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Microsoft Excel Format for Creating BP Records

The following applies to all business Processes where BP records can be created, in bulk, by way of CSV import.

Note: The Request for Bid business process (RFB BP) does not support bulk creation of records through CSV.

The following does not apply to managers such as Space Manager, Portfolio Manager, Configurable Managers, Code and Records-based Configurable Managers, and Code-based Configurable Managers that allow the creation of records by way of CSV import.

To create BP records, in bulk, through Microsoft Excel:

1. In your Shell go to the Logs grouping node (BP Logs) node and select a BP to open the BP log.
2. From the toolbar, click Actions, and select Export Microsoft Excel Template. This option is only available for the users with View permission, to the log.

To be able to download your Excel template the integration interface must be defined for the BP record. If the BP record does not have a defined integration interface, the entire import will be aborted and no BP records or BP line items will get created. In such scenario, Unifier displays the following error message: "Import could not be completed. There are errors in this template file. These errors can be seen in the Import Data Template worksheet. Do you want to download the file and fix the errors? Click 'Yes' to download the file and 'No' to upload a different template file."

MS Excel Template File Name Format

When you export your template file, the name of the exported template file is generated in the following format: <BPName>_Template

Note: The name will always be the source string without spaces.

For example, if the BP name is Daily Reports, the exported template file name is generated as DailyReports_Template.

MS Excel Template File Worksheets

The exported template file contains the following worksheets:

• Instructions worksheet
• Imported Data Template worksheet
• <Other User-Defined> worksheet

Instructions Worksheet

This worksheet is generated automatically in the first tab of the template file. You cannot change the name of this worksheet. The Instructions worksheet contains all the relevant information about entering the BP record and line item information data. The content of the instructions worksheet will depend on the type of business process.

Imported Data Template Worksheet

This worksheet is also generated automatically as the second worksheet in the template file. You cannot change the name of this worksheet. This worksheet contains the Unifier data needed for creating BP record and line item.

Note: The name of this worksheet is translated according to the user's language preference.

The top section of this worksheet depends on the business process type.

• For the Cost BPs of Summary Payment Application SOV type, the Enter date below section displays an additional row to enter the Cost Allocation. In addition to the H & D rows, the CA row will also be seen. This row will have the asterisk symbol (*) for all the required fields of cost allocation details.
• For the Simple BPs, the worksheet displays the Enter data below section and an H row that contains the column headings.
• For Line items type of BPs, the first few rows lists all the line item tabs. The first line contains static informational text "Line Item Tabs along with the respective detail form fields." The tabs list one below the other. The hidden tabs are also displayed, similar to the CSV template files. The "Tab Name" is the first column followed by the Detail Form fields. All the required fields of the line item tab are marked with an asterisk symbol (*).

<Other User-Defined> worksheet

You can insert additional sheets for your reference. However, the content of these worksheets will not be processed by Unifier during import.

If the work package picker is included in the BP, the worksheet includes a Work Package field with a drop-down list of values. Work package names are case-sensitive.

Entering Data in the Microsoft Excel Template File

To enter data in the Excel template file, use the Import Data Template option to create records, or create records with line items.

Note: Review the information on the Instructions worksheet to minimize the import errors.

When entering data, you can:

• Enter data in all the fields.
• Copy the values of a column from another sheet. This is to state that you can use the Excel native features when entering data.
• Use Excel formula feature to calculate values in the columns.
• Enter UTF-8 character string in the String fields.

For all data types, Unifier only processes the data and not the format, when importing.

For example, if you entered -999.99 and the format on the cell is (999.99), you will see the data in Excel as (999.99). When Unifier processes this data, -999.99 is processed and not (999.99).

Creating BP Records By Importing a Microsoft Excel Template

To create BP Records by Importing MS Excel Template:

1. From the toolbar, click Actions, select Import, and then select Data From Microsoft Excel File.
2. Follow the prompts.

If you can create new BP records, the Import option further displays the following options:

• Data From CSV File
• Data From Microsoft Excel File

Uploading Excel Files

When you upload an Excel file, in the Upload Microsoft Excel File window (similar to the CSV), you can select the Excel file (using the Select File option) and click Next to proceed with your upload. See below for information about adding attachments.

Validating Microsoft Excel File Content

During the import process, validations occur at multiple levels. These include:

• validations to ensure that the BP record has the required setup to create records through Excel in the Auto Creation tab of the BP setup.
• validations to ensure values have been entered in all the required fields to create BP records as well as line items. If the import fails, the imported file will now contain error information.

  Note: Leading and trailing spaces in data elements will be ignored for validations. For example, data elements, "cost item", and "cost item ", the latter including a trailing space character, are treated as identical data elements.

After the initial validation ends, the file is processed further. At this stage, all validations pertaining to system-level rules as well as user-defined form-level validations are performed. In the event of a failure, an email notification with the reason for failure is sent to users and groups identified in the business process setup.

Errors and Corrections

When an error is encountered in any of the rows, the entire import is aborted and no BP records or line items are created. As mentioned earlier, when the import file contains errors, the following message displays:

Import could not be completed. There are errors in this template file. These errors can be seen in the Import Data Template worksheet. Do you want to download the file and fix the errors? Click 'Yes' to download the file and 'No' to upload a different template file.

Additional Information Regarding Importing a Microsoft Excel Template File

The name of a downloaded file is identical to the name of the imported Excel template file. If you decide to download a file with errors, the Import Data Template worksheet displays errors in the following format:

• On the first row of the worksheet, the following static text displays in an additional column: Following errors were encountered while importing the data from the template. This column must be deleted after fixing all the errors. If this column exists in the file at the time of import, the import will fail.
• Errors that are not specific to a row, display in the first H row that contains the data. For example, errors such as the auto-creation setup not being met.
• A row with multiple errors displays all the errors in the error cell.
• Each row that has an error displays the actual error message in the first column.
  • The following error format is used for the required fields:

    "Values are missing in required fields: <Field Label 1>, <Field Label 2>"

    For example,

    Values are missing in required fields: Contract Reference.

    "Values are missing in required fields: <Field Label 1>, <Field Label 2>, <Field Label 3>"

    For example,

    Values are missing in required fields: Type, Short Description, Asset Type.

  • For other form-level validations, the message is displayed against the row.

    For example, Equipment Units Available cannot be less than 10. This number is required for contingency purposes.

Adding Attachments

Similar to the CSV file import, you can add attachments. You can upload all the referenced attachments in the Add Attachments section. You can use the Upload Microsoft Excel File window (in the 'Add Attachments' step) to add attachments to your BP record, or line item, during your import. The review section on the screen enables you to see the files that have been uploaded and the files with upload pending.

For example, when you upload the Microsoft Excel file, all attachments listed in the Excel file display in the Files to be Uploaded section. When, you upload each file, the status of the file changes from Waiting for File to Ready to be uploaded.

In the Review section, you can perform sort operations on the Status column.

When you click Upload, Unifier uploads the attachments onto the respective BP record, or line item, as required.

Validating Added Attachments

When you upload your attachments, Unifier performs the following validations:

• If there is no data in the Attachments column of the Microsoft Excel file that is being uploaded, Unifier processes the file as a file that does not need have any attachments that need to be uploaded.
• If you have specified a name for the Attachment column at the BP record level or at the line item level, Unifier ignores the column headings.
• For Document Type BPs, you can include a maximum of one file as an attachment with each line item.

To validate a BP record level Excel import:

When you choose to create BP records by importing an Excel file from the BP Log node, Unifier does not retain the Attachment option that was used in the validation form of the integration interface. If you decide to import attachments while using Excel import, Unifier will allow the import action. If there are files that have been referenced in the Attachments column of the Excel file and Unifier cannot find the files in the attachment payload (attachment missing), the Attachments table displays the following message:

Some files are still waiting to be uploaded. Do you want to proceed without uploading those files? Click OK to create BP records or line items without any attachments from the Excel file, ignoring any missing attachments, or click Cancel to return to the Upload Attachments step of the upload process.

Similarly, if the file Status in the Review section displays Waiting for the file and you click Upload, the Attachments table displays the following message:

Some files are still waiting to be uploaded. Do you want to proceed without uploading those files?

Click OK to create BP records or line items without any attachments from the Excel file, ignoring any missing attachments, or click Cancel to return to the Upload Attachments step of the upload process.

For validating a line item level Excel import:

When you proceed with a line item import, from a Line Item tab, if the option Upload documents from My Computer is not selected in the design, you cannot add attachments, and the Attachments table will provide the following informational text: Uploading of Attachments is not allowed.

If there are files that have been referenced in the Attachments column of the Excel file and Unifier cannot find the files in the attachment payload (attachment missing), the Attachments table will provide the following informational text: Some files are still waiting to be uploaded. Do you want to proceed without uploading those files? If you click OK, Unifier will ignore the missing attachments (from the Excel file) and creates the line items, without any attachments. If you click Cancel, you will be returned back to the Upload Attachments step of the upload process.

Note: If there are files uploaded in the attachment payload, but the uploaded files are not present in the Files to be Uploaded section of the Excel file, the files are not uploaded. In this scenario, the file Status does not change in the Review section.

Audit Log Information for Imported BP Records

The following information is captured in the Audit log for each BP record created through Microsoft Excel import process.

Non-Workflow BPs

The following information is captured in the audit log for non-workflow BPs:

• Event: Creation by way of Microsoft Excel Import
• Action: Create <BP Name>

Workflow BPs

The following information is captured in the audit log for workflow BPs:

• Event: Creation by way of Microsoft Excel Import
• Action: <Action Name>

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Last Published Friday, April 11, 2025