Importing data in spreadsheets

Import Data with a Spreadsheet File

External data available in tables or spreadsheets can be quickly imported into WeldTrace when it is available in a CSV (comma separated values) file and formatted correctly. The system of importing data works the same way across all the areas in WeldTrace wherever you see the "Import CSV" button. This article explains how to import data into Drawings. There may be slight differences when you import data into tags, materials, consumables, welders, machines and WPS libraries. The differences will be in the data that are required and optional and in the formatting of data, not in the workflow of importing a csv file to create a list. You will not be able to upload the files through this method. Please check the article " Bulk File Upload" to learn about the file upload wizard. 

Download the template file

Import Drawings List
  1. Download the template file for that section. For each section, the template file will differ. For example, the import csv template for drawings cannot be used to import materials; 
  2. The template file will be downloaded and it should appear at the bottom left hand corner if you are using the Chrome browser. The location of the files that are downloaded from a browser could vary depending on your browser version and computer's settings;

Enter data into the template file

Import drawings CSV template file with data
Open the template with Excel or another program that can be used to edit csv files;
  1. Do not edit the header row and do not change the order of the columns. The import process will not work if you make any change to the header row;
  2. Enter the data. Please check the knowledge base article for adding the data one at a time to find which fields are mandatory and which ones are optional, for using special characters, number of characters, etc;
  3. You will notice that "&" has been used here. It is a special character that is not allowed in the drawing number field and it will not be accepted when you perform the import;
  4. Please use the date format that is set for your account. If your account is set to dd-mmm-yyyy date format, do not change the data to mmm-dd-yyyy format;

Upload the csv file

Import drawings page showing the validated data and errors
WeldTrace will read the csv file and evaluate the data and if there are any errors a warning message as shown in the screenshot above will appear.  Data that is not acceptable or with some errors will be in red text and highlighted in a red background.
  1. The error here is for unacceptable special characters in the primary field; 
  2. Even though the date is a proper date, it was entered as Feb-7 or 2/7, which could be interpreted as 2 July 2021 whereas the account uses the dd-mmm-yyyy format;
  3. The tag T-02 does not exist, which is why the error is shown here;

Import data when no errors are found

Import drawings page showing no errors
If there are no errors in the uploaded csv file, the warning will not appear and the "Create" button will be enabled. 
  1. The data that has been read from the csv file is shown with no data appearing in red; 
  2. When there are no errors, the button to create the data will be enabled. Click to add the data to the respective section;
Read the next article: Bulk file upload