Import tab-separated lists

Outdated but kept for compatibility. 

With this import routine you can import data as tab-separated lists (plain text files) into the database. Choose Data -> Import -> Import list... from the menu to open the window for import. In the window click on the button to select the file with the data you wish to import. Use the proper [encoding] to ensure that all special characters will be transferred correctly. If you change the encoding after opening the file, click on the button to reload the file with the new encoding.

The content of the file will be shown in the upper part of the [Column mapping] tab page. Use [Data start in line] to set the area for the import. Proceeding lines will be ignored and depicted with a  gray background   as shown below. Every column in your file must be either ignored or mapped to a column in the database. The lower part of the mapping section shows your mapping while the upper part contains the first lines of your file. You can either use a prepared column mapping or create a new one. To import a previous column mapping click on the   button and choose one of the XML-files.

Column mapping

For a column which should not be imported choose the  black  color from the group as shown for the second column in the image below. These columns will be ignored for the analysis and the import. For all other columns choose the [Table] and the [Column] your data corresponds to. If you wish to import two different data sets in the same table, you need to change the [Alias for table] to a unique value for this data set.

If some columns should be transferred into one field, you have to choose a group for these columns as shown below for columns 3 to 5, 6 to 9, ... . Simply choose a color from the group combobox other than white or black to choose a group. To save the current mapping click on the button. 

 

To analyse the data in the file click on the [Analyse] button. During the analysis the program may ask you to give additional information like the taxonomic groups of the imported organisms. In the upper part of the window you may add information to be imported together with your data from the file. The available options depend on the structure of your data.

The image below shows the tab page where you can define the relations between two organisms. This might be necessary if e.g. your data contains information on parasites and hosts. The data tables which are related to an identification are listed with their aliases in the lists for the identification tables. Use the    and    buttons to move them between the lists. Use the    buttons to change the sequence within a list. With the [Host] option you define the host and the [Main] option defines which organism will be chosen as the first to be printed e.g. on a label. 

 

 

By default one CollectionEvent will be created for each data set.

 

If the events should be joined following the entries in the file, you can choose the second option as shown below. The import will create a new event, if there were any changes made to the data related to the CollectionEvent, like the description of the locality, the altitude, the coordinates etc.

 

If all the data sets belong to one EventSeries e.g. to one expedition, you can choose the option as shown below and enter the code and description of the EventSeries in the corresponding fields.

 

If you wish to use an existing EventSeries, click on the button and select a series from the form. The code and description of the selected series will be shown as in the image below.

 

After your data was successfully analysed, the window will show you the result as shown in the image below. During the analysis the program will add missing tables and columns necessary for the import. The first data set will be shown in the form. If you wish to check more data sets, set the number of the last position you wish to check and click on the [Analyse] button. The data is arranged according to the tables in the database in which they will be imported. The underlined fields belong to the primary keys of the respective tables and are red, if missing. These missing values will be generated during the import. If a data set contains no values and will therefore not be imported into the database, the columns will be shown in blue. To import these entries anyway choose the [import empty values] option. To browse through the data sets in the preview use the buttons.

 

To import the data click on the [Start import] button. If you wish to import only part of the data e.g. for a test, choose the [Import first ... lines] option.