Supported file formats for loading leads

The VICIdial Lead loader is forgiving about where your data comes from. As long as the file is a flat table of records, it can read plain text, comma-separated values, Excel, and even OpenOffice spreadsheets. Each row becomes one Lead in your list. The catch is that the file extension and the delimiter inside the file have to agree, or the import will misread your columns.

The supported formats

• TXT plain text — tab-delimited or pipe-delimited, and the filename must end in .txt.
• CSV comma-separated values — the filename must end in .csv.
• XLS or XLSX Excel files — the filename must end in .xls or .xlsx.
• OpenOffice spreadsheets in both .sxc and .ods formats.

For text files the delimiter is what separates one column from the next. VICIdial reads tab, comma, or pipe characters. A pipe is handy because phone lists rarely contain a stray pipe, while commas can sneak into address fields and break a naive comma split. If you are unsure, a tab or pipe delimited .txt is the safest bet.

Excel and OpenOffice files are convenient because they keep numbers and dates as proper cells, so you do not have to worry about delimiters at all. The trade-off is size and speed: a spreadsheet with formatting and formulas can be heavier than a plain text export of the same data, and the loader has to read every cell. For very large jobs, exporting the sheet to a flat .csv or pipe-delimited .txt first will load faster and behaves more predictably. Whichever you pick, save a copy of the original file so you can re-run the import if a mapping turns out wrong.

How the loader reads your file

flowchart TD
  A[Pick file] --> B{Extension?}
  B -->|.txt| C[Detect tab/comma/pipe]
  B -->|.csv| D[Comma split]
  B -->|.xls/.xlsx| E[Read Excel sheet]
  B -->|.ods/.sxc| F[Read OpenOffice sheet]
  C --> G[Map columns]
  D --> G
  E --> G
  F --> G
  G --> H[Insert leads]

Standard order or custom mapping

Whatever format you choose, you still have to tell the loader which column is which. With the standard layout the columns must sit in a fixed order, beginning with vendor lead code, source code, list ID, phone code, and phone number. With the custom layout you map each column yourself, and any field you leave undefined comes in blank for every record. A field like Vendor lead code shows up in the Vendor ID box on the agent screen, so it is worth mapping even if it is just for your own tracking.

If you load the same shape of file over and over, the custom template option is worth setting up once. You upload a small sample, match the columns a single time, and save the mapping under a name. After that, any file with the same layout loads with the mapping already chosen, no matter which supported format it arrives in. That consistency is where most teams stop fighting their imports, because the column matching is the step people get wrong most often, and a saved template removes the chance to slip.

For the full picture of how lists hold these records, see the VICIdial lists and leads guide. And if you want a refresher on what a list is before you import, the what is a VICIdial list post explains it plainly.

Clean files and a clean dialer go together. VICIfast hands you a hardened, ready-to-load VICIdial server in under 40 seconds. Check VICIfast pricing and import your first file in minutes.