CSV Import App - limitations on matching fields

[Abby_Doyle]

I am looking for a way to import data from a CSV file but match on more than just one field. The CSV Import App appears to be limited in allowing matching to occur only on one field. Is there an alternative solution to importing data and matching on multiple fields?

My use case is I am importing people who have purchased tickets at a recent event but I know some of the people are already present in the base. I would like to match on Full Name, email address, and Street Address 1 to avoid duplication of existing records while also preventing inappropriate overwriting of data.
Thanks!

[Raf_KINNAER]

The solution that comes to mind is to create a (temporary) field – both in your csv file and in Airtable – that concatenates “Full Name & email address & Street Address 1” : then match on that field during import.

[kuovonne · Accepted solution]

How many duplicates do you expect to find and how often do you expect to perform the input?

If this is a one time import with few duplicates, you may be better off with importing everything as new and then running the deduce app.

If this will be a frequent occurrence with many duplicates, you may want to import the file and process it with a custom script versus having to manually create a concatenate field in your CSV file every time.

[Abby_Doyle]

It will be a frequent occurrence with many duplicates. The custom script does sound nice but I don’t think the organization I’m working with has the skillset to create that. The concatenated field may have to be the answer for now.
Thank you!

[ScottWorld]

You could easily do all of this with Make, which offers its own CSV tools, along with searching & upserting tools for Airtable. I discuss importing and exporting CSV files with Make on this episode of the BuiltOnAir podcast. 

There can be a bit of a learning curve with Make, which is why I created this basic navigation video for Make, along with the links to a few other Make training resources. 

p.s. If you have a budget for your project and you’d like to hire an expert Airtable consultant to help you create this, please feel free to contact me through my website: Airtable consulting — ScottWorld