Bulk Import allows System Administrators to combine up to 11 individual CSV files, and import them via one ZIP folder. This creates a more efficient workflow by compressing the time spent routinely importing individual CSV files for each data entity.
Other benefits include:
- Data Transactions Log: An intuitive and user-friendly interface for monitoring the status of data imports into System Administration, as well as individual statuses tracking the data as it flows into the Watermark Product(s).
- Downloadable Error Reports: When a ZIP Import fails, a detailed error report will be available. This report highlights both the row location of the errors, but also troubleshooting instructions to assist in resolving issues with the respective data object that caused the issue.
For more information on the Transactions Log, please click Viewing Transaction Statuses.
Templates:
To begin the Bulk Import process, clients will want to download the zip folder linked at the bottom of this page (All_CSVs_SysAdmin.zip).
This zip folder will contain templates for the following data objects:
- Organizations
- Programs
- Terms
- Courses
- Course Sections
- People
- Enrollments
- Cohort Enrollments
- Person Basic Attributes
- Student Term Attributes
- Program Curriculum
Preparing the ZIP folder for Bulk Import
- Select the files you are importing and right-click. Depending on the software on your computer, there should be an option to Compress or Zip the files. The files should be built according to the existing CSV guidelines
- This will create a ZIP folder that contains the selected files.
Processing a Bulk Import
(Need a template? Download the ZIP folder at the bottom of this page)
- In System Administration, select "Data Transactions"
- On this page, select “Import ZIP File”
- On the pop-up that appears, select "Browse to Select File"
- Select the previously created ZIP folder, which will then appear in the import pop-up
- Select "Import" in the bottom-right
- A new dialog box will open to confirm that the process has started.
Please note - Due to the quantity of data being imported, there may be few minutes before processing has completed.It is safe to navigate away while the import processes. The status can be referenced on the Data Transactions page, as shown below:
An example of the Bulk Import History for a recent ZIP Import. One can view the Import Status as ‘Completed’, and also click on View Transaction.
View Transaction, showing the Import Status of the ZIP as it makes its way into System Administration. Also shown is the Integration Status, which is the status of data sent to the various Watermark products.
For more information on referencing import status, please click Viewing Transaction Statuses.
Troubleshooting Errors
If there are errors present in any of the csv files included in the ZIP folder, they will cause the import to fail, as can be seen below:
A flawed Organization file has caused the entire import to Fail
The sequence of data objects is imported in a set order (e.g. First Organizations, then Programs, Terms, etc.), due to data associations that are required between data objects. In the example shown in the screenshot above, the Organizations file failing has caused the import of subsequent files to be canceled.
Selecting "Download Error Report" will provide a CSV file of the errors found in the Organizations file, a snippet of which is shown below:
The error report will call out the column and line (a.k.a. row), where the error is occurring in the original file. Also, the message denotes the specific error and how to troubleshoot.
Once these errors are corrected, the import should be able to process successfully at the next attempt:
Details include the number of records added, updated and deleted. In addition to the Import Status, details on Product Integrations are provided. Please note, that if the Import Status is 'In Progress' the system is still processing the data.