If you keep your references collection in a spreadsheet program like Excel, Quadro Pro, Lotus 123, or in a desktop database program such as Access, Paradox, etc., you can import your references into a Biblioscape database easily by using an import wizard. If your references are stored in other desktop database programs like File Maker Pro, or a database server like Oracle, Sybase, Microsoft SQL Server, etc., you can first export your references as an Excel file, an Access database, or a comma/tab delimited file, and then import the file into Biblioscape using the import wizard. The import wizard has a similar interface for different file formats, and we will use a Microsoft Excel file as an example to show the import process step by step.
| 1. | In Biblioscape, select the references folder where you want to import the records, and click "File | Import...". |
| 2. | In the import window, click "Browse..." to select the import file. |
| 3. | Select the "Delimited / Spreadsheet / DB Table" tab, and click the "Start" button to run the wizard. |
| 4. | Under the "Spreadsheets/Workbooks" section, select "Excel file (*.xls)" and click "Next". |
| 5. | In the second step, you do not need to change any settings. Click the "Next" button. |
| 6. | In the third step, you can change the formats of "Dates, Times and Numbers" to match the ones used in your Excel file. You can also specify the first and the last rows to import. By default, "First row:" is set to 1. The "Last row:" is left blank which means all rows will be imported. |
| 7. | This is the most important step because you need to map each column in your Excel file to a Biblioscape database field. The columns are first shown un-mapped in alphabetical order. |
To map a column, click the down arrow in the column header. A popup list will be shown to allow you to pick the matching Biblioscape database field name. Start from Column A and map each column to a database field. After you map a column to a database field, the column header will be changed to the database field name. Once you finish mapping all columns, click the "Next" button.
| 8. | In this step, the mapped columns are displayed next to the database fields. You can chose a field as the key field, but this is not needed for importing into Biblioscape. If a column in your Excel file is not mapped to a database field, that column will be skipped during importing. |
| 9. | In this step, you can preview the mapped data, add conditions to load, or skip certain rows. Click the check box "Load when" and click the "..." button to add a condition for loading. Click the check box "Skip if" and click the "..." button to add a condition for skipping. For example, you can specify to skip all those rows with publication year less than 1950. To add a condition, you can use the "Expression Builder" to build it visually. In most cases, you will want to import all the records in your file. There is no need to add loading or skipping conditions. |
| 10. | In the last step, choose the "Import mode". In most cases, you should use the default "Append: add records to the destination table". Click the "Execute" button to start the import process. |