Importing your first spreadsheet

Bringing your data in is the first real step of a merge. A few minutes of prep, then DataMergeStudio reads your file and is ready to map.

Step 1 – Prepare your file

A little tidying saves trouble later:

• Put your column headers in the first row – these become the field names you map. Keep them short and unique.
• Make each record one row – no blank separator rows, no merged cells.
• For CSV, save as UTF-8 so special characters survive.

Step 2 – Add it as your datasource

If your project doesn’t have a datasource yet, open the Datasource menu and add one – either drag your file onto DataMergeStudio or pick it with the file chooser.

Step 3a – CSV: separator and encoding

For a CSV, set the separator and encoding in the import settings so the columns split correctly.

📷 Screenshot [NEU]: the CSV import settings (separator and encoding)

Step 3b – Excel: choose sheets and master

For an Excel file (.xlsx), choose which sheets to import. If you pick more than one, also choose which is the master sheet – the others attach to it as data groups (see Step 4). You can also adjust the number of records imported per sheet, though you’ll normally leave that as is, since you usually want them all.

📷 Screenshot [NEU]: the Excel import settings (sheet selection, master sheet, and records per sheet)

Step 4 – Review what DataMergeStudio found

DataMergeStudio reads the file and shows the sheets and columns it found:

• the first row of each sheet becomes the field names;
• each row below becomes one record’s worth of values;
• with a multi-sheet Excel file, every sheet is available – pick which one is the master and connect the rest with data groups;
• Autolink can immediately match those field names to the placeholders in your layout, doing most of your mapping in a single step.

📷 Screenshot [NEU]: the imported sheets and columns

Line breaks inside cells

If a cell holds several lines – an address, a short list of features – DataMergeStudio keeps those line breaks intact on import, for both Excel and CSV. A multi-line cell flows into your layout as multiple lines instead of collapsing into one.

After importing

If your data changes later, you don’t start over – reload the datasource and your mapping stays intact (see Reloading a datasource without losing your mapping).

Next

Learn how DataMergeStudio organizes your data: What is a sheet?