Import Data to a Spreadsheet

To populate a spreadsheet with data for upload, you can either enter the data manually or import it from a file. This topic describes how to import data to a spreadsheet from a file.

Follow these steps:

1. If the spreadsheet isn't already open, then open it and sign in when prompted.

2. You import data to a data set. You can either create the data set or use an existing data set.

   • To create a data set, click Create Data Set on the Spreadsheet Loader toolbar. A name is assigned automatically to this new data set. You can overwrite the data set name.

   • To use an existing data set, select its name in the Search section of the spreadsheet and select a Search Mode value. Click Search in the Spreadsheet Loader toolbar.

3. On the Spreadsheet Loader toolbar, click Import File. The Import from File dialog box opens.

4. In the Import from File dialog box, select one of File Type values shown in this table.

   File Type	Description
   Comma separated values	Comma-separated (.csv) file
   Pipe separated values	Delimited data (.dat) file
   Other file type	Text file (.txt) with a user-specified separator
   XML file type	XML file

   Tip: You can download CSV and XML file templates from a spreadsheet template. Use them to load data to a spreadsheet generated from the same template.

5. For file types other than XML file type, indicate whether the file contains a header.

   The header provides the names of the attributes for which the file contains values. In this case, the attribute order in the file doesn't have to match the spreadsheet column order. If you deselect Header included, then the order of the values in the file must match the order of the columns in the spreadsheet.

   In an XML file, the XML tags used for the attribute values must use the attribute keys configured in the spreadsheet template.

6. Click Browse to select the file to import.

7. For file types other than XML file type, expand the Advanced File Options section. Complete the options as shown in this table for the selected file type. You can use the default values where supplied.

   File Type	File Separator	Escape Indicator	Newline Indicator
   Comma separated values	Not applicable	1 - 10 characters	1 - 10 characters
   Pipe separated values	Not applicable	1 - 10 characters	1 - 10 characters
   Other file type	1 - 10 characters	1 - 10 characters	1 - 10 characters

   The Newline Command field shows the newline command constructed from the supplied Escape Indicator and Newline Indicator values.

8. Click OK to import the data from the selected file. After the data is imported, you can edit any of the imported attribute values.

Note: Some validation of the imported data occurs. Any errors appear automatically in the Progress and Message columns of the Spreadsheet Line Status section of the spreadsheet. Correct any errors before you attempt to upload the data.

Here's a tutorial to shape and import files using a HCM Spreadsheet Data Loader template: Import Files into HCM Spreadsheet Data Loader Spreadsheets