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Using Excel workbooks to import/export content items

In this section, we will guide you through the process of using Excel workbooks to import/export content item data. Using an Excel workbook allows you to easily import data for content items from other systems or simply edit many items at a time.

tip

To learn more about content types, see here.

Download Excel template for a content type​

In iCL Portal, navigate to Settings > Content Type. Select the desired content type and click on the Excel icon above to download the template file.

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You can also select multiple content types and get one Excel workbook that allows you to import data for all of them. This is especially useful if your content items are related to each other and you need to import them at once.

Select one type by just clicking on it.
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The Content type's Excel template​

An Excel template for one or more content types has the following structure.

  • For each content type, an Excel sheet with the content type's name exists.
  • Those sheets contain a table which has a column for each of the content type's fields. The cells that belong to that column will already have the correct format applied. (e.g. Date, etc)
  • The first two columns are always the same for all content types: Id and ExternalId.

To import data for a content item, enter the data to a row of that table.

Required columns Id and ExternalId.

The Id column represents an internal identity (GUID) usually provided by iCL Portal.

The ExternalId is a 200 character string that has to uniquely identify a content item across all content types.

Usually, when importing new content items, you will only provide a value for the ExternalId. This helps you to later find your content item in iCL Portal and ensures that you do not accidentally import duplicate data.

The Id column is meant for scenarios where you want to export content items from one system, and importing them to another system while keeping the same internal identities.

When importing content items, you have to provide a value for at lease one of those columns!

Use the template to create or update content items​

Import new content items​

If you want to create a new content item, you can leave the Id column empty, since this is meant for data migration scenarios. For the ExternalId provide a unique value

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Navigate to the data table of any content type and drop the excel file into the view. Based on the sheet names, iCL Portal will identify the correct content type and import the data.

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Update existing content items​

To update content items using an Excel template, ensure that each item has an existing Id and/or ExternalId. Do not overwrite the values in these cells. Modifying the values in the Excel cells will update the corresponding content item accordingly.

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What if the upload fails​

When you upload a template, iCL Portal will validate the data first. For example, some fields are mandatory, requiring specific information to be filled in or must have a certain format. If any of these requirements are not met, the upload will fail, and you will be able to download the failed import file which will contain remarks for any validation error.

Exporting content items​

To export data of content types, navigate to that type`s data table in iCL Portal and click the "download" button. You can then use the exported Excel file to import it to another system or update many content items at once. Note, that any filters or sorting you applied to the data table will be respected when exporting the data.

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Only users with the role Excel Exporter can export

To be able to export content items in Excel, the user has to be assigned to the role Excel Exporter.