Import & Export

Overview

The Import & Export page manages reusable spreadsheet templates that map columns to Lunr tags, for use elsewhere in bulk metadata import and export. It does not run an import or export job itself: there is no progress bar, no "run now" wizard, and no column-mapping screen in the app. Column mapping lives entirely inside the uploaded spreadsheet file.

This page is distinct from Templates, which manages the document templates new documents are created from. It also has no relationship to the repository-scoped CR Import and Collection Import tabs on the Repository page, which do run an import.

Reaching this page requires the Administration Pages access right.

Import and Export Templates

The page holds a single Import and Export Templates list. Each template is uploaded once, and its Import and Export boxes decide where it is offered. Select either box, or both.

• Import offers the template wherever a spreadsheet is used to bulk import document metadata, for example when you generate an import sheet, or choose the Import sheet included in a Change Request package download. Design the worksheet so its column headings match the Lunr tags you want to populate.
• Export offers the template when you choose a template for a report or bulk extract. It defines which columns appear in the extract and which Lunr tag supplies each one.

Selecting or clearing a box saves the change immediately, unless the row is open for editing.

Managing Templates

To add a template, select the + icon beside the Templates heading. To replace the spreadsheet file itself on an existing entry, select Upload from Lunr on that row to use an .xlsx document already in Lunr, or Upload from my computer to choose a file from your computer. A template file can be up to 9 MB.

Each template row carries a context menu, opened by selecting the three dots at the end of the row, offering:

Designing an Import Template

A template is an .xlsx workbook. When someone generates an import sheet, exports to Excel, or downloads a change request package, Lunr fills in a copy of it, so the template's formatting and any other worksheets carry through. Users then edit the result and upload it as an import spreadsheet, which means a template has to work in both directions. For how users build and upload the spreadsheet, see Importing Documents.

What Lunr Expects

• A worksheet named Import. Lunr fills and reads only this worksheet. Where it is missing, generating an import sheet from a folder falls back to a new worksheet holding only a File Name column, so your columns are lost, and an export or package download cannot build its sheet from the template.
• Headings in row 1. Lunr starts writing documents on row 2.
• A File Name column in column A. Generating from a folder writes each file name into column A, and an export or package download does the same where the template has no File Name heading.
• One column per tag. A heading has to match the tag's name exactly, including capitalisation. Lunr ignores spaces at either end. A heading that matches no tag stays empty on export.
• Formulas are left alone. On export and package download, Lunr does not overwrite a tag cell that already holds a formula.

Columns Lunr Fills In on Export

Export and package download also recognise these headings, which are not tags. Lunr fills them where they appear.

Keep these out of any template with Import selected. When a spreadsheet is imported, Lunr reads every column that has a heading as a tag, so a column such as Workflow Status would be read as one. Use a separate template with only Export selected for reports that need them.

Multi-Value Tags and the Delimiter

On export, Lunr joins the values of a multi-value tag with ||. On import, it splits a cell using the Multi-value tag delimiter on the General Settings page, which is a comma until you change it.

With the comma in place, a cell Lunr exported as Architectural||Structural is read back as a single value. To let exported sheets import cleanly, set the delimiter to a pipe. The delimiter applies to the whole organisation, so check that no tag value legitimately contains the character you choose.

Where a Template Is Offered

• Generate Import Sheet lists the templates with Import selected, in a Template field, and starts on the first.
• Download Package on a change request offers an Import sheet field only where the repository has more than one import template. The spreadsheet inside the package is always named Import.xlsx, whatever the template is called.
• Export to Excel lists the templates with Export selected, in a Report template field.

Trying a Template

Before offering a new template widely, try it on a test change request.

1. Select Import Sheet, choose a folder, choose the template, and download the sheet.
2. Open it and confirm the File Name column is column A, the headings match your tags, and the file names are filled in.
3. Enter some tag values, upload the sheet for Update Tags or zip it with the files as an import package, and check the values land on the documents.

Templates and Repositories

These options appear only when your organisation has multiple repositories enabled.

Each template can be global or restricted to particular repositories. When you edit a template, a Repositories field lets you choose which repositories it belongs to. Leave it empty to make the template global. Global templates are listed alongside the templates for the repository you are working in, but creating, changing, or deleting one needs the Administration Pages access right. A repository-scoped template needs either Administration Pages or Manage Repository Templates. A template's row shows Global in italics when it is global, or the names of the repositories it is restricted to.

The page opens listing every template in the organisation even though the Show templates from all repositories box is not selected. Select the box and then clear it to narrow the list to the templates for the repository you are working in.

Give every template a name that no other template of the same kind already has. A template with Import selected counts as an import template and any other as an export template, so one of each kind can share a name. Lunr does not check for a duplicate beforehand, and saving one fails.