In WhatSender, you have 4 ways to import contacts:
- Copying and pasting contacts from an Excel file.
- Uploading a CSV file. This is the only option where you can import custom fields; with the other options, you must fill them in manually.
- Importing from WhatsApp groups.
- Importing from WhatsApp Business labels.
Option 1: Copy and paste contacts from Excel.
Copy from a list and paste into the number field from Excel or your preferred spreadsheet program: This is the most practical option.
Option 2: Upload CSV file.
In the second case (uploading a CSV file), the file must meet the following requirements:
- The file must be in CSV format, with values separated by semicolons (;).
- Only the first 5 columns will be used.
- The first column must only contain phone numbers (no spaces, dashes, or non-numeric characters).
- The other 5 columns are for custom fields: @value1, @value2, @value3, @value4, and @value5. (These are optional.) Review this tutorial on custom fields to learn how to use them.
We are attaching an example file for import, but we recommend using the «copy and paste» option for practicality:
Note: During the import, only the optional fields @value1 and @value2 will be visible, but the other 3 will also be considered at the time of sending.
Once you have your file configured in CSV format (NOT Excel’s .xlsx), you need to use the «Add Contacts» button.
Once you select this option, the Contact Management panel shown below will appear, and you must select «Import from CSV File.
You need to select the CSV file from your laptop. A new window will open for you to choose the file.
Once you select the file from your computer, you will see the option to name that list of imported contacts.
This new list of contacts will appear in the main menu where you selected to import contacts. These lists will be available whenever you need them.
Once you select the list of contacts you want to use, it will be marked in green. When you click on the continue button, the information of the contacts will appear in the Home tab of the extension. The following example shows that the CSV file had two custom fields (@value1 and @value2). You can learn more about them at this link.
Option 3: Import contacts from WhatsApp groups.
Remember that to import contacts from WhatsApp, you must have the WhatsApp tab active.
It’s also important to mention that WhatsApp often saves the number without the prefix. So, if they are from different countries, you will need to enter it manually. For that, you can download the database, modify it as a CSV file, and re-import it by following the steps from Option 2.
Option 4: Import contacts from WhatsApp Business labels.
If you have labels to manage your contacts in WhatsApp Business, you can import them into Whatsender. Its operation is very similar to Option 3. You just need to click on the «Export by Label» button.
There you will see the labels you have in your WhatsApp, and you will be able to import the numbers. (In this way, you will need to manage the labels manually; only numbers are imported, not names.)