User Import Feature

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The User Import feature allows portal administrators to add up to 1,000 new users per upload to their LMS. Instead of using the “Add User” option to manually create each new account, administrators can create users in ad hoc batches by uploading their profile data in a Comma Separated Value (CSV) file.  It can also be used to update data for existing LMS users if the username provided is an exact match to the existing user being updated.

Download a blank import template here: User Import CSV template. A link to the most current template is also available from the User Import page in the LMS by opening the online Help icon.


Important: All columns, column names, and column order must remain unchanged in the uploaded file regardless of whether they are being used or not. Any alteration will cause the import to fail. When you name your file, the filename must NOT contain any spaces or special characters (e.g. &, +, #, $...). The only special characters allowed are hyphens (-) and underscores (_).
 

 

Prepare the user import file for New users

The CSV template file must be submitted in the standard template format. Entries on the template are mapped to corresponding fields on the user's account and profile pages in the LMS.

New users created from the User Import process are assigned the default "Student" role and belong to a unique User Group created for the successful addition (incorporating date/time stamp information to ensure easy reference against the import). Because User Groups are integrated into user search/filter options across many areas of the LMS, this design should allow easy targeting of this specific user population for a general "Welcome!" announcement, batch enrollment in new employee orientation, etc. No automatic notifications are provided to the imported users. We recommend using the Announcement feature to notify users of their temporary passwords and their usernames, if a particular convention was used, such as the user's email address.

Required Fields

Username: Must be unique across all LatitudeLearning® portals; email address can be used as a unique username. If a user record fails due to a duplicate username and you do not find that user in your LMS, it is a user in another LMS. If you are using import to update an existing user, this must match the current username exactly. This column maps to the Username field on the user account General Info page.
First Name: If it contains apostrophes (') or commas (,), the name must be nested between quotation marks ("), e.g. "La'rissa". This column maps to the First Name field on the user account General Info page.
Last Name: If it contains apostrophes (') or commas (,), the name must be nested between quotation marks ("), e.g. "O'Neil" or "Jones, Jr." This column maps to the Last Name field on the user account General Info page.
Effective Date: Enter the date the user account should become active in format mm/dd/yyyy. This may also be known as the user start or hire date. If this date is in the future, the user will remain inactive until this date matures. This column maps to the Effective Date field on the user account General Info page.
Primary Location Code: This must be a Location code, not the location name or description. It must be a location, not be a higher organization level like Division or Business Unit. Numbers with leading zeros must be nested between quotation marks ("), e.g. "005" or "01A2". This column will become the organization shown on the user's primary profile under the Profiles tab.
Primary Location Start Date: Enter the date the Primary Location Code should become active in format mm/dd/yyyy This column relates to the Primary Location code above and determines when the profile created at this location becomes active. For new users, this is normally the same as the overall Effective Date.
Primary Position Code: This must be a position code, not the position name or description. Entries with leading zeros or commas must be nested between quotation marks, e.g. "005" or "01A2". This column maps to the user's Profiles tab as the primary position at the related primary location.
Primary Position Effective Date: Enter the date the Primary Position Code should become active in format mm/dd/yyyy. This column relates to the Primary Position code above. For new users, this is normally the same as the overall Effective Date or the Primary Location Start Date.

Columns not listed above are optional.

Additional Optional Fields

Email Address: This field is optional but highly recommended to ensure users get notifications from the LMS related to their enrollments and announcements. They will also need an email address in order to use the password reset option on the login page. Note: if you do not use email addresses, the Import Exception log you receive will note these users as exceptions. It is just a warning and the users will still be imported.
Instructor: Enter Yes or leave blank. This will add an Instructor Role to the user's profile.
Location Manager: Enter Yes or leave blank. This will add a Location Manager to the user's profile.
User Groups: Enter the User Group Name or leave blank. If the user group name contains leading zeros, apostrophes, or commas, nest the entry between quotation (") marks.
Manager and Alternate Managers: These fields are only relevant for LMS customers who use a Person-to-Person reporting structure instead of the standard Position Hierarchy. Entry must be the Username of the manager. Leave blank for Position-based reporting hierarchy.
Preferred Language: Blank defaults to English. Valid entries are the following codes in bold: en-AU (English-Australia), en-GB (English-United Kingdom), en-US (English-United States), es-MX (Spanish- Mexico), de-DE (German-Germany), fr-CA (French-Canada), it-IT (Italian-Italy), pt-BR (Portuguese-Brazil), zh-CN (Chinese-China)

Note - Secondary Position, Secondary Position Start Date, and Secondary Position End Date will add another position to the person's primary profile, but it will be flagged as the secondary position in the list.

Assumptions

  • Usernames must be unique and cannot exist anywhere else within the Latitude Learning LMS. Usernames are limited to 100 characters. A person's email address can be used as a unique username.
  • Primary Location Code, Primary Position Code, and User Group columns must contain existing codes from your LMS. Entering new/invalid information will cause the import of that user record to fail.
  • Address is an "all or nothing" option. If you enter user data in any one of these fields you must populate the complete address, or the import will fail. (Street Address Line 1, Street Address Line 2, City, State or Province Code, Postal Code, Country Code)
  • All dates must be formatted as mm/dd/yyyy.
  • State and Country codes must match standard LMS codes.
  • Phone and Fax numbers must be formatted with dashes or parentheses.
  • Any entries in any column that include a comma, an apostrophe, or a leading zero MUST be placed within double quotations around those values ("textornumber").
 

upload the user import file to the lms

The CSV file name cannot include spaces or special characters or the import process will fail, even with valid user data.

Once the file has been prepared for upload, from the Administration left navigation menu, select Imports > User Import.

 
 
  1. Upload User Import File: Click Choose File to browse your local computer and select the appropriate CSV file.
  2. Temporary Password: Enter a temporary password that will be associated with all users being uploaded. It must be at least 8 characters, include at least one number and at least one each of upper- and lower-case letters. Password rules are also listed in the field level help. Note: Imported users do not receive notification of their username and password credentials.
  3. Prompt Password Reset: Enable this setting to force users to change their password upon next login.
  4. Click Process User Import to queue the upload for processing.
  5. Administrators will receive a confirmation email, typically within a few minutes of initiating, to let them know that their file was accepted and processing is in progress.
  6. Once the LMS completes the import process, administrators will receive a second email titled "Latitude Learning Data Import Exception Log" with an attached Excel file. The file contains information about successfully imported users and lists any import errors as failures  (SuccessFailureLog). There is only one log file generated per 24 hour period. If you import multiple sets of users in one day, you will be re-sent the same SuccessFailureLog, but the additional entries will be appended each time. Different sets of data will be identified with a different Load ID.
  7. The import process creates a User Group of all the imported users to allow targeted Announcements to be made for that specific population. Portal Administrators must communicate credentials to the imported users. The User Group will look like this and shows which employees were loaded in that import.

     
 

USING THE TEMPLATE TO UPDATE or deactivate EXISTING USERS

You can use the template to update data for existing users if care is given to the validity of the data entered. The requirements for filling out the form are the same regardless of whether the user is new or existing. When you import an existing user with the template:
 
  • The LMS will not update account master data, such as first name, last name, addresses, email, and password. Updates are generally restricted to Profile-related data, such as changing someone to a new Primary Profile location, a new position, or new role.
  • The LMS will not change data that it finds to be identical to the data already listed for that user.
  • If a change is detected, the LMS will overwrite that data with the imported value.
  • If a new location is provided, a new profile will be added to the user's profile list and flagged as primary, with the position and role provided.
  • Any temporary password provided during the import process will not affect existing users, only those on the list who are new.

If using the file to deactivate users, you must fill the template out completely with at least all the required fields and the data must accurately reflect what is currently in the user's record. Provide end dates for all the relevant account and profile fields. When the account end date is imported, LMS account and profile cleanup scripts will automatically end date any profiles or user group relationships that were not picked up by the import itself, ultimately ending up with a fully deactivated user.

 

common reasons for upload failures

If your import fails to process at all or one or more users are listed as exceptions, these are the most common issues to look for. Contact Support@LatitudeLearning.com and attach your CSV file if you continue to have issues. Note that viewing your .csv file in Excel may not show you all the things that may be causing issues. We recommend viewing and editing your file in a text editor such as Notepad or Notepad++ (free app to download) for a true view into your data.
 
  • Check your .csv filename. It should not contain any spaces or special characters (with the exception of hyphens or underscores).
  • Check your data.
    • If the column specifies a "code", you can not use the corresponding description (e.g. position Manager instead of MNG)
    • Make sure the code exists and is spelled correctly
    • Data that contains leading zeroes (00123) or commas/apostrophes (Smith, Jr.) must be placed in quotations "00123" or "Smith, Jr."
  • Check your date formats for mm/dd/yyyy
  • Check your columns
    • Data is in the correct column and not shifted left or right
    • All the columns are included and in the correct order
    • All column names are unchanged from the original template