Top > How to import data > Importing a csv file > Prerequisites for a csv file
The prerequisites for importing data from a csv file are as follows:
• Close the file if it is open in another application
• Ensure the file uses a comma as the delimiter
• Ensure the file has headers. Headers are used when mapping source content to properties. The header is the title for the column of data and is what you use throughout the wizard when selecting source data. If your source file does not have headers, then the first row of the file is used, which means you will not be able to import the first row. Similarly, the headers should correspond to the data so that when you are mapping the data you will know what you are mapping. For example, if you are importing a hardware asset, then one of the headers would be Life Cycle Status. Likewise, the content of that column should have appropriate states for life cycle. They need not be identical to the states required, but they need to be relevant to life cycle so that when you are mapping your data to the hardware asset you will know how to map it to the predefined states.
A preview of the csv file’s first five records is available during the import, so you can ensure that it has been set up properly.