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Importing Contacts

Hamtrax can import contacts from three file formats: ADIF, CSV, and Cabrillo. This lets you bring in logs from other software, contest submissions, or spreadsheet exports in just a few steps.

Getting to the import screen​

  1. Navigate to the Log tab.
  2. Open the Import section.
  3. You will see three drop zones -- one for each supported format. Drag a file onto the matching zone, or click Browse to select a file from your device.

Hamtrax auto-detects the format when you drop a .txt file, so you do not need to worry about picking the wrong zone.

[SCREENSHOT: Import Manager showing the three format drop zones for ADIF, CSV, and Cabrillo]

ADIF import​

ADIF (Amateur Data Interchange Format) is the universal standard for exchanging ham radio logs. Use this for files exported from Log4OM, N1MM+, WSJT-X, or any ADIF-compatible logger.

Accepted file types: .adi, .adif, .txt

Steps​

  1. Drag your ADIF file onto the ADIF Import zone, or click Browse and select it.
  2. Hamtrax parses the file and shows a preview with the number of contacts found.
  3. Choose a destination folder. Select an existing folder or let Hamtrax create a new child folder named after your file.
  4. Review contacts. Use the filter panel to narrow by band, mode, or date range. Toggle Skip Duplicates to exclude contacts that already exist in your log. You can also exclude individual contacts manually.
  5. Click Import to save the included contacts to your log.
tip

Hamtrax preserves all ADIF fields during import -- even non-standard ones. When you export later, those fields come back intact for round-trip fidelity.

CSV import​

CSV import is useful when your data comes from a spreadsheet or a logger that does not export ADIF.

Accepted file types: .csv, .txt

Steps​

  1. Drag your CSV file onto the CSV Import zone, or click Browse.
  2. Hamtrax reads the headers from your file and opens a column mapping dialog. It auto-matches common header names (like callsign, band, mode) to Hamtrax fields.
  3. Adjust the mapping if any columns were not matched automatically. Drag column names to the correct Hamtrax fields. Your mapping is saved for future imports from the same source.
  4. Click Apply Mapping to generate the preview.
  5. Choose a destination folder, review contacts, and click Import.
info

Your CSV must include a header row. Required columns are callsign, date, timeOn, band, and mode. Other columns like frequency, rstSent, rstReceived, gridSquare, and notes are optional.

Cabrillo import​

Cabrillo is the standard format for contest log submissions. Use this to import contacts from ARRL, CQ, and other contest logs.

Accepted file types: .cbr, .log, .txt

Steps​

  1. Drag your Cabrillo file onto the Cabrillo (Contest) zone, or click Browse.
  2. Hamtrax validates the file and extracts contest metadata (contest name, your callsign, operator category, grid square) from the header.
  3. A preview shows all parsed QSO lines. Any lines that could not be parsed are listed as warnings.
  4. Choose a destination folder. Hamtrax suggests a folder name based on the contest name and your callsign (e.g., "CQ WW SSB - K1ABC").
  5. Review, filter, and click Import.
warning

Cabrillo files have a fixed-width column format. If the preview looks incorrect, the file may have been modified after export. Re-export from your contest logger and try again.

Duplicate detection​

All three import formats support duplicate detection. In the preview panel, enable Skip Duplicates to automatically exclude contacts that match an existing log entry by callsign, date, band, and mode.

You can also manually exclude or re-include individual contacts from the preview list before confirming the import.

Offline importing​

You can import contacts even without an internet connection. Contacts are saved to your local database immediately and will sync to the cloud when you reconnect.

info

Large files (1,000+ contacts) may take a moment to parse and import. A progress bar shows the status during the import process.