Importing Addresses into Family Connections

Family Connections currently supports importing CSV files from Gmail, Outlook and of course Family Connections.

To import addresses, simply navigate to the Address Book and click on the Import link in the top right hand corner.

Next, browse your computer for the .csv file that you exported from Gmail, Outlook or FCMS (see the exporting section for more info).

At this point, you can choose to make the addresses private by selecting the Private option (this will make all addresses in the CSV file private).

Finally, click the import button.  You will receive a success message when the import is complete.

CSV File requirements

Below is some detailed information on exactly how the CSV file should be formatted.  Please note that if you are importing from Gmail, Outlook or FCMS you can ignore this section because your CSV file will be formatted correctly.  This information is only needed for user’s who are trying to import data from hand or from another unsupported source.

The following list contains the data that Family Connections accepts, followed by the allowable field names for that data:

• First Name
  • fname
  • First Name
  • Given Name
• Last Name
  • lname
  • Last Name
  • Family Name
• Email
  • email
  • E-mail Address
  • E-mail 1 – Value
• Street Address
  • address
  • Home Street
  • Address 1 – Street
• City
  • Home City
  • Address 1 – City
• State
  • state
  • Home State
  • Address 1 – Region
• Postal Code
  • zip
  • Home Postal Code
  • Address 1 – Postal Code
• Home Phone Number
  • home
  • Home Phone
• Work Phone Number
  • work
  • Business Phone
• Cell Phone Number
  • cell
  • Mobile Phone

Exporting Addresses from Family Connections

Exporting Addresses is as easy as clicking on the Export button on the Address Book page.

After clicking Export, you will be prompted to save the CSV file.

Exporting from Gmail

See this tutorial on how to export contacts from Gmail.

Exporting from Outlook

See this tutorial from About.com.

See this tutorial from Microsoft.

Advanced Image Uploader

Turning it On

The first thing you need to do is turn on the Advanced Uploader. This can be done by going to My Settings, scrolling down to the Advanced Uploader section, selecting the Yes option, and Submitting those changes.

Uploading Photos

Uploading photos with the Advanced Uploader starts out exactly the same as before.  Simply go to the Photo Gallery like normal, and click Upload Photos.

Security Warning

If this is the first time you have used the Advanced Uploader you will probably get a security warning.  Currently the Advanced Uploader is signed with a self issued (untrusted) certificate.  Typically a real certificate would be purchased and you wouldn’t see this error, but unfortunately a certificate can cost several hundred dollars and in order to keep Family Connections free, I will not be providing a certificate (you could always purchase one for your site though.

If you check the “Always trust content from this publisher” box, then you will only see this message once per computer.

Choosing A Category

Just like the basic uploader, all photos uploaded to the Photo Gallery need to be placed in a category.  If you don’t have any existing categories you will need to create one first.  Once you’ve created a category, simply select that category from the dropdown list above the Advanced Uploader.

Adding Photos to be Uploaded

The Advanced Uploader can upload multiple photos at a time, or one at a time.  To add a file to be uploaded, click the green Add button.  A window will pop up, allowing you to choose one or more photos to upload.

Editing Added Photos

The Advanced Uploader allows you to rotate, crop and change the colorscheme of an image.  Simply click on the little paintbrush on the bottom right hand corner of the image you want to edit, make your changes, then click the Save icon.

Uploading Photos

When you’re done editing, and adding photos to be uploaded, simply click the Start Upload button found at the bottom left hand side of the screen.  A progress bar will start, showing you how long it will take to upload the photos, this could take a second for just a few photos, or up to a few minutes if you’re uploading a bunch of photos.

Adding Captions & Tagging

After the photos have been uploaded you will be brought to a screen to add captions and tag any member in each photo.  At this point, the photos have been added to the Photo Gallery whether or not you add captions.  When you’ve added your captions and tagged any members, click the Submit button and you will be redirected to the Photo Gallery Home page.

That’s it.