From NWS Desktop

This importer allows you to bring speaker information exported from NWS Desktop into Meeting Schedule Assistant. It is available from the Import menu.

Use this importer when you have an NWS Desktop CSV export containing speaker details and want to add new speakers to your congregation records in Meeting Schedule Assistant. If a congregation does not already exist, a placeholder congregation will be created. Existing speakers are skipped.

What This Importer Does

The NWS Desktop Speaker importer reads a CSV file exported from NWS Desktop and imports:

• Speaker names
• Their privilege
• The list of public talks they can give
• Optional memo fields (if mapped)

If a speaker already exists, they are skipped.
If the congregation named in the CSV does not exist, a placeholder congregation is created.

It does not modify existing speakers, congregations, assignment history, or meeting schedules.

Required Format

The CSV file must contain the following fields:

• Congregation
• FirstName
• LastName
• Privilege
• PublicTalksCanGive

These must match exactly as written in the CSV header.

Opening the Importer

From the Import Menu

Import → Speakers → From NWS Desktop

Figure 1: Selecting the NWS Desktop speaker importer from the Import menu.

Recommended order of use
For best results, import your congregations first using the NWS Desktop Congregation importer, and then import your speakers.

This ensures that speakers are added to the correct congregations and avoids creating unnecessary placeholder congregations.

Import Steps

1. Select the NWS Desktop CSV file

Choose the CSV file exported from NWS Desktop.

The importer immediately reads the header row and validates the required columns.

2. Map optional memo fields (Speaker)

If your CSV contains additional columns, you may map them to memo fields. 

Figure 2: Optional memo field mapping for speakers. Map any additional CSV columns to speaker memo fields.

Use these to map CSV columns to the appropriate memo fields.

Mapping is optional — if you do not select anything, memo fields remain empty.

3. Complete the import

A summary is displayed showing how many congregations were added or skipped.

Field Mappings

Field	How it’s used in Meeting Schedule Assistant
Congregation	The congregation the speaker belongs to. A placeholder is created if it does not exist.
FirstName	The speaker’s first name.
LastName	The speaker’s last name.
Privilege	The speaker’s role (Elder, Ministerial Servant, Publisher).
PublicTalksCanGive	A comma‑separated list of talk numbers the speaker can give.
Mapped memo fields	Any additional fields you map manually. Stored in the speaker’s memo record.

Troubleshooting

Memo fields did not import

This can happen if:

• The CSV column was not mapped
• The column contains no data

Invalid or unknown talk numbers

If a speaker’s PublicTalksCanGive list contains a talk number that does not exist in the Public Talks database, that number is ignored.
Ensure all talk numbers in the CSV match the talk numbers defined in Meeting Schedule Assistant.

Summary

The NWS Desktop Speaker importer provides a simple way to bring speaker information into Meeting Schedule Assistant. It supports:

• Importing speaker names
• Their privilege (Elder, Ministerial Servant, Publisher)
• The list of public talks they can give
• Optional memo field mapping for speaker notes

Speakers are added only. Existing speakers are skipped.
If a congregation does not already exist, a placeholder congregation is created automatically.

After processing the file, a summary report shows how many speakers were added or skipped.

Back to Speaker Importers

Related Importers

• From Deckhand
• From Hourglass