Text File Section Import Configuration

To configure the text file import spoke and map files and prepare for import, perform the following:

1.Start with the Text Section Import Client Template.xlsx.

NOTE: This file is for planning purposes only. The final import file must be a text file in tab-delimited format. Some customers find it helpful as a planning tool for format and content before creating a text file for import.

A copy of this worksheet can be downloaded here:

2.Start by populating the columns in this file with the appropriate values from your SIS. See below for column details.

NOTE: Be sure to populate the “Course” column with *only* the course number (no subject code). Failure to do this can lead to duplicate courses in the future.

Section File Field Requirements & Descriptions

Field	Required?	Description
Section ID	Optional	Your campus’ unique section ID. The value will be duplicated if there are multiple section meeting patterns in a single section. This could be a section number or a string containing Dept., Course, Section, and term. This ID should not include punctuation. Example: Section Math 101 A has two meeting patterns: M 8-9am, W 10-11am. Section Id = 201010_12345 on both section meetings. The Section Meeting ID (next column) = 201010_12345_1 and 201010_12345_2.
SectionMeeting ID	Required	The UNIQUE identifier for every section meeting pattern. This could be a section meeting number or a string containing Dept., Course, Section, and term. This ID should not include punctuation.
Cross List Number (ID)	Required for appropriate sections	Cross-List section group ID. This ID defines a group of section meetings that meet in the same room at the same time. Sections meeting in the same room at the same time should have the same number in the Cross-List field in order for them to be scheduled.
Section Title	Required	Section Title. This field must be included in the section file imported into Astra Schedule.
Subject	Required	Subject or subject abbreviation. This field must be part of any section file imported to Astra Schedule.
Course	Required	Course offering number. This field must be part of any section file imported into Astra Schedule. (*only include the course number)
Section	Required	Section number or letter.
Meeting Type	Required	Section type name or abbreviation. Examples could be Lecture, Lab, Seminar etc.
Start Date	Required	Start date of section. This field must be part of any section file imported into Astra Schedule. Default in map is "YYYYMMDD". Additional supported formats include "MMDDYYYY, "DDMMYYYY," "MM/DD/YYYY," "YYYY/MM/DD."
End Date	Required	End time of section. This field must be part of any section file imported into Astra Schedule. Supported formats listed above.
Start Time	Optional	Start time of section. This field must be part of any section file imported into Astra Schedule. Default in map is: "HHMM". Multiple other formats are supported: "HH:MM", "HHMM ampm", and "HH:MM ampm".
End Time	Optional	End time of section. This field must be part of any section file imported into Astra Schedule. Supported formats listed above.
Days Met	Required	Meeting days of section. This field must be part of any section file imported into Astra Schedule. The Days Met must be in the format of UMTWRFS with those characters.
Building	Recommended if pre-assigned	Building abbreviation should be included if you want to pre-assign the section to a particular room.
Room	Recommended if pre-assigned	Room number or name should be included in the import file if you want to pre-assign a section into a particular room.
Campus	Required	User-defined campus name(s) for one of multiple campuses.
Max Enrollment	Required	Maximum Enrollment for section. This field is used to verify adequate room capacity for any section in Astra Schedule.
Enrollment	Recommended	Actual enrollment. This field is optional and used primarily for reporting.
Instructor First Name	Required	Instructor first name. This field must be part of any section file imported into Astra Schedule.
Instructor Last Name	Required	Instructor name. This field must be part of any section file imported into Astra Schedule. This must include at least first and last name. They can be in multiple fields or a single field and should not include quotations around the names. Format: Last Name, First Name
Instructor ID	Required	Instructor's campus identification number.
Instructor Email	Optional	Instructor Email Address
Instructor 2 First Name	Optional	Secondary Instructor Firstname
Instructor 2 Last Name	Optional	Secondary Instructor Lastname
Instructor 2 ID	Optional	Secondary Instructor's campus identification number.
Instructor 2 Email	Optional	Secondary Instructor's Email Address
Term	Required	Term code. This field must be part of any section file imported into Astra Schedule, for example, "97Spring," "9901," etc.
Section Status	Optional	Section Status. Values need to be "A" (active) or "C" (cancelled). Leave column as null if not used.
DeleteFlag	Optional	Section Meeting Delete Flag. When set, the section meeting will be deleted from Astra via import. Required if doing differential Text imports.

NOTE:

Source file must be a delimited text file. The delimiter is configurable (default is tab). Comma delimited is not recommended, and CSV is not supported.

Additional Instructors can be added. Instructor 1 will always be the Primary instructor associated to the Section.

It is highly recommended to use either the Delete Flag OR the Section status to remove sections/meetings rather than the Delete If Not In Import set system settings.

Instructor Name columns are not REQUIRED to be in separated First and Last Name columns. This is highly recommended, however. Primary alternative option is <Last, First>. Other custom options may be manageable if necessary.

Instructor Email will be associated to the Instructor record in Astra, not the Person record by default.

Additional Common Optional fields:

Other columns are available for importing but not in common use. If additional information is desired to be imported, speak with an Implementation Consultant or Support Engineer.

•Instructor Middle Name

•Course Title
NOTE: Must be EXACTLY the same between all sections of the course, including capitalization and white space.

•Delivery Method
If not included, default value is "Standard".

•Section Do Not Optimize

•Person Email
Email address associated to the Astra Person record rather than the Instructor record. NOTE: Do not import both email addresses as the same value. Typically, only one or the other is imported.

Other columns are available for importing but not in common use. If additional information is desired to be imported, speak with an Implementation Consultant or Support Engineer.

3.Review the SampleSectionImportMap.xml file. If needed, customize this file to match your import file.

4.If the map file requires customization, you must rename your copy of the file to protect it from being overwritten during subsequent application updates. (e.g. SCHOOL_NAME_SectionImportMap.xml)

5.Put the new customized file in the text file folder on your Astra Schedule Application Server:

C:\Ad Astra\<Astra_Instance_NAME>\Files\ATEConfiguration\Spokes\SIS\Text\Maps\SCHOOL_NAME_SectionImportMap.xml

6.Change the location of the TextSectionImportMap file in the System Settings within the Astra Schedule Application.

In Astra Schedule:

1.Go to System Settings on the Setup tab.

2.Click Edit.

3.Change the Value of the TextSectionImportMapFile attribute.

4.Click Save.

NOTE: The TextSectionImport.xml is what Astra Schedule uses after the SampleSectionImportMap.xml file to import the sections into the Astra Schedule database. This file is not edited.

7.Once the system settings have been changed, you are ready to import a tab delimited text file.

The file can be generated from the populated Excel template OR it can be generated by a custom script or report by your IT staff.

8.To create new import job, follow the job creation instructions, located here, and choose the Text file option, as shown below.

TextImportJob

Next: See Text File Import Settings for more information on configuring the import job.

Help URL: http://www.yourdomain.com/help/index.html?text_file_section_import_config.htm