Importing Events and Other Content from CSV

The CSV importer isn't just for people. You can use the same tool to bring in events, articles, venues and other kinds of content from a spreadsheet — useful when moving from another system, loading a season of training sessions, or seeding a directory. This article covers starting an import for any content type, mapping columns, how dates and amounts are read, what happens if you import the same file twice, and how to read the results. For importing people specifically, see Importing Profiles.

Before you start

• Save your spreadsheet as a CSV file (comma-separated values, UTF-8). Other formats such as .xlsx are not accepted.
• Put column headings in the first row. Headings that match a field's name in Qik are mapped automatically, so naming a column "Title" or "Start Date" saves you a step.
• One row becomes one record.
• Make sure the content type already has the fields you want to fill. If you need new fields, add them first — see Custom Fields.

Starting an import

1. Drag your CSV file from your computer and drop it anywhere on the dashboard.
2. When asked "What would you like to do?", choose Import the contents. (Choose Upload the file instead if you just want to store the CSV as a downloadable file.)
3. When asked "What kind of content are you importing?", pick the content type. Only types that support importing are listed.

The import screen opens with the heading Importing followed by the content type's name. For profiles you can also use Import from CSV on the People dashboard.

Mapping columns

The screen shows a preview of the first 50 rows of your file, one column per CSV column. Under each column is a mapping panel:

• Map to — the field this column fills. Pick (Skip) to ignore the column. Mapped columns are marked with a tick, skipped columns with a cross.
• Data Type — shows the type of the chosen field so you know how the value will be read.

Depending on the field you choose, extra options appear:

A few mapping behaviours worth knowing:

• Several columns into one field — if you map two or more columns to the same field (for example "Category 1" and "Category 2" both to a multi-value Category field), the values are combined.
• Several values in one cell — separate them with a semicolon or a vertical bar (Workshop; Coaching or Workshop|Coaching) and they are imported as separate values. Be aware this applies to any text cell: a sentence containing a semicolon is split into several values, so replace semicolons in long text (such as descriptions) with commas before importing.
• Tags — map a column to Tags to tag each record. Tags that don't exist yet are created.
• Empty cells are ignored rather than saved as blank values.

Date auto-detection follows your browser's language setting: with an Australian or British English browser an ambiguous date such as 03/04/2026 reads as 3 April; with a US English browser it reads as March 4. Choose a fixed Format if your file doesn't match your browser.

Choosing scopes and starting

Click Start Import. You'll be asked which scopes the new records should be created in — you can only choose scopes where you're allowed to create that type of content. Every imported record is placed in the scopes you pick.

Following progress

The file uploads, then the import moves through these stages:

• Uploading — your file is sent to Qik.
• Preparing tasks — the file is read and split into one task per row.
• Importing — rows are created, shown as a count such as 340/1200, with any failures counted separately.

You don't need to keep the page open. When the import finishes you'll receive a notification and an email titled "Your import of [file name] is complete", showing how many rows succeeded out of the total. If you stay on the page, it shows how many were imported successfully and how many Failed to import; click Ok! to finish.

Click Cancel during preparation or import to stop following the import. Rows already imported are kept.

Why rows fail

Each row is created separately, so one bad row doesn't stop the rest. Common reasons a row fails:

• A required field is empty or missing from the mapping.
• A value can't be read as the field's type — for example, a date that doesn't match the chosen format.

To fix failures, correct those rows in your spreadsheet and import just the corrected rows.

Importing the same file again

Each row is fingerprinted from its exact contents. When you import a file again:

• A row that is identical to one already imported is not created a second time. For profiles, the existing person is updated with the row's values; for every other content type, the existing record is left as it is.
• A row that has changed in any way — even one cell — counts as new and creates a new record. Re-importing an edited spreadsheet is therefore not a way to update existing events or articles; use bulk editing for that.
• If a previously imported record has since been deleted, importing the row again creates it afresh.

This makes it safe to re-run an import that was interrupted part-way through: rows that already went in are skipped.

Permissions

• You need permission to create the content type in at least one scope. The import runs with your permissions, and records are created only in scopes you're allowed to create in.
• When the import finishes, the notification goes to the person who started it.

Tips

• Import 5–10 rows first, open the created records and check every field before importing the full file.
• Keep the original CSV until you've checked the results — it's your record of what was imported.
• After a large profile import, run a duplicate scan to catch people who already existed. See Finding and Resolving Duplicate Profiles.
• If the content type you need doesn't appear in the import list, contact support.

FAQs