User manual

118 FileMaker Pro User’s Guide
7. Accept the table shown in the Target drop-down list, or select New Table to create a table with the same
schema as the source table.
8. Select the type of import to perform. See “Methods of importing data into an existing file” on page 116.
9. Map the fields in the source file to the fields in the target file.
Converting a data file to a new FileMaker Pro file
You can convert a data file from another application into a new FileMaker Pro file. The converted file will contain:
1 The data from the file or source you convert
1 Two layouts for displaying the data
1 Converted field names if they are available in the file or source you convert. Otherwise, field names are
generic: f1, f2, f3, and so on.
1 Converted field types if they are available in the file or source you convert. Otherwise, all fields are text fields.
To import data into a new file:
1. In the source application, save the data you want to import in a file type that FileMaker Pro supports. See
“Supported import/export file formats” on page 114.
2. Choose File menu > Open.
3. In the Open File dialog box, for Files of type (Windows) or Show (Mac OS), specify the type of file,
choose the file to convert, then click Open.
4. If you see the First Row Option dialog box, choose whether the first row of data contains field names or the
first record of data, then click OK.
5. If you’re converting a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and the Specify Excel Data dialog box appears,
choose a worksheet or named range from the workbook file, then click OK.
6. In the Create a New File Named dialog box, type a name for the new file, choose a location, then click Save.
FileMaker Pro converts the data to a FileMaker Pro file and displays the file.
For more information about importing data, see Help.
Fields in the
source file
Fields in the
target file
Arrows show that data will
import into the fields at right
Select an import action
Select a table to
import from
= indicates match fields
Import to Current Table
or New Table