inviting callers via a csv file

Hopefully this will help you add CSV format contacts to your call invitee list. Apologies but I am going to start from the beginning, some of which will be a repeat.

1) First, check the message at the top of the TalkShoe homepage to see if there are any known system problems. Currently (9/26/08) there are none and I have double checked that this specific import function is healthy.

2) Sign into TalkShoe, click myTalkShoe, and then click the "Contacts" tab.

3) Click the green "Bulk Import" button and then the (mostly) blue "Add from My Address Book" button. After this it may get tricky & complicated.

4) Here, I'm assuming that you are not using one of the five email programs that are supported directly (too bad; they're easy), and therefore that you need to work with a CSV (comma separated values) file. If so, click the "Other" button and then notice that there are nine possible APPLICATION-SPECIFIC CSV file formats offered. You must work with one of these nine formats, NOT a "random" CSV format (this is likely where you're stuck). If you cannot directly produce one of these nine formats from your email application, email me (daven@talkshoe.com) and request the Outlook-specific CSV format (I keep it handy). From there, arrange your data into the three columns labeled "First Name" (Column B), "Last Name"(Column D), and "Email Address" (Column BF). Then save the Excel file in CSV format.

Note that I provide all of the Outlook-specific format column headings at the end of this message if you want to try to create it manually.

5) Once that's done, it's easy again. Browse to the file that you created and pick it. Click the various "Next" and "Done" buttons, "Selecting All" (or some subset) of your contacts list along the way. The names will then show up in TalkShoe's "Import" list.

6) Click the green "Import Contacts" button to finish the process. It took just a second for my 100 test contacts import to complete.

By the way, this function of TalkShoe is actually provided by Plaxo so you may want to search their website help / knowledge base if you continue to experience problems.

Hopefully that will resolve the problem. Please let me know.

Outlook-specific CSV format:

Title,First Name,Middle Name,Last Name,Suffix,Company,Department,Job Title,Business Street,Business Street 2,Business Street 3,Business City,Business State,Business Postal Code,Business Country,Home Street,Home Street 2,Home Street 3,Home City,Home State,Home Postal Code,Home Country,Other Street,Other Street 2,Other Street 3,Other City,Other State,Other Postal Code,Other Country,Assistant's Phone,Business Fax,Business Phone,Business Phone 2,Callback,Car Phone,Company Main Phone,Home Fax,Home Phone,Home Phone 2,ISDN,Mobile Phone,Other Fax,Other Phone,Pager,Primary Phone,Radio Phone,TTY/TDD Phone,Telex,Account,Anniversary,Assistant's Name,Billing Information,Birthday,Business Address PO Box,Categories,Children,Directory Server,E-mail Address,E-mail Type,E-mail Display Name,E-mail 2 Address,E-mail 2 Type,E-mail 2 Display Name,E-mail 3 Address,E-mail 3 Type,E-mail 3 Display Name,Gender,Government ID Number,Hobby,Home Address PO Box,Initials,Internet Free Busy,Keywords,Language,Location,Manager's Name,Mileage,Notes,Office Location,Organizational ID Number,Other Address PO Box,Priority,Private,Profession,Referred By,Sensitivity,Spouse,User 1,User 2,User 3,User 4,Web Page,