Contacts are sometimes referred to as "Participants" or "Parties" depending on the context.
Base Contact Data
Most pre-packaged systems come with a predefined contact import specifications and CSV templates (see "Initial Setup" in the User Guide).
You can also go to Admin > Participants > Contacts Import.
When importing using the Admin > Participants > Contacts Import method, you can simply download the Import template and populate it. Please do not remove or add any columns as this will cause the import to fail. Once you have populated the contacts template we recommend you do a Test Run (by clicking on the Test Run (results will not be committed) button). This will validate that you have entered the data in the correct format or advise you of the changes you need to make.
Use these, or create your own. Be sure to use a unique external ID. If you do then you can ignore the Participant ID field in subsequent related imports.
Contact Notes
Be careful not to include any special characters that could mess up the CSV file format such as CR/LF.
Contact Relationships
Use the "From" and "To" external references to relate two previously-imported contacts together. If you use the external reference then you can ignore the participant ID and Participant Name fields.
Importing Custom Participant Data
Custom Participant data filed are fields that you save against a specific Participant type to capture details about the contact. You can import to these fields after you have imported the basic contact information. There is a separate import class called "Participant - Participant Type Import". If you create a new Import specification using this class you will be prompted to select the participant type you are wanting to import.
Once you save this the Match-Up screen will display options for you to be able to map data from a csv file to each of the custom data fields that are available for that participant type.