Import events

If you have existing schedules in other programs that you want to migrate to Trumba® Connect, you can import the schedules.

You can import event information in the following file formats:

• iCalendar (.ics) or vCalendar (.vcs)
• Comma separated values (.csv) or tab delimited (.txt) text files
• Microsoft® Excel worksheet (.xls and .xlsx)

You can also import events in one of these formats from a Web URL.

If you want to import event data from a file, you first need to get the data from the other calendar program into one of the formats that Trumba Connect supports. To do that, you export your calendar from the other program.

• Export a calendar from another program
• Import events from another program
• Get the best results importing recurring events and custom fields

Export a calendar from another program

This section explains how to export Microsoft Outlook, Yahoo!™, and Apple® iCal® calendars to files that Trumba Connect can import. The procedures are similar in many other calendaring programs.

To export an Outlook calendar

1. Open your Outlook calendar, and then, from the File menu, choose Import and Export.
2. On the first screen of the Import and Export Wizard, select Export to a file, and click Next.
3. For Create a file of type, select Comma Separated Values (Windows), and then click Next.
4. For Select folder to export from, select Calendar, and then click Next.
5. Follow the instructions on the remaining wizard screens to create the .csv file.

To export a Yahoo! calendar

1. Open your Yahoo! calendar, and in the upper-right section of the calendar, select Options.
2. On the Calendar Options page, select Import/Export.
3. On the Import/Export page, follow the instructions for creating a comma separated value file. When a message prompts you to open or save the file, save the .csv file on your computer.

To export an Apple iCal calendar

1. From the File menu, choose Export.
2. In the Export dialog box, do the following:
   • For Save As, select a name for the .ics file.
   • For Where, select the location in which you want to save the file.
   • Click Export.

Note Currently, the free MSN® Hotmail® service does not appear to offer an option for exporting your calendar.

Import events from another program

You can import a file that you have exported from another calendar program, or you can specify a URL that contains the event information you want to import.

To import event information

1. In the Trumba editing environment, if you're importing events into an existing calendar, select that calendar to make it active.

   Tip If you're importing a large number of events, it's a good idea to create a new calendar that you can use for an import test. Set the new test calendar's event templates and time zone to match the existing calendar's settings. If the import goes well, you can delete the test calendar and import again into the existing calendar.

2. On the left side of the calendar window, under Calendar Tasks, click Import calendar events.
3. For Step 1 of the Import Events Wizard, browse to and select the calendar file you exported, or specify a Web URL that contains the information in a supported format, and then click Next.

   Note The file formats that Trumba Connect supports are listed at the bottom of Step 1. In addition, the files must contain specific event information. For details, click the green Help button (). Most calendar programs include the information that Trumba Connect requires. However, if you're not sure, you can open the file in a text editor or in Excel to confirm that the event information appears as required.

4. Click Next, and for Step 2, do the following:
   • Specify whether to import the information into an existing calendar, a new top-level calendar, or a new sub-calendar.

     Tip We recommend that you test the file first by importing it into a new calendar. It's a lot easier and quicker to delete calendars than it is to delete a large number of events. If importing into a new calendar is successful, you can import into your existing calendar. If you see problems with the imported events, you can delete the new calendar, troubleshoot the file, and start again.

   • In the Select Options step of the import process, you have the opportunity to select a time zone. The default time zone is the time zone Trumba reads automatically from the events you're importing. As the following bullets explain, in most cases, you won't need to change the default.
     • If you import into a new calendar or subcalendar, the new calendar automatically takes the time zone of the imported events.

       Tip You might change the default time zone setting to quickly import events and, simultaneously, set a different time zone for a new calendar or subcalendar.

     • If you're importing into an existing calendar, the events automatically take the time zone of the existing calendar. Event times adjust accordingly.

       For example, an imported event set for 8 am Pacific Time will have an 11 am start time on an existing calendar with a time zone setting of Eastern Time.

   • Click Next.
5. If you're importing a events in .ics format, skip to the next step in this procedure.

   If you're importing a .csv, .xls, or .txt file, under What information does each column contain?, verify that the fields listed in the left-hand column correspond to the default settings in the right-hand column. Usually these are set correctly by default, but if any setting looks incorrect, see Map fields when importing to correct it.

   

6. For Step 4, verify that the summary information is correct, and click Import.

   Note The import might take a few seconds, depending on the number of events in the calendar you're importing. If it seems as if nothing happens, click the link to return to your calendar, and check for the imported calendar in the Other Calendars list. If you instead click Import again, the calendar might be imported twice into the same calendar, creating duplcate events.

Get the best results when importing recurring events and custom fields

When you export calendars from other programs, the only format that supports recurring events is .ics. If you export a calendar to a .csv file, events appear as single, unrelated events. Therefore, they import into Trumba Connect as separate events.

When the calendar you exported includes custom event fields, you need to prepare your Trumba calendar for importing before you import the file.

Prepare Trumba Connect for importing custom field information