Help Documentation 〉Contacts 〉

Import and Sync Contacts

Before You Import

Before importing your list, carefully read our mailing list requirements. If any of the contacts you plan to import do not meet our requirements, you must not import them. If you are importing contacts from a previous email service, be sure to not import contacts that have already unsubscribed, reported a spam complaint, or bounced.

Overview

Direct Mail provides an easy-to-use interface that walks you through the process of importing contacts:

  • Select which contacts you want to import
  • Choose which fields you'd like to import
  • Add the new contacts to a group (or groups)
  • Resolve any duplicate contacts
  • Optionally set up a recurring sync from the data source to Direct Mail

Difference Between Import and Sync

When you import contacts from a data source, Direct Mail walks you through the process of configuring exactly how you'd like the contacts brought into your list. At the end of the import process, you can optionally enable syncing. If you enable syncing, then Direct Mail remembers all of the settings you configured and can re-import contacts in the future on a recurring basis. New contacts are added to your list, removed contacts are marked as "excluded", and updated contacts replace the old contacts in your list. These settings can be customized as needed.

How to Import

  1. Navigate to the Contacts tab
  2. Click ➕ in the toolbar
  3. Click Import Contacts
  4. Choose the data source you'd like to import from
  5. Follow the source-specific instructions found below

CSV, TSV, Excel, or Similar File

  1. Click Choose and select the CSV, TSV, or Excel file you want to import from. You can also drag and drop.
  2. Direct Mail reads the selected file and displays the number of rows and columns found. If the numbers seem incorrect, double-check that the Field Delimiter, Record Delimiter, and Text Encoding settings are correct.
  3. Click Continue
  4. Direct Mail shows the number of rows found in the file. If you want to inspect the rows, click the ▾ button.
  5. If your file contains a header row, check the First row is header checkbox
  6. Direct Mail displays a table with two columns. Use this table to configure how Direct Mail should import each column in your file. If you don't want to import a particular column, choose "Don't Import" from the pop-up menu.
  7. By default, Direct Mail imports each field of data as plain text. However, if the data you are importing contains dates or multi-values, click the Aa button next to the column and tell Direct Mail how your data is formatted.
  8. If you want Direct Mail to rename the custom fields of your list to match the header row of your file, check the Rename custom fields to match header row checkbox.
  9. Click Continue. Direct Mail imports the contacts and shows you the results.
  10. By default, Direct Mail creates a new group in your list and names it after the file that you just imported. The newly imported contacts are automatically added to that group. This is a convenient way to keep track of where your contacts were imported from. If you want to add the imported contacts to additional groups, click ⨁ and choose a group from the menu that appears. If you don't want to add the contacts to a group, select the group and press the delete key.
  11. If you want Direct Mail to remember your settings and sync contacts from this same file again in the future, check the Keep in sync checkbox. See the section "Enable Syncing" below for more information on syncing.
  12. Click Finish. If Direct Mail detects that some of the imported addresses are already in your list, or if some of the imported addresses are duplicates of each other, you will be asked how you'd like to resolve the duplicates. See this help article for more information.

Apple Contacts

The Contacts app supports multiple accounts, as well as organizing your contacts into lists. Direct Mail supports importing all the contacts in your account, all the contacts in a list, or selected contacts only.

The first time you try and import from Contacts, you'll be prompted by macOS to allow Direct Mail access to your contacts. If you decline, you will not be able to import contacts until you change the setting in System Settings.

  1. Use the filter bar to choose if you want to import all the contacts in an account/list, or selected contacts only.
  2. If you are importing all the contacts in an account or list, select the list and click Continue. If you are importing selected contacts only, select the contacts you want to import and click Continue. To select multiple contacts, hold down the shift key (for contiguous selection) or command key (for non-contiguous selection) on your keyboard while selecting.
  3. By default, Direct Mail imports the First Name, Last Name, and Email. If you want to import more fields, click the + button at the bottom of the table.
  4. Some fields in the Contacts app can have more than one value. For example, a contact can have more than one email address. By default, Direct Mail will import the first available value. If you want to customize which value Direct Mail imports, click the ⋯ button.
  5. If you want Direct Mail to rename the custom fields of your list to match the labels in the Contacts app, check the Rename custom fields to match data source checkbox.
  6. Click Continue. Direct Mail imports the contacts and shows you the results.
  7. By default, Direct Mail creates a new group in your list and names it after the source you just imported. The newly imported contacts are automatically added to that group. This is a convenient way to keep track of where your contacts were imported from. If you want to add the imported contacts to additional groups, click ⨁ and choose a group from the menu that appears. If you don't want to add the contacts to a group, select the group and press the delete key.
  8. If you want Direct Mail to remember your settings and sync contacts from this source again in the future, check the Keep in sync checkbox. See the section "Enable Syncing" below for more information on syncing.
  9. Click Finish. If Direct Mail detects that some of the imported addresses are already in your list, or if some of the imported addresses are duplicates of each other, you will be asked how you'd like to resolve the duplicates. See this help article for more information.

Pasted List of Email Addresses

  1. Paste the list of email addresses that you'd like to import
  2. Click Continue. Direct Mail imports the contacts and shows you the results.
  3. By default, Direct Mail creates a new group in your list and names it using the current date. The newly imported contacts are automatically added to that group. If you want to add the imported contacts to additional groups, click ⨁ and choose a group from the menu that appears. If you don't want to add the contacts to a group, select the group and press the delete key.
  4. Click Finish. If Direct Mail detects that some of the imported addresses are already in your list, or if some of the imported addresses are duplicates of each other, you will be asked how you'd like to resolve the duplicates. See this help article for more information.

Daylite

Direct Mail can import Groups, Smart Lists, and individual contacts (i.e. People and Companies) from Daylite. Daylite must be installed on your Mac and running while the import is in process.

  1. Use the filter bar to choose if you want to import a group or smart list, or selected contacts only.
  2. Select the group, smart list, or contact(s) you want to import and click Continue. If you are importing selected contacts only, you can select multiple contacts by holding down the shift key (for contiguous selection) or command key (for non-contiguous selection) on your keyboard while selecting.
  3. By default, Direct Mail imports the First Name, Last Name, and Email. If you want to import more fields, click the + button at the bottom of the table.
  4. If you want Direct Mail to rename the custom fields of your list to match the labels in Daylite, check the Rename custom fields to match data source checkbox.
  5. Click Continue. Direct Mail imports the contacts and shows you the results.
  6. By default, Direct Mail creates a new group in your list and names it after the source you just imported. The newly imported contacts are automatically added to that group. This is a convenient way to keep track of where your contacts were imported from. If you want to add the imported contacts to additional groups, click ⨁ and choose a group from the menu that appears. If you don't want to add the contacts to a group, select the group and press the delete key.
  7. If you want Direct Mail to remember your settings and sync contacts from this source again in the future, check the Keep in sync checkbox. See the section "Enable Syncing" below for more information on syncing.
  8. Click Finish. If Direct Mail detects that some of the imported addresses are already in your list, or if some of the imported addresses are duplicates of each other, you will be asked how you'd like to resolve the duplicates. See this help article for more information.

Google Sheets

  1. Click Choose and select the Google Account that contains the Google Sheets document that you want to import. Choose Add Google Account if you have not yet linked your Google Account to Direct Mail. You may be prompted to grant Direct Mail access to your Google Account. A list of all the Google Sheets documents in your account is displayed.
  2. Select the document you want to import. By default, Direct Mail imports the first sheet in the document. If you want to import a different sheet, click the disclosure triangle to expand the document, then select the desired sheet. Click Continue.
  3. Direct Mail shows the number of rows found in the sheet. If you want to inspect the rows, click the ▾ button.
  4. If your file contains a header row, check the First row is header checkbox
  5. Direct Mail displays a table with two columns. Use this table to configure how Direct Mail should import each column in your sheet. If you don't want to import a particular column, choose "Don't Import" from the pop-up menu.
  6. By default, Direct Mail imports each field of data as plain text. However, if the data you are importing contains dates or multi-values, click the Aa button next to the column and tell Direct Mail how your data is formatted.
  7. If you want Direct Mail to rename the custom fields of your list to match the header row of your sheet, check the Rename custom fields to match header row checkbox.
  8. Click Continue. Direct Mail imports the contacts and shows you the results.
  9. By default, Direct Mail creates a new group in your list and names it after the sheet that you just imported. The newly imported contacts are automatically added to that group. This is a convenient way to keep track of where your contacts were imported from. If you want to add the imported contacts to additional groups, click ⨁ and choose a group from the menu that appears. If you don't want to add the contacts to a group, select the group and press the delete key.
  10. If you want Direct Mail to remember your settings and sync contacts from this same sheet again in the future, check the Keep in sync checkbox. See the section "Enable Syncing" below for more information on syncing.
  11. Click Finish. If Direct Mail detects that some of the imported addresses are already in your list, or if some of the imported addresses are duplicates of each other, you will be asked how you'd like to resolve the duplicates. See this help article for more information.

FileMaker Pro

Direct Mail can import records from FileMaker Pro. FileMaker must be installed on your Mac and running while the import is in process. Direct Mail imports from the database that is currently open in FileMaker.

The first time you try and import from FileMaker, you'll be prompted by macOS to allow Direct Mail to control FileMaker. If you decline, you will not be able to import contacts until you change the setting in System Settings.

There is another setting, this time specific to your FileMaker database, that you will need to enable in order for Direct Mail to access your data. It is called the fmextscriptaccess privilege. Here is how to enable it:

  1. Open your FileMaker database
  2. Choose File > Manage > Security from the menu bar at the top of your screen
  3. Click Advanced Settings in the bottom-left corner of the window
  4. Select the Extended Privileges tab
  5. Select the fmextscriptaccess keyword and click Edit
  6. Check the Full Access checkbox and click OK
  7. Click OK again
  8. Click OK again to close the Security window

Once you have performed the setup steps above, you can import your data from FileMaker:

  1. Direct Mail shows the name of the FileMaker database that it will import from. Confirm that is the correct database and click Continue.
  2. Direct Mail displays a table with two columns. Use this table to configure how Direct Mail should import each field in your database. If you don't want to import a particular field, choose "Don't Import" from the pop-up menu. By default, Direct Mail imports the First Name, Last Name, and Email fields.
  3. If you want Direct Mail to rename the custom fields of your list to match the field names in FileMaker, check the Rename custom fields to match data source checkbox.
  4. Click Continue. Direct Mail imports the contacts and shows you the results.
  5. By default, Direct Mail creates a new group in your list and names it after the source you just imported. The newly imported contacts are automatically added to that group. This is a convenient way to keep track of where your contacts were imported from. If you want to add the imported contacts to additional groups, click ⨁ and choose a group from the menu that appears. If you don't want to add the contacts to a group, select the group and press the delete key.
  6. If you want Direct Mail to remember your settings and sync contacts from this source again in the future, check the Keep in sync checkbox. See the section "Enable Syncing" below for more information on syncing.
  7. Click Finish. If Direct Mail detects that some of the imported addresses are already in your list, or if some of the imported addresses are duplicates of each other, you will be asked how you'd like to resolve the duplicates. See this help article for more information.

Microsoft 365 Groups

  1. Click Choose and select the Microsoft Account that contains the group you want to import. Choose Add Microsoft Account if you have not yet linked your Google Account to Direct Mail. You may be prompted to grant Direct Mail access to your Microsoft Account. A list of all the groups you have access to is displayed.
  2. Select the group you want to import and click Continue
  3. By default, Direct Mail imports the First Name, Last Name, and Email. If you want to import more fields, click the + button at the bottom of the table.
  4. If you want Direct Mail to rename the custom fields of your list to match the labels from your groups, check the Rename custom fields to match data source checkbox.
  5. Click Continue. Direct Mail imports the contacts and shows you the results.
  6. By default, Direct Mail creates a new group in your list and names it after the source you just imported. The newly imported contacts are automatically added to that group. This is a convenient way to keep track of where your contacts were imported from. If you want to add the imported contacts to additional groups, click ⨁ and choose a group from the menu that appears. If you don't want to add the contacts to a group, select the group and press the delete key.
  7. If you want Direct Mail to remember your settings and sync contacts from this source again in the future, check the Keep in sync checkbox. See the section "Enable Syncing" below for more information on syncing.
  8. Click Finish. If Direct Mail detects that some of the imported addresses are already in your list, or if some of the imported addresses are duplicates of each other, you will be asked how you'd like to resolve the duplicates. See this help article for more information.

Open Database Connectivity (ODBC)

If you have ODBC drivers installed on your Mac, Direct Mail can use those drivers to import contacts from any data source that you have configured. This allows Direct Mail to talk to a wide array of databases, including MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Access, and more. Downloading and configuring ODBC drivers is out of scope for this help article, but here is some helpful information:

  • ODBC drivers for popular databases are available from actualtechnologies
  • ODBC drivers for other databases are usually available directly from the database vendor
  • Direct Mail uses the iODBC library in a sandboxed process to load and execute the drivers
  • Direct Mail loads available DSNs from the odbc.ini file
  • Direct Mail looks for the odbc.ini file in the following locations: ~/.odbc.ini, ~/Library/ODBC/odbc.ini, /etc/odbc.ini, /Library/ODBC/odbc.ini. You can specify a custom path by editing Direct Mail's user defaults: defaults write com.ernieware.directmail ODBCIniPath REPLACE_ME_WITH_PATH_TO_ODBC_INI.
  • Instead of editing the odbc.ini file by hand, we recommend using the "ODBC Manager" app from actualtechnologies or the "iODBC Administrator" app from iODBC
  • If you downloaded Direct Mail from the Mac App Store, file-based data sources will not be accessible, but network-based data sources will be

To import from an ODBC data source:

  1. Click Choose and select an ODBC account to import from. An "ODBC Account" is a combination of a DSN, username, and password. Choose Add ODBC Account if the list is empty.
  2. Enter your SQL query in the text box and click Continue. The query is executed.
  3. Direct Mail shows the number of rows returned. If you want to inspect the rows, click the ▾ button.
  4. Direct Mail displays a table with two columns. Use this table to configure how Direct Mail should import each column in your result set. If you don't want to import a particular column, choose "Don't Import" from the pop-up menu.
  5. By default, Direct Mail imports text columns as plain text. However, if the text column should be interpreted as a date or a multi-value, click the Aa button next to the column and tell Direct Mail how your data is formatted.
  6. If you want Direct Mail to rename the custom fields of your list to match the names of the columns in the result set, check the Rename custom fields to match header row checkbox.
  7. Click Continue. Direct Mail imports the contacts and shows you the results.
  8. By default, Direct Mail creates a new group in your list and names it after the source that you just imported. The newly imported contacts are automatically added to that group. This is a convenient way to keep track of where your contacts were imported from. If you want to add the imported contacts to additional groups, click ⨁ and choose a group from the menu that appears. If you don't want to add the contacts to a group, select the group and press the delete key.
  9. If you want Direct Mail to remember your settings and sync contacts from this same source again in the future, check the Keep in sync checkbox. See the section "Enable Syncing" below for more information on syncing.
  10. Click Finish. If Direct Mail detects that some of the imported addresses are already in your list, or if some of the imported addresses are duplicates of each other, you will be asked how you'd like to resolve the duplicates. See this help article for more information.

Mailchimp

  1. Click Choose and select the Mailchimp Account that you want to import from. Choose Add Mailchimp Account if you have not yet linked your Mailchimp account to Direct Mail.
  2. Select the audience you want to import and click Continue
  3. Direct Mail shows the number of rows found in the audience. If you want to inspect the rows, click the ▾ button.
  4. Direct Mail displays a table with two columns. Use this table to configure how Direct Mail should import each field in your audience. If you don't want to import a particular field, choose "Don't Import" from the pop-up menu. Direct Mail imports the First Name, Last Name, and Email fields by default.
  5. If you want Direct Mail to rename the custom fields of your list to match the field names from your audience, check the Rename custom fields to match header row checkbox.
  6. Click Continue. Direct Mail imports the contacts and shows you the results.
  7. By default, Direct Mail creates a new group in your list and names it after the audience that you just imported. The newly imported contacts are automatically added to that group. This is a convenient way to keep track of where your contacts were imported from. If you want to add the imported contacts to additional groups, click ⨁ and choose a group from the menu that appears. If you don't want to add the contacts to a group, select the group and press the delete key.
  8. If you want Direct Mail to remember your settings and sync contacts from this same audience again in the future, check the Keep in sync checkbox. See the section "Enable Syncing" below for more information on syncing.
  9. Click Finish. If Direct Mail detects that some of the imported addresses are already in your list, or if some of the imported addresses are duplicates of each other, you will be asked how you'd like to resolve the duplicates. See this help article for more information.

Other Integrations

In addition to the sources listed above, Direct Mail can import and sync contacts with thousands of other web apps. Direct Mail does this by virtue of its integration with Zapier. Zapier is a free web app that allows people to connect apps together that would not otherwise be able to talk to each other. Click here to learn more.

Enable Syncing

At the end of the import process, you can optionally enable syncing. If you enable syncing, then Direct Mail remembers your settings and can automatically (or manually) re-import contacts from that same source on an ongoing basis.

Configure Syncing

When you enable syncing, you can configure these three options:

  • Sync Frequency: How often Direct Mail should sync. If you choose "Daily" or "Hourly", note that the sync will only occur when your project file is open on your Mac. If you choose "Manually", then the sync operation will only occur when you click the "Sync Now" button. See below for more information.
  • Sync Deleted Contacts By: This option configures what Direct Mail should do when a contact is deleted from the data source.
  • Resolve Duplicates By: Each time Direct Mail syncs, it imports the contacts in the data source (according to your settings) and compares them to the contacts that are already in your list. For many (or most) of the contacts that get imported, Direct Mail will likely find that there is already a matching contact in your list. This setting controls what it should do in that situation: replace the existing contact with the newly imported one, keep the old one, or merge them together. For more information on resolving duplicates, please see this help article.

Start, Stop, and Edit Syncing

To start, stop, or edit your sync settings:

  1. Navigate to the Contacts tab
  2. Select the group that contains your synced contacts
  3. In the inspector, find the section titled Sync
  4. To manually sync, click Sync Now
  5. To edit the import or sync settings, click Edit Settings
  6. To stop syncing permanently, click Disconnect

Special Sync Settings for Daylite

If you are syncing with Daylite, you get a couple of extra options: sync unsubscribes and sync bounces. These option sync unsubscribe and bounce information back to Daylite. Unsubscribed and bounced contacts in Direct Mail are looked up in Daylite (by email address) and updated in Daylite. The way contacts are updated in Daylite depends on how they were imported into Direct Mail:

  • Contacts that were imported as part of a Smart List are updated in Daylite by adding a keyword (e.g. "Unsubscribed" or "Bounced")
  • Contacts that were imported as part of a Group are updated in Daylite by adding them to a sub-group (e.g. "Unsubscribed" or "Bounced")

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