Preparing the text file

You first need to prepare the text file so that it's in the right format. The simplest way is to use a CSV (comma separated values) file exported from Excel, making sure that the order of the fields in the text file is exactly the same as the order of the fields in your MySQL table.

Hint: If you use any dates in the Excel file, set the field to use the custom "yyyy-mm-dd" Excel data format before you export. This will make sure that the field matches MySQL's date format and imports correctly.

Connecting to phpMyAdmin

Importing the data

After logging in, navigate to the phpMyAdmin import screen by doing this:

• Look in the left-hand column and click on the name of the table into which you want to import the data.

• Click the Import tab that appears at the top of the page.

• Change the "Format of imported file" to CSV. (Do not choose "CSV using LOAD DATA"; it will not work.)

You'll then see a screen that allows you to choose the import options:

• Next to "Location of the text file", choose the file from your hard disk that you want to import.

• Change the Fields terminated by option to be a comma instead of the default semicolon.

• Leave the other options unchanged unless you know what you're doing.

• Press Go.

You should see something like Inserted rows: 1209 (Query took 0.00 sec) at the top of the screen. Click the Browse tab to review the imported data.

Are there other ways to import data?

Yes, definitely. The method suggested above is only one way of doing it.

Another option for advanced users is to write a script in Perl or PHP that reads your text file, splits up each line into fields, and then performs the appropriate INSERT commands. Each script will be different, but an experienced programmer should be able to write such a script in a dozen lines of code or so, and it gives you the greatest flexibility.