If you have already scouted a few hundred locations, they are probably spread across a spreadsheet, a photo gallery, and a folder of notes. The import tools pull those into one library you can search, filter, and share.
Before you start: export to CSV
The importer reads CSV files only. Whatever your data lives in now, save or export it as CSV first:
- Excel: File, then Save As, then choose CSV
- Google Sheets: File, then Download, then Comma Separated Values
- Airtable: the grid view's Download CSV option
Your columns do not need renaming or reordering. Mapping them is the importer's job, and messy column headers are the case it was built for.
Importing a spreadsheet
- Open the Locations page and click Batch Import Locations
- Upload your CSV
- Check the field mapping. The importer guesses which column is the name, the address, the rate, and so on, and shows you what it guessed
- Read the preview. It renders the first 10 rows as finished location cards, which is the fastest way to catch a column mapped to the wrong field
- Run the import
Import 5 or 10 rows as a test before you commit a file of 400. The preview catches most mapping problems, but a test batch catches the ones that only show up in the finished record.
What the importer works out on its own
Column headers get matched to fields even when the wording does not line up: "Site", "Location Name" and "Property" all land in the name field.
Free-text tag columns get split and sorted. A cell reading "Kitchen, Modern, Pool, Fireplace" is four tags belonging to three different categories, and the importer distributes them, attaching a confidence score to each decision. Anything it is unsure about is flagged rather than applied silently, and you can override any of it. Mixed Tags AI Analysis goes into how that works.
Addresses are geocoded on import, which is what puts a location on the map and makes distance sorting work. Rows with a partial address usually still geocode; rows with no address import fine but stay off the map.
Image URLs in a column are fetched and attached as photos. Airtable's attachment URLs are handled, including the long signed ones.
Bringing in photos from SmugMug
Go to Settings, then the Import tab, and connect your SmugMug account. From there you can export your galleries as a spreadsheet that keeps the folder structure, then run that spreadsheet through the importer above.
Expect this to take some attention rather than one click. Gallery names rarely map cleanly onto location names, so budget time for a pass over the exported sheet before importing it. SmugMug Photo Import covers the details.
After the import
Imported locations are real records, not a staging area, so anything missing can be filled in afterwards:
- Add photos the source did not have
- Run AI Image Analysis to tag them, keeping an eye on your image read balance
- Set your production office in Settings, then Location, so distances calculate
- File them into projects
One thing worth knowing before a large import: imported locations count against your plan's location limit like any other. A free account allows 15, so a 300-row library needs a paid plan. Plans, Limits, and Image Reads has the numbers.