Quick Import

Use the Quick Import function to bring a large amount of data into PowerSchool. Before completing this procedure, you must have an ASCII text file that contains the data to import and is preferably delimited by tabs.

Refer to PowerSchool Test Scores for information about importing test scores.

Database extension fields appear while mapping fields from an import file to PowerSchool. When importing and mapping these fields, keep the following in mind:

• As import/export reads from and writes to a text file, binary data is not supported.
• PowerSchool assumes a user only imports data that was exported, therefore it also assumes that date formats and any other formats do not need to be error-checked on import. The date format used is mm/dd/yyyy.
• Delimiters occurring in the data are not escaped (for example, fields are delimited by tabs, but one field contains tabs) and can cause problems when importing. Data can be wrapped with double quotes to lessen the issue, but there is still data (ex. double-quote + tab + double quote) that can cause the same problems.
• Boolean values will be case insensitive, "true/false" or "t/f" or 1/0.

Import Data Using Quick Import

Choose the school you want to work with before starting this procedure.

1. Navigate to the Quick Import page.

2. Enter information in the fields:
   
   The following descriptions are only for fields that require special considerations.

   Field	Description
   Table	Choose the table to which the data will be imported from the menu. When importing multiple section records, the expressions of the sections defined by your school are required. An expression is the combination of the periods and days in which the section meets. Though PowerSchool creates internal values for periods and days, you should import the actual values that you want to appear when the system displays expressions. An invalid expression causes an error for that record, which results in the failed import of that record. If you choose the Student Schedules (CC table), be sure to include data in the import file for the required fields: Student_Number Course Number Section Number DateEnrolled Dateleft TermID (Import Term File # value provided on the Edit Term page) SchoolID If you include the Dropped column in your import file, any record with a value of True will be imported as a dropped enrollment. If you want to choose the Courses table, but it does not appear in the selection menu, then the district may only allow new courses to be created at the district office. If you select Test Results, the import file should not have data in the first row. This row is treated as a header and is skipped in importing.
   Field Delimiter	Choose the field delimiter from the menu. This refers to the item that will separate the fields in the exported data. Tab: Separates fields with a tab Other: Enter a field delimiter in the blank field, such as a comma
   End-of-Line Marker	Choose the end-of-line marker from the menu. This refers to the item that will separate the records in the exported data. CR: Carriage return CRLF: Carriage return line feed LF: Line feed Other: Enter a delimiter in the blank field
   Suggest Field Map	Select to have the system suggest into which PowerSchool field each piece of data in the data file is saved. These are just suggestions and can be changed before saving.

3. Click Import. 

4. Enter information in the fields.

   Field	Description
   From Your File	The fields of the first record from the import file appear.
   To PowerSchool	If you select Suggest field map on the Quick Import page, the PowerSchool fields suggested for each piece of data imported appear. If you do not select Suggest field map or you need to change the fields, choose the PowerSchool field into which the system imports the data from the import file.
   Check to exclude first row	Select to prevent importing the header row.
   The lines below can be used to assign a constant value to field(s) in all of the imported records.	To enter a new value in a PowerSchool field for all records from the import file, such as entering the same city for all student records in an import file: Enter the value you want to import for all records. Choose the PowerSchool field into which the system imports the value.

5. Enter information for Advanced Import Options. Advanced Import Options appear based on the table that was selected from the Table menu.

   Table	Description
   Attendance	Select Overwrite existing attendance with the imported attendance if you want the system to use the imported attendance data in cases where attendance codes already exist for that day or class.
   Comment Bank	Select Update comment bank records if you want the system to use the imported comment bank comments in cases where there are already comment bank comments with the same code.
   Courses	Select Update course records if you want the system to add course-related information to existing course records in cases where the course numbers are the same.
   Historical Grades	Do the following: If you want the system to include more than one score for a student only when the term and storecode are the same, select Allow multiple grades for a student to be stored. If the courses in the import file have unrecognized names and you want to specify the course number range for the imported courses, select If a course name is imported that is not recognized and enter the range for the new course numbers in the range fields. If selected, the system will assign a random course number in the 90000 range if the range values are left blank. When no course number is defined for a row in the import file, the course number will be derived from the district course list by course name. To store grades that include neither a letter grade nor any earned credit, select Allow grades to be stored which contain both.
   Immunizations	Do the following: If you do not want the system to import immunization data that already exists for a student, select Where values exist in the import file and in PowerSchool, DO NOT IMPORT the values. If you do want the system to import immunization data that already exists for a student, select Where values exist in the import file and in PowerSchool, OVERWRITE the values in PowerSchool with the values in the import file.
   Meal Transactions	Select Use PowerSchool's internal student id numbers if you want the system to reference the ID field versus the student_number field.
   Sections	Do the following: Select Update section records if you want the system to add section-related information to existing section records in cases where the course and section numbers are the same. If your school uses AutoComm to synchronize your data in PowerSchool with data in another system, select Synchronize Mode to perform an AutoComm import. Check with your PowerSchool administrator before using this option. Do not use this option unless you are an advanced PowerSchool SIS user. Check with your PowerSchool administrator before selecting this option. Synchronize mode should only be used when PowerSchool SIS data is synced from another student data source. PowerSchool SIS records not included in the import file will be dropped, transferred out, or removed.
   Students	If the file you are importing contains a student number that matches an existing PowerSchool student number: Select Do not process that line from the file being imported if you do not want the system to import any record with a student number that already exists. Select Update the student's record with the information from the file being imported if you want the system to update the matching student's record with the data in the import file. Select Generate a new, unique student number for the student (from the range specified below) if you want the system to create a new record if a student ID number is in the import file. If the file you are importing contains a student number of zero or Generate a new, unique student number for the student is selected: Select Generate new student numbers at random from within this range and enter the number range within which you want the system to generate and assign the new student ID numbers Otherwise, leave blank. If your school uses AutoComm to synchronize your data in PowerSchool with data in another system, select Synchronize Mode to perform an AutoComm import. Do not use this option unless you are an advanced PowerSchool SIS user. Check with your PowerSchool administrator before selecting this option. Synchronize mode should only be used when PowerSchool SIS data is synced from another student data source. PowerSchool SIS records not included in the import file will be dropped, transferred out, or removed. It is a system requirement that you must import at least 20 student records. If the file being imported contains a student number that matches an existing PowerSchool student number and Update the student's record with the information from the file being imported or Generate a new, unique student number for the student (from the range specified below) is selected, you can select Allow Update of Enroll Status to update students' enrollment status. For advanced users only. For valid values, refer to the Students table in the PowerSchool Data Dictionary Tables. If the value is left blank, it is treated as a zero, which equates to currently enrolled.
   Student Schedules	Do the following: Select Normal Mode to import records for the active terms of the current school. If no SchoolID is included in the import file, the system defaults to this mode. Select Synchronize Mode if your school uses AutoComm to synchronize your data in PowerSchool with data in another system. When selected, all other Advanced Import Options are unavailable and the system defaults to Normal Mode. Synchronize Mode drops existing section enrollments and imports new enrollments from your import file. For example, if a student is currently enrolled in English during second period and the import file contains a record for that student for Science second period, the system will drop the student's section enrollment for English and import the Science section enrollment. Do not use this option unless you are an advanced PowerSchool SIS user. Check with your PowerSchool administrator before selecting this option. Synchronize mode should only be used when PowerSchool SIS data is synced from another student data source. PowerSchool SIS records not included in the import file will be dropped, transferred out, or removed. If the course and section numbers are shared across multiple schools, it is recommended that you include the SchoolID in the import file. If the course and section numbers are shared across multiple schools and the SchoolID is not included in the import file, the system will not import the records, and the following alert appears, "Not Imported: The import school: ( ) does not match the current school. Skipping Record." Select Historical Mode to import records for any term for the current school. This option is only available when the import files include SchoolID data. Select District Mode to import records for active terms at any school. This option is only available when signed in to the district office. Select Historical and District Modes to import records for any terms at any school. This option is only available when signed in to the district office.
   Teachers	Select Update teacher records if you want the system to add teacher-related information to existing teacher records in cases where the teacher numbers are the same.
   Test Scores	Import PowerSchool test scores.

6. Click Import.