Excel Batch Import

On the Excel Batch Import screen, you need to set up batches of files for import, and specify import settings.

Important: If an imported Excel file contains functions, the loader does not evaluate any functions therefore you need to check that the file contents are correct (e.g. for dates and timestamps) and refresh if necessary before importing.

Set up import batches

Each tab on the Excel Batch Import screen corresponds to an import batch. Batches are used to load files from several locations at once, or to load the same set of files with different settings. Each batch will be processed completely before the importer moves on to the next batch. Batch management buttons are described in the table below; the same functions are available in the context menu if you right-click on a batch tab.

Note: The order of tabs is important when importing the same projects with different settings; the import begins with projects selected on the left-most tab and proceeds from left to right, so the correct order of tabs must be set up.

Button	Description
	Creates a new batch.
	Renames the selected batch.
	Deletes the selected batch.
	Moves the selected batch to the left.
	Moves the selected batch to the right.

Select files to import

The File root folder field contains the name of the folder where the files for import are stored. When you select a folder here, the box under this field will display a list of files in the selected folder.

Important: There is a limit on the depth of folders that will be explored, therefore you may not be able to get to all of the data available. The default setting is to explore up to 6 folders depth from the specified File root folder. The maximum folder depth limit can be changed by the IPS Server Administrator; see Dataflow Excel Loader: Folder depth.

In the Entity types field, select the hierarchy levels you want to create in Dataflow. For example, suppose your Excel files contain data for Fields and they are stored in folders forming the following hierarchy: Region > Country > Area. Then to recreate the same structure in Dataflow, you will need to specify four entity types, one for each level of the imported hierarchy: Region > Country > Area > Field.

Note: The selected entity type must be set at one level lower than the file root folder.

Note: The lowest-level entity type will be taken from this field by default, but you can override it by mapping the entity type in the mapping template.

Specify import settings

Note: Settings in the right-hand pane apply to individual batches. Thus, you can select different import options for each set of imported files.

New Documents and Existing Documents: These settings determine how new and existing projects will be treated during import, as described in the table below.

Option	Description
Create document	If a document does not already exist, it will be created.
Prompt to create document	If a document does not already exist, you will be asked if you want to create it.
Ignore document (do not add)	If a document does not already exist, it will not be imported.
Apply currency settings	Check this box if you have set up currency settings (such as currency deck and inflation date) in the mapping template and want to apply them. If you do not set up or apply currency settings, documents will be created without a currency deck or inflation date. For information about currencies in documents, see Assign a currency deck and Change currency.
Update document	Existing documents will be updated with values from the imported Excel file if they exist directly under the destination import node.
Update document at any root	Existing documents will be updated if they exist on any level under the destination import node. Important: If there are documents with the same name, only the first found document will be updated.
Create additional document	A copy of the existing document will be created and populated with values from the imported Excel file.
Log and skip document	Existing documents will be not be updated, and a record will be made in the log file.
Override start date	Check this box to reset the document's start year to the start year specified in the mapping template.
Override currency settings	Check this box to overwrite the document's currency settings (currency deck and inflation date) with the currency settings specified in the mapping template.

Scenario settings: These settings specify the scenarios for imported documents, as described in the table below.

Option	Description
Import into tagged scenario	Imports data into a scenario with a particular tag. Select a tag from the Active Scenario Tags list.
Import into named scenario	Imports data into a scenario with a particular name. Type the name in the Scenario Name field.
Use setting from mapping template	Allows you to retrieve the scenario in the mapping template. This is used to import data into multiple scenarios.
Create if not found	If you are using the Import into tagged scenario option, check this box to create a new scenario and apply the selected tag to it. If you are using the Import into named scenario option, check this box to create a new scenario with the specified name.

Check the Display Document Name Dialog box to verify the name and destination node for each project before it is created or updated.

Imported values will be saved in the destination Dataflow documents as a new revision. In the Revision Comments field, enter comments in the same way that you would provide when saving documents in Dataflow. If you are importing reserves data, check the Tag reserves data changes as box to select a reason for the change.

Save import settings

You can save batch import settings as templates in Dataflow for reuse later. To open a saved settings template, select it from the list in the Batch import settings field at the top of the screen. Next to this field is a drop-down menu with settings management options. You can also export settings to local files, and import settings from files (you can use this feature to move settings between different PlanningSpace tenants, for example).

Option	Description
New Settings	Creates a new settings template.
Save Settings	Saves the settings in a template.
Rename Settings	Renames the selected settings template.
Delete Settings	Deletes the selected settings template. The currently-selected template cannot be deleted, you need to select another template first.
Import Settings	Import a settings template from a local file.
Export Settings	Export a settings template to a local file.