Bulk import Terms

info

Bulk import is available to users with Edit permissions to the target Glossary.

Instead of adding Terms one by one, you can create and update many of them at once from a spreadsheet. A single import can:

• create new Terms, together with their hierarchy
• update the title, Entry Type, description, parent and custom fields of existing Terms

Each import works within one Glossary. If any row of the file has an error, nothing is saved.

useful tip

To add or update assets of a data source or reporting, see Bulk add and update assets.

Starting the import

There are two ways to star the bulk import of terms.

You can open the target Glossary, click the three dots button next to its name, and select Bulk import terms. This opens a wizard that takes you through three steps: uploading the file, mapping its columns, and previewing the result.

Alternatively, click the + icon in the glossary navigation sidebar, hover over the glossary you want to edit and select Bulk import terms

Step 1: Prepare and upload the file

You can prepare the file in two ways:

• From the template: click Copy template in the upload window. This copies the column headers to your clipboard. Paste them into an empty spreadsheet and fill in one Term per row.
• From an Excel export: export the Glossary to Excel, edit the Glossary Terms sheet, and upload the whole workbook back. Use this to update existing Terms.

Drop the file into the upload window or click Choose file, then click Next step.

The file has to meet the following requirements:

Requirement	Value
Supported formats	.xlsx, .xlsm, .csv, .tsv, .txt
Maximum size	10 MB
Maximum number of rows	5,000
Maximum hierarchy depth	20 levels
Encoding of text files	UTF-8
Header	The first row must name the columns, and column names must be unique

useful tip

Excel 97-2003 files (.xls) are not supported. Save the file as .xlsx first. If you save a CSV from Excel, choose CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited) to keep special characters.

Template columns

Column	Required	Description
Entry title	Yes	The name of the Term, up to 80 characters
Entry type	Yes	One of the Entry Types defined in your repository, for example Term or Category
Parent entry title	No	The title of the parent Term
Parent entry type	No	The Entry Type of the parent Term
Description	No	Plain text. Each line becomes a separate paragraph.
Custom fields	No	One column per custom field that is visible for Terms

Step 2: Check field mapping

Dataedo automatically matches the columns of your file to Dataedo fields. Check the suggested mapping and change it if needed. Entry title and Entry type must be mapped. Fields set to Not mapped stay unchanged.

Step 3: Preview and save

The summary at the top of the preview shows what the import will do: how many Terms will be created, updated and moved, and how many existing values will be cleared. Rows that need your attention are listed first. Hover over a highlighted cell or row to see the details.

Data preview

• If the file has errors, fix them in your spreadsheet and click Upload the file again. Your mapping is kept.
• If the file has no errors, click Save. Keep the page open until the save finishes.

When the import is finished, you will see how many Terms were created and updated.

caution

Clicking Cancel or leaving the page during the save stops the import, and nothing from the file is kept.

Updating existing Terms

Whether a row creates a new Term or updates an existing one depends on the file you upload:

• Template file: a row updates the existing Term with the same title and Entry Type. If there is no such Term, the row creates a new one.
• Excel export: rows are matched by the Term ID column, so you can also change the titles of existing Terms. You cannot add new Terms this way — use the template instead.

Empty cells

An empty cell in a mapped column clears the existing value. To leave a field unchanged, set its column to Not mapped in Step 2.

Building the hierarchy

To place a Term under a parent, fill in both Parent entry title and Parent entry type. The parent can be an existing Term or a Term from another row of the same file, so you can import a whole hierarchy at once.

If a row names a different parent for an existing Term, the import moves that Term, together with its children. The preview warns you about every such move.

Custom field values

Custom field type	Accepted values
Checkbox	TRUE/FALSE, T/F, YES/NO, Y/N, 1/0
Date	A date cell in Excel, or text in the YYYY-MM-DD format
Closed list	One of the field's values, in any letter case
Open list	One value, saved as typed
Multi-value closed list, tags	Values separated by commas
User	Logins of active users, separated by commas

After the import

New Terms get the initial workflow status (Idea if you use the default workflow). Publish them to make them visible to Viewers.

Users who follow the Glossary or the imported Terms get a single notification about the import, instead of one per Term.

Common errors

Error	How to fix it
Unknown Entry type	Use the name of an Entry Type that exists in your repository.
Incomplete parent	Fill in both parent columns, or leave both empty.
Parent that does not exist	Make sure the parent exists in the Glossary or in the file, with the same title and Entry Type.
Ambiguous parent or entry	More than one Term has this title and Entry Type. Rename one of them in the Glossary.
Same entry described twice	Remove the duplicated row from the file.
Parent hierarchy loops	A Term cannot be placed under itself or under one of its children.
Unknown user	Use the login of an active user.
Excel error in a cell	A formula in the cell returned an error, for example #N/A. Fix the formula, or clear the cell.