From the author table menu, we select Import and then CSV.

We can influence the behavior of the import in a number of ways. By default, importing does not modify existing data (based on primary or unique keys). However, the Replace table data with file option instructs phpMyAdmin to use REPLACE statements instead of INSERT statements, so that existing rows are replaced with the imported data.

Using Do not abort on INSERT error, INSERT IGNORE statements are generated. These cause MySQL to ignore any duplicate key problems during insertion. A duplicate key from the import file does not replace existing data, and the procedure continues for the next line of CSV data.

We can then specify the character that terminates each column, the character that encloses data, and the character that escapes the enclosing character. Usually this is \.

For Lines terminated with option, the auto choice should be tried first as it detects the end-of-line character automatically. We can also specify manually which characters terminate the lines. The usual choice is \n for UNIX-based systems, \r\n for DOS or Windows systems, and \r for Mac-based systems (up to Mac OS 9). If in doubt, we can use a hexadecimal file editor on our client computer (not part of phpMyAdmin) to examine the exact codes.

By default, phpMyAdmin expects a CSV file with the same number of columns and the same column order as the target table. This can be changed by entering a comma-separated list of column names in Column names, respecting the source file format. For example, let us say our source file contains only the author ID and the author name information:

"1","John Smith"
"2","Maria Sunshine"

We would have to put id, name in Column names to match the source file.

When we click on Go, the import is executed and we get a confirmation. We might also see the actual INSERT queries generated if the total size of the file is not too big.

Import has been successfully finished, 2 queries executed.
INSERT INTO `author` VALUES ('1', 'John Smith', '+01 445 789-1234'
)# 1 row(s) affected.
INSERT INTO `author` VALUES ('2', 'Maria Sunshine', '333-3333'
)# 1 row(s) affected.

Relying on the MySQL server has some consequences. Using LOAD DATA INFILE requires that the logged-in user possess a global FILE privilege. Also, the file itself must be readable by the MySQL server's process.

Usage of the LOCAL modifier in LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE must be allowed by the MySQL server and MySQL's client library used by PHP.

Both the LOAD methods are available from the phpMyAdmin LOAD interface, which tries to choose the best possible default option.

We select Import from the author table menu. Choosing CSV using LOAD DATA option brings up the following dialog:

In the File to import section, we choose our author.csv file.

Finally, we can choose the LOAD method, as discussed earlier, by selecting the Use LOCAL keyword option. We then click on Go.

If all goes well, we can see the confirmation screen as shown in the following screenshot:

This screen shows the exact LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE statement used. Here is what has happened: