There are a few details that should be reviewed before you start using the Data Loader.

Preparing your CSV file

1. When creating your file you will have to take into consideration that when you enter the Data Loader you will be prompt to map the headers of your CSV file with the fields within Propertybase.
   The easiest/fastest way to go through the mapping is to ensure that your headers within your CSV file are the API name of the fields you wish to import/modify.
2. All fields that will be imported/modified must be created before using the Data Loader
3. Make sure that all field types have the correct field types in your file:
   
   • ID Fields:  Must contain Propertybase Record ID's (ex. 003D000000yUbCD)
   • Number: Can only contain numbers and decimal spaces
   • Text:  Can support all characters
   • Currency: Can only contain numbers and decimal spaces
   • Date:  Must be in the format: MM-DD-YYYY or YYYY-MM-DD
   • Date/Time:  Must be in the format: MM-DD-YYYYThh:mm:ss-hh:mm or YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss-hh:mm
     European/Australian Date Formats: European/Australian Date format: DD-MM-YYYY To load European/Australian Date format. Go to the program's Settings>Settings. Select the European Format check box and hit OK.
   • Email: Must contain @ sign and dot some type of text at the end (.com, .uk, .org, etc.)
   • Picklist:  Must contain the exact values found with Propertybase (values must already be in PB)
   • Checkbox: Must contain TRUE or FALSE / 1 or 0 values
   • SystemExternalid__c: Unique Identifier from your old system
   • RecordTypeID: ID used to designate which type of record type the record will be
   • Lookup Fields:  Must contain record ID from an existing record in Propertybase
   • Owner ID: By default if you import the data it will assign to you, but if you want someone else as the owner you need this ID. This is the User ID, you can find this on the user record in the URL. Go to Setup>Admin>Manage Users>Users>Select a User. ID is in the URL, like this image.
     
     

4. If you are introducing contacts (Contact Object )
   
   • Please add the columns "RecordtypeID" and "pba__SystemIsIndividual__c" into your CSV-file
   • For Individual Clients introduce the Record Type ID accordingly and set "pba__SystemIsIndividual__c" to TRUE.
     A more in depth look at importing contacts is on the next article Data Loader - Part 3: Importing new records (in the section Importing Contacts)

How to handle Special Characters

If Data Loader fails to import special characters such as ö, ñ, or é, your source data file might not be properly encoded. To ensure the file is properly encoded:

1. Make any modifications to your source data file in .xls format.
2. In Microsoft® Excel®, save a copy of your file as a Unicode Text file.
3. Open the Unicode Text file you just saved with a text editor.
4. Click File | Save As to change the following file settings:
   • File name extension—.csv
   • Save as type—All Files
   • Encoding—UTF-8
5. Click Save, and close the file. (Don’t open the file after you have saved the settings or you may revert the encoding changes.)
6. Import the data using Data Loader as you normally would, and select the newly created .csv file.

For MAC users
If you are having problems creating a CSV file out of a Excel file and you end up having a semicolon separated file instead of .csv, please see this article 

Once you have your CSV file formatted and ready to go you are now ready to move on to our next article: 
Data Loader - Part 3: Importing new records

Tip: Check out this great video series on using the Data Loader!