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Importer tips on field formatting

Field type Acceptable format(s) Description
Checkbox
  • x
    Blank input will be treated as unchecked. No representations of boolean true (such as yes, 1, TRUE, true, or True) will work.
    Currency
    • 5
    • 5.5
    • 5.50
    • $5.50
    • 5.50$
    • 0
    • -5
    • (5.50)
    • ($5.50)
    • 1,234.567
    • 1 234.57
    Positive and negative numbers (with decimals) are allowed but will be rounded to two decimals. Can contain a dollar symbol either before or after the value. Bracketed values will be treated as negative. Can contain thousands separators of spaces or commas.
    Date
    • 8-5-2004
    • 8.5.2004
    • 8/5/2004
    • 8/5/04
    • 8-5-04
    • 8.5.04
      Note that the importer uses the Month order for date fields preference to determine how to parse date strings. Depending on the value of that preference, 8-5-2004 could either evaluate to August 5, 2004 or May 8, 2004.



      Dropping the year implies the current year. All of the following would be interpreted as May 8 of the current year:
      • 8.5
      • 8/5
      • 8-5
        Datetime
        • 8-5-2004 3:33am
        • 8-5-2004 3:33
        • 8-5-2004 3:33 AM
        Importing datetime fields follows all of the rules of date fields, but in addition, you can insert a time string. The AM and PM portion of the time string is not case-sensitive. Omitting the AM and PM from a time string results in the time being treated as AM. If the time string is omitted altogether, the time will default to 12:00 AM of the supplied date.
        Duration Days
        • 4 d
        • 4 day
        • 4 days


        Minutes and hours
        • 4 m
        • 4 min
        • 4 h
        • 4 hr
        • 4 hours
        Entity SEQ_001A To include a single entity field in an import, such as Shot > Sequence, specify the Sequence code (name). Because you must always use the linked entity's code (name) in the import—and not its ID—there's a chance that the code will be non-unique. In other words, SEQ_0001A might point to three sequences in the same project. If that happens, the importer will not assume you've made a mistake, and will simply link it to the first sequence with the code SEQ_0001A.
        Multi-Entity TST001,TST002,TST003 To include a multi-entity field in an import, such as a multi-entity Link field, always be sure to separate the data points with a single comma only ',' (no other spaces or characters). If you have additional spaces or characters between data points, only the first value of the field will be recognized when you import your spreadsheet into Flow Production Tracking.



        Correct: TST001,TST002,TST003

        Incorrect: TST001, TST002, TST003



        (In the Incorrect example, only 'TST001' would be present in the field upon import as there are spaces being used with the commas)
        Float
        • 0
        • 1
        • -1
        • 99,999,999.999
        • 99 999 999.999
        • 99999999.999999
        Maximum precision is six decimal places. No commas allowed. Can contain thousands separators of spaces or commas. Largest value is 999,999,999,999.999878.
        File/Link These fields cannot be imported, and are greyed out (automatically ignored) by the importer.
        List
        • pink
        • Pink
        • PINK
        • PinK
        Case sensitivity is dependent on the properties of each list field. By default, list fields are not case sensitive.
        Number
        • -999999999
        • 0
        • 1
        • 999999999
        Positive and negative numbers (with decimals) are allowed but will be rounded to whole numbers. Can contain thousands separators of spaces or commas. Largest value for this field type is 999,999,999.
        Percent
        • 93
        • 93.0
        • 93.9
        • 93.9%
        • %93.9
        Can contain a percent symbol either before or after the value.

        Note that imported values of 93, 93.0, and 93.9 all show up in the UI as 93%, but the decimal portion is stored in the database (e.g., 93.9 is stored as 93.9 even though it displays as 93%). The value .93 would be treated as .93%, and shows up in the UI as .93%.
        Status List
        • ip
        • IP
        • In Progress
        • in progress 
        Status list values can be imported, using either the short code or the display name (for example, "ip" or "In Progress"). Values are not case sensitive. To find out which short codes your Flow Production Tracking instance recognizes as legal allowable values, go through the following steps:
        1. Go to a list page that displays the Status field you're trying to import. For example, go to an Assets page that displays the Status field.
        2. Right-click on the Status header, and then choose Configure Field...
        3. Note all of the checked statuses enabled for this field (these indicate the allowable values that the field can hold).
        4. Next to each checkbox is a staus icon, followed by the short code, and the human-readable name.
        Text With the exception of Entity code identifiers (such as Shot code and Asset Name), there is no character limit to text fields. However, if any of your text fields contain quotes, this can cause problems with the importer's ability to discern where a row stops and another begins. This is simply the drawback of handling data that is pasted, rather than parsing an uploaded CSV file.



        Known example that confuses the importer:



             5'11"



        One client was attempting to import a column that recorded dimensions (in feet and inches), and reported a problem with the importer mishandling the alignment of columns and cells. The reason that this happens is that text like 5'11" isn't itself enclosed in quotes, so the importer has no way of distinguishing between the termination of a row and character data.



        Recommended workaround of the quote issue



        Do a find and replace in your spreadsheet application, turning quotes into its equivalent html entity:



             & q u o t ;
        Timecode As frames:

        • 729


        Strict format:

        • 000:00:30:10


        Short format (All are 30 seconds, 10 frames):

        • 30:10
        • 0:30:10
        • 0:0:30:10


        Implied zeroes (from top to bottom, examples are 22 frames, 22 sec, 22 min, 22 hours):

        • 22
        • 22:
        • 22::
        • 22:::

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