Astra Schedule Help (7.5)

Section Meeting Scheduling Preference Import

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Section Meeting Scheduling Preference Import

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Section Meeting Scheduling Preference Import

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Beginning with version 7.5.13, the system supports the import of section meeting scheduling preferences using an Excel spreadsheet.  This import option can be used to populate Astra Schedule with meeting-level preferences that are stored in the student information system.

 

The system supports the import of these preferences using the existing import job infrastructure.  Supported preference types for import include building, room, feature, region, and room type.

Using the Excel Import Template

An Excel template (SectionMeetingPreferenceTemplate) is provided in the Astra Schedule installation directory location.  The path is *your instance*\Files\ATEConfiguration\Spokes\SIS\Excel\ExampleDataTemplates.

 

The Excel template import will allow for one or more rows per section meeting with preferences.

 

Columns in the sheet represent the preference types (building, room, feature, region, room type) and attributes supported, including weight (1-10), mode (Required, Normal, Exclude), and Quantity (if applicable, for features).

 

The spreadsheet supports the following columns:

 

Column

Definition

SectionMeetingSisKey

SectionMeetingSISKey is required, and is the unique identifier for the specific section meeting for which you are importing preferences.  This value may be repeated on a different row to import another preference of the same type for the same meeting.

BuildingSisKey

The SISKey (unique identifier) of the building in Astra Schedule.

BuildingWeight

A value from 1-10.

BuildingMode

May be "Required", "Normal", or "Exclude".

 

This will default to "Normal" if not provided.

RoomSisKey

This value must be the SISKey (unique identifier) of the room in Astra Schedule.

RoomWeight

A value from 1-10.

RoomMode

May be "Required", "Normal", or "Exclude".

 

This will default to "Normal" if not provided.

FeatureName

This must be an exact name match for an existing feature.

FeatureWeight

A value from 1-10.

FeatureQuantity

This will default to "1" if not provided, or if provided but quantities are not configured for the feature.

FeatureMode

May be "Required", "Normal", or "Exclude".

 

This will default to "Normal" if not provided.

RegionName

This must be an exact name match for an existing region.

RegionWeight

A value from 1-10.

RegionMode

May be "Required", "Normal", or "Exclude".

 

This will default to "Normal" if not provided.

RoomTypeName

This must be an exact name match for an existing room type.

RoomTypeWeight

A value from 1-10.

RoomTypeMode

May be "Required", "Normal", or "Exclude".

 

This will default to "Normal" if not provided.

 

NOTE:  The section meeting preference import will not create any new preference master list items during import (e.g. it will not add a new Region to the database if it's included in the spreadsheet but doesn't exist in Astra Schedule).  All values must already exist in the database.  Preference items that do not match or that do not exist will be skipped.

Creating the Import Job

See Import/Export Jobs for general information about setting up jobs.

 

When setting up the new job, you will select the ExcelSectionMeetingPreferenceImport.xml configuration spoke file.

 

Import_SectionMeetingPreferences1

 

This file includes several settings that are specific to the section meeting preference import.  These settings define how the system should perform updates (Import Filters), error conditions (Duplicate Preference Handling), and the import file location (Excel Settings).

Import Filters

Once you have selected the correct configuration spoke file and clicked Continue, the system will display the job form with import-specific job settings.  The Import Filters section of the form allows you to determine, on a preference type basis, how you want to handle the record updating process.

 

For each preference type, your options are:

 

Import new, update existing, and delete missing
 
This option will add new preferences to meetings when found in your file, update any existing preferences, and delete any existing preferences that are not included for that meeting in your file.
 
NOTE:  If using the delete option, then blank preference entries for a meeting will blank out any existing preferences.  Otherwise blanks are ignored.
 

Import new and update existing
 
This option will only add new and update existing preferences, but will not delete missing preferences.
 

Only import new
 
This option will only add new preferences and will not do anything to existing preferences.
 

Do Not Import
 
This option ignores the preference import for the applicable type.

 

 Import_SectionMeetingPreferences2

Duplicate Preference Handling

Additionally, job settings are provided per preference type to define the behavior when duplicate preferences are encountered.

 

Options include:

 

Halt with Error
 
If duplicate preferences are encountered, the job will stop and write an error to the log.
 

Ignore
 
If duplicate preferences are encountered, the job will skip the record and continue.

 

 Import_SectionMeetingPreferences3

Excel Settings

To specify the location of your Excel import template for the job, click Browse and select your copy of the SectionMeetingPreferenceTemplate.xlsx.

 

Import_SectionMeetingPreferences4