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Bring a spreadsheet in with the Import Studio

Read a file, say what each column means, see what would happen row by row, and only then save it.

Checked against the screens:

Every organisation can choose its own words for the people and roles it works with. When you are signed in, this guide uses your organisation’s words. Otherwise it uses the product’s own.

For managers and admins. Nothing is saved until you have seen exactly what it would do. You can undo a whole import for two weeks afterwards.

Steps

  1. Open the bring data in page. Under What is in this file?, choose the kind. Then choose the file under Choose the file.
  2. Nothing to hand? Use Download a blank template first, fill it in, then choose it.
  3. Press Read the file. The page shows each column heading and what the first row says.
  4. For each column, choose the field it belongs to, or Keep as a note, or Ignore on purpose. No column may be left undecided.
  5. Press That's right — carry on. For new records, choose the place they go, then press Check the file.
  6. Read What would happen. Rows to look at are not saved. Use Change the columns to go back.
  7. Press the save button. Read the result. If it is wrong, press Undo this import.

If it goes wrong

  • A red message at the top says why a step stopped and whether anything was written. Read it before pressing again.
  • If a step could not be reached, your mapping is still on the screen. Press the same button again.
  • If you are unsure, stop at the check. Nothing is written until you save.

How it links together

Imported records are the same as ones added by hand. They appear on the allocations list and, once a team is added, in planners. Problems go to the review and undo guides.

From file to recordsA file is read, mapped, checked and saved.
  1. Choose file
  2. Map columns
  3. CheckNothing saved yet
  4. Save

Choosing the kind of file

There are five kinds of file. The first creates records for young people and gives them reference codes, so start there. Three more add contacts, goals on a plan and consents to young people who are already here. Another kind is one filled-in referral form, as a Word document or a PDF.

Each kind offers only the fields that kind writes to, so a column cannot be put somewhere it would be silently dropped.

Saying what each column means

Headings that match a field arrive already chosen, and a chip says how. Every other column needs a decision. A column nobody decides about is how data goes missing. If the list is long, use the button that shows only the columns still needing a decision.

A column kept as a note stays with the import and is not written onto the record. To put it on the record, add a field for it under Settings, Record fields, and map the column to that.

On a file of new young people, a tick box on each mapped column lets you replace what is already there. Leave it off unless you mean it. Contacts, goals and consents are only ever added.

Remembering a mapping

Give the layout a name in Remember this mapping (optional). Next time a file with the same headings arrives, it is already mapped, and the page says so.

Choosing where new records go

For new young people you choose one area. Nothing is chosen for you, because the first one in a list is where everyone ends up if you click through in a hurry. Anyone the file matches keeps the area they already have.

Reading the check

  • To create: new records. To fill in: existing records that gain information.
  • To look at: rows the check could not decide. They are not saved. Correct them in the file. Bring the whole file in again only for new young people; otherwise bring in just those rows.
  • Left alone: rows that need nothing.
  • Columns kept as a note: stay with the import only.

Anyone this creates has no mentor yet, so they will not show on a caseload until you add one. The result page says so.

Questions people ask

Who can use the Import Studio?

Managers and admins, because it writes to records for the whole service. Others are shown the one-at-a-time route instead.

Can I import without a spreadsheet?

Yes. Add young people one at a time from the new record page. It takes their contacts and consents in the same form.

What if I choose the wrong column meaning?

Go back from the check with Change the columns. Nothing has been saved at that point.

Why is a row in 'to look at'?

The check could not decide what it was, for example whose contact it is. Fix it in the file and bring that row in again.

Can I bring the same file in twice?

A file of young people is recognised row by row, so saved rows are not made twice. Contacts, goals, consents and referrals are only added, so bring in just the rows that were not saved.

How big can the file be?

Up to four megabytes and two thousand rows at a time. Split a bigger file and bring the parts in one after another.