Importing

The Imports section brings a whole collection in at once. Choose a source:

• CSV: comma, tab or semicolon separated text.
• Excel: an XLSX workbook, every sheet.
• Folder of Files: photos, PDFs and a spreadsheet together.
• Alternative Platforms is marked Coming soon.

You can also drop a file or folder onto the cards. Nothing is written until you have seen the preview and pressed Import.

Spreadsheets and workbooks

What the app reads

• Every sheet in a workbook. Sheets that have a title column are treated as item tables and start selected. Sheets without one, such as notes or lookup lists, and sheets hidden in the workbook start unselected.
• A lookup sheet whose key matches a column in an item sheet is joined onto it, so its columns appear alongside with the sheet's name in brackets.
• Lines above the header, such as a report title, are skipped. Summary rows at the bottom are left out.
• Dates in any common form, including Excel's own date cells; c. 1931, Sept 1987, TBC and unknown are understood.
• Money with its currency symbol. Dimensions such as 60 × 80 cm or 20" x 26" are split into height, width and unit. Bare millimetres are recognised.
• Surname, First becomes First Surname when you ask for it.
• A status such as On loan becomes a tag.

The mapping sheet

1. Destination. Pick the Collection the rows go into, the Currency for amounts that name none, and whether to Skip rows already in the library. A row whose title and maker already exist is skipped, so an import can be run twice safely.
2. Sheets, for a workbook. Tick the sheets to include. Each shows its row and column counts and any reading notes. With more than one sheet included, File each sheet as its own collection puts each sheet's rows into a collection named after the sheet as well as the destination.
3. Columns. Each column shows its header, sample values, any currency or unit found in the header, and how it was matched: Matched from the dictionary of common headers, From the values, As last time, Apple Intelligence, Chosen by you, or Kept as extra field. Open the menu on a column to pick a different field, Don't import it, or Keep as an extra field under its own name. Suggest with Apple Intelligence proposes fields for anything unmatched. Keep the rest as extra fields keeps every unmatched column as a custom attribute on each item. Your choices are remembered for next time.
4. Tidy. Put names in First Last order; Import repeated rows once, which spots rows with the same reference number or the same title and maker; and Tidy text with Apple Intelligence, which cleans capitalisation, spacing and name order in the maker, title, medium and source columns, on the device, shown in the preview first with Undo.
5. Preview. Tiles count what will import, rows to check, repeats and rows with no title. Each row shows what was read; values that could not be read are listed under the row and left blank while the rest still imports. See all rows expands the list.
6. Press Import N Items.

The fields you can map to

Title; maker; Year; Medium; Support; Edition; Edition Size; Signed; Inscription; maker Nationality, Birth Year and Death Year; Dimensions or separate Height, Width, Depth and Unit; Framed; Acquisition Date, Price, Currency, Acquired From and Method; Provenance; Insurance Value; Market Value, Valuation Date and Valuer; Insured; Condition and Condition Checked; Location; Collection; Notes; Tags; Quantity; Reference / Inventory No.; Status; Asking Price; Sale Price, Sale Date and Buyer; Publisher; ISBN; Serial Number. Each collection type adds its own attributes to the list.

What the import creates

Items, and where the columns call for them: new makers, new locations, new collections, valuations, condition reports and provenance entries. The Import Complete message counts each, along with repeated rows imported once, rows already in the library, and rows without a title.

A folder of files

Folder of Files reads a messy folder: photos, PDFs and a spreadsheet, in subfolders or not.

• Photos are grouped into items by their names. Hotere - Black Painting (1970).jpg gives the maker, title and year. EC-0001 … gives a reference. … verso, … detail, … installed and (2) after a name mean another view of the same item, and the word sets the image's role.
• Each subfolder is one item treats a folder of up to a dozen images as one item named after the folder.
• Take details from the spreadsheet matches photos to rows by the file name the row gives, then by reference number, then by title. Import rows that have no files brings in the rest of the rows too.
• Documents attach to the item they match. A PDF with no photo and no row beside it is listed under Left out; attach it from the item afterwards.
• Videos and other files are listed and ignored. Add videos from the item.

Review the items, untick any you do not want, and press Import N Items. Photos are copied into the library at up to 2048 pixels; documents are copied as they are. Photos land with their roles in order, and documents are typed from their names.

From a wallet

An NFT collection mirrors one or more wallet addresses. See NFT collections.

From the previous app

Settings ▸ Data ▸ Migrate from Previous App brings collections, items, makers, sales and attached files across from Tabularium, Artimedes or Registry.

• On the Mac, Choose Folder… and grant access to your Application Support folder. Rescan looks again.
• On iPhone, copy the Mac's application folder into iCloud Drive or Files first, then choose it.

After a migration, two Mac Actions menu commands help with data the old app stored oddly: Fix Legacy Import Dates… repairs dates that arrived as spreadsheet serial numbers, and Fix Imported Provenance… clears placeholder provenance text.

A CSV template

Settings ▸ Data ▸ Import & Export has Download CSV Template, a header row with the columns the importer understands, and Import from CSV for a quick single-sheet import.