Introduction to Data Import from CSV Files

Data Import is how a spreadsheet you already have becomes records in BackOps without retyping it. It takes a CSV file, lets you say which column means what, and shows you exactly what will happen to every row before a single record is written.

Why Data Import Matters

Most teams arrive with their work already in spreadsheets: a season of shows exported from another system, a vendor's quote as a CSV, a list of venues someone has kept for years. Retyping that is slow and error prone, and a blind bulk upload is worse, because one shifted column or one misspelled venue can quietly write bad data into hundreds of records.

Data Import is built around the opposite of a blind upload. Every value is checked against what BackOps already knows, every row is planned and labeled, and nothing is written until you have seen the plan and confirmed it. What gets written is exactly what you reviewed.

How Data Import Works

Every import runs through the same four-step wizard.

flowchart LR
    U["Upload file"] --> M["Map columns"]
    M --> R["Review values"]
    R --> P["Preview import"]
    P -->|"Start import"| W(["Records written"])

Upload file. Drop in a CSV file. BackOps reads the header row as column names.

Map columns. Each column in your file is matched to a field on the records you are importing. Columns whose names match a field are mapped for you, and you can change any of them. This is also where you choose a column to match existing records on, if you want the import to update records that already exist instead of creating new ones.

Review values. Columns that point at something BackOps already has, such as a location, an event type, a select option, a collaborator or a crew member, are matched to existing options by name. Anything that does not match is shown here so you can pick the right option or exclude the rows that carry it. These columns only accept an existing option, not typed text.

Preview import. Every row is listed with its planned outcome: create, update, no change, or skip, with the reason for each skip. Counts at the top show how many of each. When it looks right, select Start import.

A column mapping you will need again can be saved by name and reused, so a file you receive every month is only mapped once. See saved mappings.

What You Can Import Today

There are two import targets:

• Events, from your organization's Events table, by an organization admin. See importing events.
• Proposal line items, from inside a proposal, by an event admin. See importing proposal line items.

Imports take CSV files of up to 2,000 rows. Excel workbooks are not read directly, so save the sheet as CSV first. Crew, collaborators, activities and resources cannot be imported yet.