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CensusIO CensusIO Guide

Import data from a file

If your data is already in a spreadsheet or a shapefile, you can import it instead of typing it. The importer reads your file, lets you match its columns to the survey type’s fields, validates every row with the same engine the form uses, and saves the rows that pass.

The four steps

Section titled “The four steps”

From a survey type, open Import. The wizard has four steps.

The import wizard, on the map columns step A four-step wizard, Upload, Map columns, Preview, Done, with Map columns active. The mapping step matches each survey field (Species, Length, Survey date) to a column from the uploaded file using a dropdown, with a presets bar above. Numbered markers point at the steps, the field-to-column mapping, and the Validate button. 1 Upload 2 Map columns 3 Preview 4 Done FIELD-MAPPING PRESETS Save preset Species → SpeciesName ▾ Length (mm) → Length_mm ▾ Survey date → Date ▾ Validate Back 1 2 3
Match each survey field to a column from your file. Save the mapping as a preset to reuse it on the next file of the same shape.

  1. Upload. Choose a CSV, Excel, or dBASE (.dbf) file. For CSV and Excel, the first row must be the column headers. If an Excel workbook has more than one sheet, you pick which sheet to import.

  2. Map columns. Match each survey field to a column from your file. CensusIO auto-matches columns whose names line up with your fields; adjust any that are wrong, and set a field to (skip) to leave it out. You can save the mapping as a preset and reload it the next time you import a file of the same shape.

  3. Preview. CensusIO validates every row and shows how many are valid and how many have errors, with the specific problem on each bad row. Fix the mapping or the file and validate again if you need to. When it looks right, choose Import N valid rows to save them.

  4. Done. CensusIO confirms how many records it imported. Choose View records to see them, or Import another file to run it again.

Next

Section titled “Next”