4.2.4. Import Customers

You are able to import customers from CSV file and create them at your store. To use this option, select Store tab from Store Manager's top menu and open "Customers & Orders" section.

Welcome

You can find the necessary button in the toolbar- [Import/Export Customers] - and press it to run import wizard.

Select File

Choose import command from the proposed actions below and select the .csv file. Be careful choosing a file to import:

• If it is on your local disk, make sure that this file is readable.

• If it is from HTTP URL, it should open in your browser.

• If this file from FTP URL, you should have the correct FTP settings.

If you saved import configuration and want to use it for this import procedure, you can download the necessary file by clicking the button [Load Settings] or may skip it and press [Next] button to proceed.

Select Fields Delimiter and Quote Character

On the next step of your import wizard, you should specify delimiters to separate your fields data. The most common delimiters are a comma (,), semicolon (;) and tab (<Tab>).

Please note. In most cases, CSV file contains data in a string, so delimiter character serves to separate one column from another. So, be careful, because the incorrect choice of delimiter will cause the data to process improperly and customers will not be imported.

Click [Next] to continue the process.

Base Formats and Separators

The following window contains data that is recommended to leave default clicking the corresponding button in it.

Assign .csv Columns to Database Fields

In the next step of import, you should assign the fields from CSV file to the corresponding fields of your store database.

To do that simply click any database field from the pane on the left side, named "Database Fields", and then click the corresponding column from your CSV file.

This table allows you to see the list of fields in your store database that can receive import data. In order to link .csv column to database field, you should choose a field on the left side and then click a column at the right side.

For more accuracy of the accession data use the proper expression editor in the database field. It helps you to create your own expression for data display in this field.

[Auto Fill...] button helps you to configure the mapping between fields automatically.

[Predefined] button serves to return your previous steps back if you need.

[Clear] button - to clear all CSV columns in the "Database fields" at the left pane of the window. To proceed you should also specify the customer identification method: by e-mail or by ID (only for update).

It helps Store Manager to modify existing data of the customers or add new ones to the customer’s list.

Press [Next] to proceed.

Preview Import Data

In the "Preview Import" window, you can check which data will be imported due to your previous import settings. If you have missed something in the preceding steps of the import process, you can turn back by pressing [Back] button. At this stage, the import has not started yet.

Import Options

There are some options in the penultimate step of the import process, which includes:

1. "Add and Modify". You can add new or modify existing customers.

2. "Add Only". You can only add new ones but keep unchanged the existing.

3. "Modify Only". You can modify the existing customers, but do not add any new.

Depending on your needs, choose one of the three proposed options.

While importing new customers you have an opportunity to assign them to the specific store:

You can save your import settings into a separate file of .cfg format and download it the next import procedure. Click [Save Import Settings] button and to start import process - [Import] button.

Take a note the "Encode customer passwords" checkbox on the particular import page. If the import file contains passwords of the customers in a plain text (not hashed), select this checkbox so that the passwords' data will be encrypted during import.

Finish

The last window shows the import results: duration of import procedure, the number of new customers, the total number of customers in database etc.

Pressing [Finish] button to close the import wizard.

Check the following guides to get additional information on customers import process:

PrestaShop Customer Import

Migrate Prestashop Customers with Passwords for Free