase records

I have a Quickbase table with data.  I have a .csv file that contains 2 fields (fields A and B):

  • Field A in the .csv is common to Field A in the table
  • Field B in the .csv is common to Field B in the table, but 
    • Field B in the table is currently <blank>

For every .csv entry, I want to find the record in the table that matches Field A.

For every match, I want to insert Field B from the .csv to Field B in the table/record. 

I tried to do this with with the "Import with CSV" pipeline but can't get the "Merge Field" to look at Field A.  It only allows me to choose a field that is not common to both the .csv file and the Table.  Any suggestions on which pipeline logic/channels/steps to use will be appreciated.



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Aaron B
ab1692@att.com
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7 Replies

  • You need to go to the field settings for Field A and set it to unique. Only then can it be used as a custom merge field for CSV imports.

    It's also a good idea to check the box to check all current values are actually unique.



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    gary
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    • AaronB's avatar
      AaronB
      Qrew Trainee

      Gary,

      You probably found my issue.  Unfortunately, I also just realized I have some non-unique records in that field.  I have several thousand records so trying to figure out the exact culprits might take me a minute.  Hopefully once I resolve the non-unique issue, I'll be able to proceed with your solution.

      Thanks.



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      Aaron B
      ab1692@att.com
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      • Gary1's avatar
        Gary1
        Qrew Cadet

        My preferred way to quickly check duplicates is to dump the CSV into Excel and use the formula below. A:A should be the column with potential duplicates, and A1 should be your first row of data in the same column. 

        =COUNTIF(A:A,A1) 

        The result will show how many instances of duplicates each value has. You can then filter the list to show all values that are not "1" to see your dupes. I prefer using this over (or before) Excel's "remove duplicates" because it shows you the dupes first in case you wanted to review.



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        gary
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    • AaronB's avatar
      AaronB
      Qrew Trainee

      A quick update on the custom merge field issue......I could not get that field to show up by changing the property to 'unique'.  I had to also make it the 'key' field for that table.  Once I did that, I was able to select it as the merge field.

      Regardless, your suggestion brought me to a working solution.   Thanks.



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      Aaron B
      ab1692@att.com
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      • MikeTamoush's avatar
        MikeTamoush
        Qrew Commander

        Is Field A a formula field? The merge should be able to work on any unique field (not just a key), but I believe if it is a formula field it will not work. Glad you found a solution!



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        Mike Tamoush
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