> ## Knowledge Base Index
> Fetch the complete knowledge base index at: https://help.metalocator.com/sitemap.xml
> Use this file to discover available pages before exploring further.
> Pure-Markdown content can be obtained by appending a '.md' suffix to the content URLs listed in the sitemap (without the trailing slash).

# Importing first and last name fields

MetaLocator has had only one long-standing "required" field for each record, and that is the "Name" field. Technically speaking, you can still import records without it, but if you attempt to manually edit a record, the system will require a value for the name field.

For users importing the name as two separate columns, this can be a bit frustrating. This article describes the best practices for importing the name column as two fields.

**Automatically set the Name field to `First` `Last`:** Using an [Import Mapping](https://support.metalocator.com/en/articles/4632960-advanced-import-mapping-transformations#h_b289a59c45), the name field can be automatically set to the concatenated First and Last name values with a space in between. A new Transformation Mapping should be created with the following template:  
​

```
{% if template_item.data.firstname}{{template_item.data.firstname}} {{template_item.data.lastname}}{% endif %}
```

This presumes your field names are "firstname" and "lastname".  
​

[![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/-/9/5/c/2/95c2ab0b1e71a800/c7ea2b41-c20b-4d14-ba17-5ccabf_qb4e67.png)](https://downloads.intercomcdn.com/i/o/661124621/97a029946e3febce602e4c10/image.png?expires=1794513600&signature=af787201caf70910eee008d623da3ec527b87d7c2ec3643f8e6cdbd1d6e44c8c&req=ciYmF8t6m4NeFb4f3HP0gMHmOWdaVaTiIchVyI3G1oJd3%2FGi6WK49FFLJDki%0ABqk%3D%0A)

​

**Update the data in Excel**: If the import spreadsheet contains a column for firstname and lastname, a new column called name could be added containing a formula as shown below:  
​

[![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/-/c/f/d/4/cfd46d3adea2a000/610f4f4c-fbea-4876-9087-645ba9_h1hqk8.png)](https://downloads.intercomcdn.com/i/o/661112480/321487d4106fac3683ccf985/image.png?expires=1794513600&signature=433bfdf9fe3a5c7cd895aa4b76f890d371d8f0031d3093bad20cecd6327c8df7&req=ciYmF8h8mYlfFb4f3HP0gJ0MEGs%2BiRx4CfhfHT4eXeYag9CUWggeW69OVw6n%0AvhI%3D%0A)