1. How many templates can I create?

2. I imported contacts into an Outlook folder that uses a custom form but it doesn't work properly, why?

3. Why won't the program suddenly import into my target contact folder after I deleted it and re-added it using the same name?

4. The new imported contacts aren't in the default contact folder I'm using or contacts are imported but the default contact folder doesn't exist?

5. How long does it take to import data using CG Importer 1.3 or CG DataPorter 2.0?

6. Not all the records in my input data file are being imported - why are they missing?

7. I don't see MS SQL or MySQL as an option when selecting the input data file type?

8. I'm trying to import from my MySQL database on my website but it seems to take a long time?

9. I click on some of the fields on the DataPorter template form but sometimes it won't let me do anything?

10. After upgrading from Importer 1.3 to DataPorter 2.0 - some of my MS Excel field names have number signs in them or the program reports that some field names are invalid on my text based files (i.e. CSV, TAB etc). This also happens on some of my user-defined fields when I use an Outlook contact folder as input data source, why?

11. Importer and DataPorter are rejecting date fields that are in the proper format - why?

12. I run Importer or DataPorter in command line mode but nothing happens - no records are getting imported - why not?

13. Am encountering an <Access Violation> error or program fails to start - why?

1. How many templates can I create?

For Importer 1.3 and DataPorter 2.0 you can create and use an unlimited number of templates.    <return to top>

2. I imported contacts into an Outlook folder that uses a custom form but it doesn't work properly, why?

Outlook contact folders that use a default custom form very often have custom programming to validate information before Outlook updates the contact folder. If these validation checks fail at the Outlook level, these updates are reported as "Outlook Update Failures" in the import statistics.

To verify whether your form has code that prevents a contact being added, simply try to add a blank contact record to the folder directly from within Outlook. If there are any issues, it should show up there.
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3. Why won't the program suddenly import into my target contact folder after I deleted it and re-added it using the same name?

Importer 1.3 records and uses the internal Outlook Store and Entry ID's for the the folder. Each contact folder created are assigned these unique identifiers when the folder gets created and as such, these wouldn't match when a new folder gets created even when using the same name.

DataPorter 2.0 works differently in that if it cannot locate the folder by this ID, it will attempt to locate a folder by the same name and use it.

Also - see Question #4. <return to top>

4. The new imported contacts aren't in the default contact folder I'm using or contacts are imported but the default contact folder doesn't exist?

You should also read question #3 since it is directly related. If you have deleted a contact folder and created a new one using the exact same name, the new contacts will be imported to the original contact folder which will be located in the "Deleted Items" folder if you haven't encountered an error message first. The new contact folder with the same name will be empty (or not have the new contacts you have just imported). This also applies if you have simply deleted the contact folder designated as a "default" folder for a CGI template. The only way to ensure that this does not occur is to delete the item from the "Deleted Items" folder. 

DataPorter 2.0 does not check to see if the folder it finds using the Store and Entry ID's are in a Deleted folder and therefore will not attempt to resolve the folder by name. <return to top>

5. How long does it take to import data using CG Importer 1.3 or CG DataPorter 2.0?

For CG Importer 1.3, this really depends strictly on the total number of fields you have mapped in your import template.

For CG DataPorter 2.0, there are a whole series of things that can impact the time it takes to import your data including the number of import fields included.

These factors include the type of input source file being used and whether or not you are "updating" versus "adding". Updates will always take longer since CGD first builds a recordset from the target Outlook contact folder and can be very time consuming if this is a very big folder. This would be compounded if an Outlook contact folder is also being used as the Input record source. Once these folders have been converted to recordsets, then the speed would be based on the number of fields being added/updated.

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6. Not all the records in my input data file are being imported - why are they missing?

Both Importer and DataPorter perform some key validation checks before updating the Outlook contact folder. You should check the Data Error log to see what errors were encountered with the source data or verify that these are not "Outlook Update Failures" as described in question #2.      <return to top>

7. I don't see MS SQL or MySQL as an option when selecting the input data file type?

Dataporter verifies that the appropriate driver has been installed and if it cannot be located, you are no presented with the option.

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8. I'm trying to import from my MySQL database on my website but it seems to take a long time?

A number of factors can be affecting that. CGD uses the standard MySQL ODBC driver (v3.51) to access the database. If your net connection is slow or otherwise affected by other things on your network, getting the initial data can take some time and is outside the control of the program. <return to top>

9. I click on some of the fields on the DataPorter template form but sometimes it won't let me do anything?

The DataPorter program has been designed to only activate elements when it the rules allow you to do something. For instance, the "Save Template" button will not activate unless at least one field has been mapped and a process option has been selected to prevent you from creating an invalid template. This is by design to avoid needless continuous validation and error messages especially when templates are distributed to remote clients. If something is not active, it generally means that you need to do something else first in the logical scheme of things. <return to top>

10. After upgrading from Importer 1.3 to DataPorter 2.0 - some of my MS Excel field names have number signs in them or the program reports that some field names are invalid on my text based files (i.e. CSV, TAB etc). This also happens on some of my user-defined fields when I use an Outlook contact folder as input data source, why?

DataPorter processes data from Excel differently then Importer. If the Microsoft Jet engine encounters invalid field names when reading an Excel spreadsheet, it replaces invalid characters with the number (#) sign before turning the data over to CGD and there is no real way to know which number signs would have been originally included versus ones that have been replaced.

With the release of CGD 2.0.161, any invalid character found in a text file column name will be automatically replaced with an "*" (asterisk).

When creating user-defined fields in Outlook, you are advised to use only standard characters for all internal field names to avoid problems in the future when exporting your data. This is even more imperative to minimize potential problems when exporting data to an XML format.

You should read the CGD help file for more info but in short, the 7 characters that should not be used in a field name are:

space (as the first character in the name)

.  (period)

!  (exclamation point)

` (accent)

[  (left square bracket)

]  (right square bracket)

"  (double quotation mark)  

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11. Importer and DataPorter are rejecting date fields that are in the proper format - why?

Both programs verify every date field to ensure it is also a valid Outlook date. Any dates earlier then 04/01/1601 or greater then 08/31/4500 are considered invalid. This could easily occur when process data captured from a website where people enter 11/11/1111 to bypass the field. <return to top>

12. I run Importer or DataPorter in command line mode but nothing happens - no records are getting imported - why not?

The first thing to check is making sure that the scheduling program you are using is actually invoking the program. If the program is being invoked, then the cause of the problem is likely identified in the Program Error message log (for Importer this would found where the program was originally installed - for DataPorter, the default location would be in a subfolder where the program was installed unless the location was changed).

When either program runs in command line mode, they run in "silent mode" meaning that no error messages are ever displayed. However, every message generated by the program is record in the log file (unless you have opted not to have log files generated).

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13. Am encountering an <Access Violation> error or program fails to start - why?