Forum
TF Import 2.5.9 Pro
- TF Import
TF Import Pro 2.5.9 — Joomla 6.1.4 — Joomla Contacts CSV import fails
I am importing contacts using Dashboard → Import → Joomla Contacts.
The import fails with:
COM_CONTACT_WARNING_PROVIDE_VALID_NAME
I exported an existing Joomla Contact using TF Import's own Export function and used that exported CSV structure as the template for the import. The CSV contains name, con_position, address, suburb, state, country, postcode, telephone, fax, email_to, published, catid, mobile, and webpage.
name contains a valid value and catid contains the valid Contact category ID, but the import still reports that a valid name has not been provided.
Joomla reports no extension updates available.
Is there a known issue with Joomla Contacts CSV import in TF Import 2.5.9 / Joomla 6.1.4, or is another CSV field required?
Hello
Import should work with only name, catid and published in the CSV file.
Please check if CSV file is separated by comma (,). Other separators will not work.
If this doesn't work, please share sample of CSV file or admin credentials at mail@joomlafry.com. Need to check this further.
Thank you
Thank you for your reply. We've made some progress, but have identified further problems with importing Joomla Contacts.
Environment: Joomla 6.1.4, TF Import Pro 2.5.9.
We successfully imported a contact using only name, catid, and published, as you suggested.
We then successfully updated that contact using its existing Joomla ID and the fields con_position, telephone, and email_to.
Adding address and suburb also worked.
However, when we attempted to import additional standard contact fields, including state, postcode, and fax, the import failed with:
COM_CONTACT_ERROR_UNIQUE_ALIAS
A subsequent update test including state returned:
0 records imported. 0 records updated. 0 records already exists.
There is another unusual issue: the initial three-column import placed the value 1 in the contact's State or County field, even though the CSV contained no state column.
Could you please examine the attached successful and unsuccessful CSV samples and advise:
Why adding standard fields causes the update to fail or skip the record.
How to reliably import and update the complete set of Joomla Contact fields.
How to include Joomla custom fields, particularly text, list, calendar, and textarea fields.
Our intention is to import a substantial number of marketing contacts with their full details. We need a reliable bulk-import method rather than manually completing individual records.
Thank you for your assistance.
Hello,
We've successfully imported Joomla Contacts using a CSV containing name, catid and published
We now need to update those existing contacts with their remaining details, including telephone numbers, email addresses and postal addresses.
For example, Mike Smith already exists as Joomla Contact ID 3.
If our CSV contains id=3, and we set Enable New = No and Enable Updates = Yes in the direct Joomla Contacts importer, will TF Import update that specific contact without creating a duplicate?
Does the importer match existing contacts by id, alias, or another field?
I'd appreciate confirmation before proceeding.
Thank you.
Hello,
Thank you for confirming that TF Import matches existing Joomla Contacts by their ID.
We have now successfully imported 12 contacts into Joomla and have also successfully updated their standard contact fields using CSV files.
However, we still cannot import or update the custom fields associated with these contacts.
Our environment:
Joomla 6.1.4
TF Import Pro 2.5.9
TF Library 4.2.8
We have created a custom field group called Marketing Information, containing 11 fields (IDs 1–11), including text, list, calendar and textarea fields.
Following your earlier advice, we attempted to use the numerical custom field IDs as CSV column headings. We also tried the Import multiple custom fields option.
Unfortunately, the custom fields remain empty, and some attempts report:
0 records imported. 0 records updated.
The standard contact information is importing and updating correctly, so the remaining difficulty appears to be specifically with custom fields.
Could you please clarify:
Can the Dashboard → Import → Joomla Contacts importer update Joomla Contact custom fields directly?
Should the CSV column headings contain simply the numerical field IDs (for example, 1, 2, 3), or is another format required?
Does Import multiple custom fields need to be enabled for ordinary text, list, calendar and textarea fields?
Could you provide a small example CSV showing how to update one existing Joomla Contact, identified by its ID, with two or three custom fields?
We would like to establish a reliable procedure before importing our full marketing-contact database.
Thank you for your continued assistance.
Trevor Bourne
TF Import Pro 2.5.9 – Updating Joomla Contacts Custom Fields
I'm using Joomla 6.1.4 and TF Import Pro 2.5.9.
I have successfully imported my contacts and am now trying to update their Joomla custom fields from a CSV.
I've configured a Get Array Value processor for the CSV column Priority and mapped it to the Joomla custom field priority. The destination Preview → Custom correctly displays A – High Priority.
However, Preview → General shows a blank Alias and Category ID 8, although the existing contact has alias kasey-williams and the selected Marketing Contacts category is ID 9.
I've selected Updates Only and set Alias to From Title, with Random Number disabled.
Before processing, could you clarify:
How does TF Import match existing Joomla Contacts when Updates Only is selected?
Why might Preview show a blank alias and an unexpected category ID?
Will the custom field value be saved to the existing contact without overwriting its other information?
I'd appreciate guidance on the safest way to test this with one contact.