Importing entries with Google Sheets importer

Using the Google Sheets importer available in the Integrations marketplace, you can import your organisation's entries in just a few steps. 

Should I use this feature?

Importing your program's historical data, like entries from prior years, can be incredibly useful. Most commonly, organisations decided to store data in one location to streamline searches when looking for information gathered in previous award cycles. This, in turn, saves your team valuable time. 

What will I need to have prepared?

To facilitate the import of entries you'll need to have two things:

• A fully configured entry form in Award Force with fields that match that historical data
• A formatted Google Sheets spreadsheet with your historical entry data and slugs from Award Force

This guide will cover best practices for both of those items and tips to ease configuration. 

Step 1: configure your entry form

If you've previously collected entries outside of Award Force, you'll have a general idea of what type of what your entry form should look like and what information you need from entrants. To configure your Award Force entry form for the first time, you'll need to configure categories, tabs, and fields. To guide you through this process, see the guides below:

• Recommended steps to start entry configuration
• Category configuration
• Tab configuration
• Field configuration
  
  Note: when configuring fields pay special attention to the short titles and name them clearly. These will be critical in the field mapping step of import. 

If you have questions along the way, don't hesitate to contact our client success team! 

Step 2: format your Google Sheet for import

For those who have a spreadsheet of previous entries already, formatting it for import into Award Force will be easy. You'll simply need to add a few columns. If you're starting from scratch, there are a handful of items that you will need to ensure are added.

When the time comes your Google Sheet will require columns for:

• Entrant email address
• Season
• Chapter slug (if applicable)
• Category slug
• Entry name 
• Entry field slugs
  
  Tip: each entry field will require it's own column with the field's slug as it's column header. To quickly gather these values we recommend taking a 'Fields' export via Settings > Entries > Fields. To learn more about exports, see our Ultimate guide to exports.
• Entry slug
  
  Note: leave the slug column blank when importing new entries. 

Your spreadsheet will look similar to the below when finished.

For further information, see the Notes for import section at the bottom of this guide.

Step 3: import entries

Configuring the entry import from Google Sheets is handled by the integration marketplace which will walk you through setup step-by-step. To get started:

1. Go to Settings > Integrations > Marketplace in the Manage workspace
2. Under the 'Import' heading, click Google Sheets importer
   
   
3. When the box appears, click Configure
4. Provide a Name for your integration or leave the default before hitting Next
   
5. In the 'Google Sheets Connection' box, click Sign In with Google
   
6. Follow the prompts to sign into Google and authorise your connection
7. When completed the following message will display instructing you to close the tab
   
8. Back in Award Force, click Next
9. Input your Spreadsheet ID 
   
   
   Note: this will be the long string of letters, numbers, hyphens, or underscores that appears in your spreadsheet's URL in Google.
10. Choose from the available options:
    • On user import: Update existing user if unique identifier matches
    • On application import: Update existing application if unique identifier slug is set
11. Hit Next
12. Under the 'Worksheet to import' heading, choose the sheet of your spreadsheet that should be imported
13. In the 'Import destination' section, choose your entry form before clicking Next
14. From the Local Unique Identifier drop-down choose your entry slug from Award Force
15. In the External Unique Identifier drop-down select your slug column from the Google Sheet
16. Click the Add to Field Map button to begin pairing your fields from Award Force with those found in the columns of your spreadsheet
    
17. For the Local field, choose a field in Award Force
    
    Tip: this will be searchable with the field's short title as mentioned in the first step of this guide. 
18. In the External Field drop-down, choose that corresponding column from your spreadsheet
19. Click Add to Field Map to repeat these steps for all remaining fields and columns
20. When finished field mapping click Next
21. In the final step, key in your email address for a report when the process has concluded which notes any errors that prevented import
22. Click Finish when ready

The import process is not instantaneous and may time time to complete. Keep an eye on the email inbox provided for confirmation

Notes for import

• The table field type is not supported with the Google Sheets importer, but can be imported using the Award Force API. For more information, see What can I use the Award Force API for?
• For optionable field types like checkboxes, the value input into the Google Sheet should be "true". Checkbox lists can be imported using the assigned values separated by a comma. 
• Like the rest of the platform, import of country name is facilitated through the use of two-letter country codes. 
• Imported dates and times should adhere to the ISO 8601 standard of YYYY-MM-DD. 
• Currencies should be imported as simple numerical values without the use of symbols like $, £, €, or even commas. 
• If Google Sheets converts a value, such as a phone number, into a hyperlink, add a single quotation to prevent this from occurring; i.e. use '+44 785 111 1111 instead of +44 785 111 1111.