How to Create a New Table or App by Importing a Spreadsheet

You can use a spreadsheet to create either a brand-new application or a new table inside an existing application. Both paths use the same import wizard. Before you begin, review How to Prepare a Spreadsheet for Importing to make sure your file is set up for success.

Before you start: Only administrators can import data into TrackVia.

Option A: Create a new app from a spreadsheet

Step 1: From the App drop-down menu, click + New.

Step 2: Select Start using an Excel spreadsheet.

Step 3: Give your new application a name.

Step 4: Upload your Excel/CSV file, or copy and paste the data directly into the box provided.

Once the spreadsheet is uploaded and validated, your app is created with a table, a form, and a grid view. You'll also receive an email from TrackVia (no-reply@trackvia.com) with your import table results.

Option B: Create a new table in an existing app

From the Tables drop down, select Create from Import.

The import wizard opens with five tabs: Import, Confirm, Map, Configure, and Results. The sections below walk through each tab.

Import

Upload your Excel/CSV file, or copy and paste the data.

Confirm

First, confirm your header row — tell us which row in your file has your field titles — by viewing or selecting the value next to the header row number.

Next, tell us how we should handle errors:

Reject the whole row — choose this if you want to correct the errors in your file and re-import the whole row.
Set the problem field to blank, but import the rest of the row — choose this if a blank value is okay, or if you'd rather correct the error directly in TrackVia afterward.

Map

Click Next to map your data. TrackVia does its best to detect the correct data type for each column when the file is uploaded, but you can edit field names and data types here. When choosing a data type, keep in mind that it determines how the field behaves going forward — see the Field Types article for what each type does. If a column contains data that isn't valid for the type you choose, a message will show how many records are not valid.

You can also link the imported data to an existing table here, making your new table a child of that table. To do this, your import file must contain columns for every component of the parent table's Record ID, with values that exactly match existing parent records. See How to Prepare a Spreadsheet for Importing for details on the required columns.

Configure

Click Next to configure the table:

Enter a name for the table.
Enter what you'd like to call an item in the table. We recommend entering both the singular and plural forms of the word, but we'll do our best to determine the plural for you.

Click Import to complete the process and create the new table with your data.

Note: If the import takes an unusually long time, a message will let you know you'll receive an email when it completes. At that point you can safely close the window and work on other tasks while the import finishes.

Results

The Results tab is a detailed report showing how many records were imported and how many contained errors. From this tab — and from the results email you'll receive — you can download a detailed report of any errors. See Troubleshooting Imports for help resolving specific errors.