Importing data from a spreadsheet (.csv file)
Aam Digital provides a visual user interface to help you import data from other formats through the common "CSV" file
format. Any spreadsheet (MS EXCEL, Google Sheets, etc.) can be saved in as a .csv file and then imported to Aam Digital.
The app then guides your through the process of mapping data into the correct fields.
In this guide, we will demonstrate how to upload a file containing multiple beneficiaries. For advanced import options
also see the sections below about linking imported records to some other entry or updating existing data through an
import.
You can also watch the following video guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYyArbZCp6Y
Importing data from spreadsheet
1. Click on "Import" from the main menu.
You can also find the "Import from file" functionality in the three-dot-menu at the top right of any list in Aam
Digital
2. Upload a CSV file. You can save any spreadsheet (MS Excel, Google Sheets, etc.) as a CSV file and import it to Aam
Digital. (In this example, we are uploading a file with data of multiple children of a school)
Then click on "Continue" (at the top right of the import screen).
3. Based on the uploaded file, you can choose the entity type to import.
This tells the system where to create new records from your file (e.g., selecting “Child” means the data from your
spreadsheet will be added to the “Children” list of Aam Digital.) You can import data for any of your types.
4. The "Map Columns" step shows a list of all the columns from your imported file. Here you select into which field in
Aam Digital each column from you file should get imported.
In case you don’t select any field here for an entry, the system will ignore that column and the data for these
fields will be blank in the record.
1. For certain types of Aam Digital fields, like dropdowns or dates, a button "Configure value mapping" appears
after you select that field for a column.
With this, you can configure for each unique value in the imported records how it should match to the
corresponding data format in Aam Digital’s structure (e.g. so that a date's day and month are correctly
detected).
5. Finally, continue to the last step "Review Data"
You can preview the data with the mapping done in the previous step here. The table shown here is exactly how the
records will be added to your system when you run the import. You can also navigate back to the previous steps to
make changes.
6. Once it is mapped according to your configuration. You can "Start Import".
7. After importing, you can view the newly created records in the normal list of your system.
Undoing an import
Aam Digital provides an option to undo the upload of any files you have imported.
On the first step of the Import page you see all your previous imports listed on the right side. By clicking the "Undo
Import" button, you can remove the records that were created through that import from the Aam Digital system, along with
any associated records and links created during the import process.
This functionality is especially useful when you realize you have uploaded duplicate data or incorrect files. Instead of
deleting each record and its multiple links one by one, the undo import feature allows you to delete all relevant
records at once.
Linking imported records with individual "parent" entities
When you import a spreadsheet of survey responses or exam results, these often include the name of a person they relate
to. In this sense your imported data rows include a column with a "reference" to an existing record (e.g. that person's
profile) in Aam Digital. You can use the import's data mapping to link each item to its correct person.
Please refer to the video guide here, showing how to configure such links during the import:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYyArbZCp6Y
To import a link to an existing record in any field of your imported records, take the following steps in while going
through an import as described above:
1. Let's assume you want to import some notes and link them to children that are already in the database. You upload a
csv spreadsheet with the following columns:
note_title | note_text | child_name | child_phone
2. In the "Map Columns" step you can select one one or more of your columns to be mapped to a field with datatype "link
to another record", which will create a link during import.
In our example, map child_name and child_phone columns to the "Children" field of the Note record. (We want to make
sure we can distinguish kids with the same name by mapping a second field, the phone number.)
3. The "Configure Value Mapping" button appears next to each of these columns. Here you define how the values in your
imported columns are compared to existing records in the database.
In our example, open it for both "configure value mapping" dialogs and respectively select "Name" (for the
child_name column, so that the values are matched with the "Name" field of existing Child records in the system) and
"Phone" (for the child_phone column) for the two mapped fields.
4. When you proceed to the preview step you see that as children of the notes there are actual links to existing
records. Only if all mapped fields (in our example here both the "name" and "phone number" of the child) from the
imported file match exactly with the values in an existing record, then the link is imported.
If there are multiple records matching the value(s), the system links the first one it finds.
Linking imported records to one fixed related entity
Other than the scenario described above, you sometimes may need to link all the imported records to the same selected
entity. For example, you may import a list of participants and want to create a participant record for each row of your
import and then additionally select one "Activity" in your system to which all of the new records shall be linked also.
The following steps show how you can do this:
When files are imported into the Aam Digital system, the system also provides additional functionalities to the
user. You can link these imported records to various pre-defined activities in the system or another entity. This
linking process is optional; you can import files without associating activities with the records.
This feature helps reduce your workload by simplifying the process of associating an event or activity with multiple
beneficiaries.
For example, if you are importing the data of multiple “Children” to the system, you can use this advanced functionality
to link these children to an entity like a school and also link the children to a recurring activity like attendance
tracking in the system.
1. While configuring an import as shown above, in the step "Select Import Type(s)", click on "Advanced Import Actions"
to link a record with one or more entities.
2. You can link the imported records to any other entity in your Aam Digital system, if your data structures have some
fields linking the two record types.
For example, you could link Child records to a School or Activity.
3. After selecting what kind of link you need, select the particular existing record in the system.
e.g. choose the specific activity or school in from the system.
4. Continue and complete the normal import process (see above). After creating new records from your imported file, the
system will also automatically create links based on what you configured here.
Update existing data through an import
If you already have records in your Aam Digital system you can also update details of this existing data with an
imported file. For example, you could update the phone numbers of your existing beneficiaries by importing a file with
their names or IDs and the new phone numbers, if someone from your team has collected these separately. Instead of
manually updating each record one by one, you can import a file that updates the existing records.
Usually Aam Digital's import feature creates a new record for each row in your imported file. But you can configure it
to compare the imported data with the existing records in the system instead. For this, you select some fields/columns
as identifiers. During import the field value of the selected identifiers in the imported data has to match the value in
the existing record, then the record will be updated instead of created as a new entry.
Please note: The columns you select to match existing records need to be correctly mapped and configured in the "Column
Mapping" step of the import process.
As an example, we will here update a children records from an imported file, using the name and date of birth to match
existing records:
1. After selecting a file, in the "Select Import Types" step of the import, expand the optional section "Check/Update
existing instead of creating new records"
2. Select one or more fields that define which existing record matches a row in your imported data. In this example, we
use "name" and "date of birth". This means if a row in the imported spreadsheet has the exact same name as a record
already in the database AND the date of birth is also matching between that imported row and the existing record,
then the system will update the existing entry.
3. Proceed through the other import steps as usual. Make sure you correctly "Map Columns". The matching will only
succeed if the fields used to identify the existing records are also correctly mapped
4. Once your data is mapped, the system identifies records that will be updated. These are specially highlighted in the
"Review & Edit Data" step.
Importing multiple values from a single column (for a multi-select dropdown field)
In some situations, you may need to capture multiple values for a single field in your form. For instance, if you want
to record the different languages a participant speaks, you can now easily import multiple values for that single field.
Prerequisite:
- The record type for which you are importing data must have a dropdown field with the "
allow multiple values (multi-select)" option enabled (see Adding/Editing a field if necessary)
Example data:
Name, languages spoken
John, "English, German"
Doe, "English, French, German"
(Here, the second column "languages spoken" contains a comma-separated list of multiple languages)
Steps to import:
(1) In step 2 of the import process - "Select Import Type": Under Additional Settings > "Multi-value Separator" you can
specify the character used to separate multiple values in your file.
If the suggested separators (comma (,) and semicolon (;)) are not what you need, you can also type into the field and
add a different separator.
(2) In step 3 "Map columns": Select the relevant multi-select dropdown field for your column with multiple values. Then
click on the "Configure value mappings" button next to it.
Each unique value from your imported file will be mapped to a corresponding value in the system. The individual values
are split and mapped separately.This ensures that every value is accurately linked to the appropriate field in the
system, regardless of the combinations used.
(3) In step 4, the preview, you will see that multiple values are imported for a single record:
