Processing a One-Time Import

1. The files need to be created in a tab-delimited format that aligns with the supported data sets outlined in our Illuminate Core Data, Illuminate ISI Data Spec, and Illuminate Health Data Spec found on the Downloads page.
2. The imports are very strict with the naming convention and files need to be named exactly like the name of each tab in the data spec. For example, if you are importing transcripts, the file will need to be named transcripts.txt.
3. Compress the file or files that you wish to import. The tool will only recognize a zipped file. Even if there is only one file, it must be compressed.

1. Click on the Administration Gear.
2. Under Data, select Core Data Import & Validation.

The red asterisk denotes a required field.

1. Send Notification To: Specify the email address you would like to receive the import alert when the job is done.
2. Zip File: Choose your zipped file from wherever you saved it on your computer. You can also drag the file to the choose file button and drop it there.
3. Viewable By: The default is the district or the highest level of your site setup. This allows you to specify an additional site that can access the record of this particular import. For example, say you are importing a file that relates only to Thomas Jefferson Elementary, anyone at Thomas Jefferson with the required permissions will see this import record in the core data log.
4. Select Core Data Configuration: If you are a DnA client, you should already see options in your drop down. Choose whatever configuration best fits the data set being imported. If you are an ISI client who has never manually imported a file, you can follow the steps to create a new configuration or contact dnasupport@illuminateed.com.
5. Exclude Header: Allows the header row of imported files to be ignored, creating a more accurate data validation.
6. Run as: This option allows you to run the files through in validation mode or import mode.  Validation mode allows you to check for errors, warnings, or rejected files before running the files in Import mode. Import mode writes the data on our data tables and makes it live. NOTE: When you choose to Run as Import, you will see an option to Only Process New Records. You can leave this as the default setting as this is an old tool that will be deprecated soon.
7. Contact Data Import Mode: This field only matters if you are processing a contacts.txt file. Replace is the default setting. For every student ID in the contact file, the import process will first remove all contacts in Illuminate connected to that student ID and replace them with the contacts in the file. Add is not set as the default because it can easily cause duplicate contact data. It simply appends the data that is in the file to the data in Illuminate. It does not look for an existing contact matching the contact name or phone number and import only new records. This should only be selected if you are certain that you are importing only new contact data.
8. Verify Integrity:
9. Transcript Data Import Mode: This field only matters if you are processing a transcripts.txt file. Replace is the default setting. For every student ID in the transcript file, the import process will first remove all transcript data in Illuminate connected to that student ID and replace it with the transcript data in the file. This is the default behavior and is recommended for ongoing transcript imports. This, however, only works when the transcript files that are being imported always represent all transcript data for all students. Remember that transcript files for updates should always include all transcript records for currently enrolled students. Add is not set as the default because it can easily add duplicate transcript data. It simply appends the data that is in the file to the data in Illuminate. It does not look for an existing contact matching the contact name or phone number and import only new records. This should only be selected if you are certain the transcript file you are importing represents only new data.
10. Allow ISI Data Updates: This option applies only to schools or districts running ISI. Once an ISI installation is live, this option should generally be set to "no." This option keeps ISI data from actually being updated. So even though you run an import, it won't process. This is to prevent file based imports from overwriting manually updated data in a live ISI environment. Use this option wisely!
11. Import Context Site: The import context site relates only to contact and transcript imports. As indicated in the Replace options for both of those datasets, the imports will do a student specific replace. The import context site adds an additional layer of protection to the replace option. Rather than blindly replacing all data for a student, it only replaces data for a student where the initial import's context site matches this import's context. For most imports, your context will be the highest level (district or consortium). However, if you wanted to import transcript (or contact) data for Adams High School, you would set the context import site to Adams High School. The next time data was imported for a different import context site, then the data that was imported only for Adams would be left alone. If you subsequently update the transcript (or contact) data for Adams, then the student replace will only remove the Adams data.
12. Notes: Entering a note is optional but is very useful when you are looking for a specific import record. When a note has been entered it will show up under the right hand column on the Core Data Import Logs page.

13. Preferred Datasets: Select the box beside any file you wish to be included in this process. Regardless of the files in your .zip file, only the selected datasets will run.
14. Submit: Although it is not pictured here, the Submit button queues your files for processing. You will get an email when it's completed.