Import

IN THIS ARTICLE

Learn how to build your portfolio using external .csv, .GeoJSON, or Shapefiles. Get existing geospatial data into FieldDoc in a breeze.

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Import

Import is a powerful feature in FieldDoc that allows users to create records with existing geospatial data or create batch records. Let's walk through the import process.

How FieldDoc Organizes Your Imported Data

When you import activity records, FieldDoc helps organize them for you. Here’s how it works:

1. Importing from a Project or Pact If you start the import from inside a specific Project or Pact, all the activity records in your file will automatically be added to that grouping.

2. Importing from the Home Page If you begin the import from the Home Page, the activity records will be unassociated with a Project or Pact, unless you have included that information to your source file. This gives you more flexibility.

3. Including Project and Section in Your Source File If your import file includes columns for Project and Section, FieldDoc will create new digital representations of of those for you—no need to set them up ahead of time.

Prepare your source file

FieldDoc accepts .csv, .GeoJSON, and Shapefiles for import. FieldDoc follows industry standard practices in our source file requirements. If your file meets these requirements, it will be imported into FieldDoc successfully.

File type: CSV

Files in comma-separated value (CSV) format may contain spatial data, but it isn't required. If included, geometry values should be provided as coordinates or well-known text. When your file contains coordinates, columns for latitude and longitude must be present. Please refer to the following column header mappings before uploading CSV files with spatial data.

Value	Supported column headers
geometry	wkt
latitude	lat latitude y
longitude	lng lon long longitude x

File Type: Shapefile

In addition to the mandatory .shp, .shx, and .dbf files, shapefile archives must include a .prj file that describes the coordinate system and projection. All files must be compressed into a .zip file before uploading. To ensure that FieldDoc reads the archive correctly, the archive itself and the files it contains should share the same name. File names must not contain spaces.

Important: Nested ZIP folders are not supported (e.g. example.zip > example > example.shp). All required files must be stored in the top level of the ZIP folder (e.g. example.zip > example.shp, example.shx, …).

File Type: GeoJSON

GeoJSON files must use the .json or .geojson file extensions and follow the format described in this specification. We recommend testing GeoJSON data with geojson.io before uploading it to FieldDoc. See here for more help with the GeoJSON format.

File size and feature count

Regardless of type, file uploads cannot exceed 10 MB. For shapefile archives, this is the maximum total size of all un-compressed files. FieldDoc processes up to 1,000 features per upload. Additional features beyond that limit will be ignored. For larger workloads, please contact our support team.

Step by step import instructions

1. Prepare your source file. Review our source file requirements to make sure that your file will be successfully imported.
2. You can find the Import File button in several places across FieldDoc.

   Before you begin, we recommend reviewing How FieldDoc Organizes Your Data to choose the best place to start your import—whether that’s from the Home Page, a Project, or a Pact. Your starting point helps determine how your data will be grouped and displayed.

   Tip: Starting your import from the right place saves time and helps keep your activities organized automatically.

3. Open the Import File button. Drop in your source file and click upload.

4. Map your source file fields to the FieldDoc fields.

5. Click save.

6. FieldDoc may take a few moments to generate all of the new records. Once it has completed the task the button will turn green and indicate how many records were imported.

7. Some fields cannot be imported. So once you have imported your file, you must complete the configuration for each activity record. Look below for more guidance on that.

Dig in! Interactive Training Tutorial

Complete data entry within FIeldDoc for the imported activity records

FieldDoc's importer cannot import the following fields:

• Activity Type

• Extent

• Extent Unit

• Model Input

These are critical fields in the FieldDoc system, so users will need to manually input this information. Both Activity Type and Extent fields can be quickly inputted using the Tables (Grid View). Alternatively, you can open the Edit Activity modal and enter this information in manually.

Single Activity

Single Activity: Step-by-Step Instructions

For more detailed instructions, visit the Activities pages.

Assign Activity Type

1. Open the Edit Activity modal.

2. Navigate to Activity type view.

3. Select Choose Activity type to open the universal list.

4. Search for the appropriate activity type. Select it. Save. Close modal.

5. Save on the overview page.

Activate Model(s)

1. Open the Edit Activity modal.

2. Navigate to the Models view.

3. Follow the instructions to input all required fields and run the model.

4. Click save.

Metrics

1. Open the Edit Activity modal.

2. Navigate to the Metrics tab.

3. Select the associated Pact to access the relevant Programmatic Metrics list.

   Tips:

   • Link your activity record to a Pact in order to access the Programmatic metrics.

   • Activity records can be assigned to multiple Pacts.

Dig in! Interactive Tutorial

Table View

Table View: Step-by-Step Instructions

Table View is a simple way to see and update many of your activity records at once—kind of like working in a spreadsheet.

Instead of opening each activity one by one, you can scroll through a table and edit key details directly from the page. This is especially helpful when you need to review or enter data for multiple records at the same time.

Below, we’ll walk you through what you can do in Table View and how to use it effectively.

Activity types

1. Navigate to the activity types field.

2. Click the drop down arrow. A list of all activity types in FieldDoc pops up.

3. Search, scroll, and select the activity_type that matches your work.

4. Close the modal.

5. You can repeat these steps within individual rows/records, or, you can copy (CTRL+C) and paste (CTRL+V) the same activity type and activity type key into other rows/records.

Extent

1. Navigate to the extent field.

2. Enter in a numerical value.

3. Navigate to the extent_unit field.

4. Select the unit from the available list.

Completed date

1. Navigate to the completed_on field.

2. Open the calendar tool.

3. Select a date in the past.

At this time, models cannot be activated from the table view. To turn on a model to calculate environmental benefits, you must open the Edit Activity modal within each activity record.