Session Import Guide

In our Session Management Guide, we discussed the ins and outs of adding, editing, and deleting individual sessions. But what if your event has dozens (or even hundreds) of sessions to manage? Rather than adding sessions one at a time, you can save time and import them by creating and uploading a CSV file.

Creating the CSV file

To import sessions, you'll need to fill out a CSV file with all your session data. If this seems dauntingly tedious, don't worry! Event Cloud has a template spreadsheet to simplify the import process. This template is automatically generated based on your specific session fields, so we recommend setting up all of your session fields before downloading your template. For help doing this, you can visit our session fields guide. Please note that you should not remove columns from the template or change the order.

1. Navigate to the admin portal
2. Select Sessions
3. Select Import Sessions
4. Select Download a Template

Event Cloud's template spreadsheet will automatically include the following in this order, plus any custom fields you have created: Title, Description, Session Type, Mandatory (whether the session is required or not), Code, Room, Time Slot Name, and Track Name. 

Please note that these fields must stay in this order for a successful upload. 

Some important things to keep in mind when creating your CSV file:

• The following fields are required: Title, Description, Session Type, Track, and Mandatory
• For any custom fields that are marked as required, the import template will not require you to supply data for this field in order to have a successful session import. However, once uploaded, you will not be able to edit or save a session with a blank required custom field until that field is filled in.
• The first row of Event Cloud's CSV file is the header row and the second row is an example. Do not delete the first two example rows in the template. Event Cloud's import feature needs them for the import to be successful; rest assured, the example rows will be ignored during the import.
• For fields with multiple selections, each selection must be separated by a "|" with no spaces in between. For example: if a session has three target audiences of logistics, business, and analysis, it would be entered as "Logistics|Business|Analysis"
• The values entered into the Time Slot, Location, Track, and Session Type fields MUST align with values that already exist in Event Cloud.
• Beware of typos! If any values are entered into the spreadsheet incorrectly, the import will fail. This includes trailing spaces and capitalization.
• The size limit for the CSV file is 1.8 GB.
• We recommend that you save your CSV file as a CSV UTF-8 (Comma Delimited) file type for best results.

The following table lists the most important fields included in Event Cloud's template file:

*Required field

Uploading the CSV file

Once you've completed your CSV file, it's time to upload it to your Event Cloud site.

1. Navigate to the admin module
2. Select Sessions
3. Select Import Sessions
4. Choose file
5. Select Import

After clicking import, Event Cloud will check for any errors in the required fields mentioned above. If any errors are found you will be notified which line and column the errors appear on. You must correct any of these errors on your CSV file, and then re-upload the file using the steps mentioned above.

Once you have successfully uploaded your CSV file, you will be prompted to review your sessions before saving them. 

Note: leave the "Save as Published" option unchecked.