How should I format my fields to successfully upload them to my database?
You can use the format below for each type of field to ensure a successful import.
There is a template attached to this article. You may fill out the template directly or use it as a reference to help you fill out your own Excel file.
Custom fields can only be created, mapped and imported on the Enterprise or Ultimate plan. The Recruit and Pro plans can import default database fields only. The Type column below tells you which is which.
Column titles are matched loosely, so small differences in wording are fine, and French headings work too. Anything Vome cannot place is shown to you on the Map fields step so you can point it at the right field by hand.
| Field Title | Type | Format | Example | Notes |
| Email* | Default | Valid email | name@example.com | This is a required field for every profile. Ensure it is a valid email format without any extra spaces, and there must be an "@" and ".abc" in the string of text. *Note: If the profile doesn't have an email address, you can make one up and put it in the email field, but it must be unique. Another option is to not import the profile via the mass import process, but create a single profile from Vome's database directly. |
| First Name* | Default | String | Jane | This is a required field for every profile. |
| Last Name* | Default | String | Doe | This is a required field for every profile. |
| Phone Number | Default | Integers | 1231231234 (514) 123 - 4567 | You can format the phone number as you see fit. You can include parentheses, spaces, dashes, etc. However, you cannot include text characters in this field. |
| Profile picture | Default | URL | http://domain/media/files/database/attachments/810653cc-8547-49c0-8bed-e3bc0fc41106.png | This will need to be a valid image in URL format. It is mostly relevant if you are exporting this data from a different software. Otherwise, we recommend adding profile pictures individually by editing profiles in the database. |
| Date of Birth | Default | Date (YYYY-MM-DD) | 1996-01-15 | Please make sure it is the correct date format. You can change this on Excel if needed. When Date of Birth is imported, it will automatically calculate the age field on an ongoing basis. |
| Gender | Default | Integer 0 = Male 1 = Female 2 = Other 3 = Rather not say | 1 | You must use an integer to represent the gender for each user. If you would like to indicate a custom gender, you can input 2, and then add a new field for Gender Text (see below). |
| Gender Text | Default | String | Genderfluid | This field is only permitted if you have the profile's "Gender = 2" (i.e. Other). |
| Occupation | Default | Integer 0 = Other 1 = Student 2 = Professional 3 = Retiree | 1 | You must use an integer to represent the occupation for each user. For students and professionals, if you would like to indicate an organization associated with them, you can add that as a subsequent field (see below). |
| Organization | Default | String | Harvard University | This field is only permitted if you have the user's Occupation = 1 (Student), whereby the Organization is the name of a school, or 2 (Professional), whereby it's the name of the company they work at. |
| Address | Default | String | 298 Bd Décarie Montréal, QC H4N 2M2, Canada | You can include any string of text here. It could just be a City, State and Zip Code, and it does not require a full address. |
| Emergency Contact (Name) | Default | String | Ryan Doe | Include First Name and Last Name in the same field. |
| Emergency Contact (Phone #) | Default | Integers | 5149008000 | Ensure that you only include valid integers without any spaces, dashes or parentheses. |
| Emergency Contact (Relationship) | Default | String | Father | You can include any string of text here. |
| Start Date | Default | Date (YYYY-MM-DD) | 2018-04-22 | Please make sure it is the correct date format. You can change this in Excel if needed, using Date formatting. |
| Hours Logged (Off-Vome) | Default | Number | 221.5 | Hours the person had already given you before they existed in Vome, or that they give you outside of it. Decimals are fine. Vome keeps these separate from hours logged on Vome, and shows both on the profile. |
| Opportunities | Default | String | Food Bank Sorting Food Bank Sorting,Community Garden | The opportunities each person is added to, named on their own row. Separate several with a comma. Opportunities are never created by an import, since they need a schedule, recruitment settings and shifts of their own. Only published opportunities can be matched. A name Vome does not recognise is reported and skipped, and the profile still imports normally. If one name matches more than one opportunity, you have to pick which one you meant before the import will continue. People added this way join the opportunity chatroom, and you choose separately whether they are notified. |
| Groups | Default | String | Front Desk Team Front Desk Team,Weekend Crew | The groups each person joins, named on their own row. Separate several with a comma. Unlike opportunities, groups can be created straight from your file. You choose which on the Customize step: either create the group names Vome does not recognise, or only add people to groups that already exist and skip the rest. Either way the profile still imports. You get a per-value breakdown before anything happens, showing what will be created, what matched an existing group, and what will be skipped, and you can override any single value. If your file would create a large number of new groups, Vome asks you to confirm first, because that usually means the wrong column was mapped. |
| Group Role | Default | Integer or text 0 = Member 1 = Leader | 1 Leader | The role the person takes in the group or groups on that row. Both the number and the word are accepted. This column only does something alongside a Groups column. On its own it is ignored. If you leave it out, everyone joins with the default role you set on the Customize step. A blank cell falls back to that same default for a new membership, and leaves the role alone for someone who is already in the group. |
| Kiosk PIN | Default | Integers | 1234 | The PIN a person types on a kiosk to find themselves instead of searching by name. It has to be unique, and it has to follow the format set in your organization-wide kiosk PIN settings. Leave the cell blank and Vome generates one. |
| General | Custom | String | Any string of text | You can include any string of text here. |
| Number | Custom | Integers | 99 | You can include any number here. |
| Single selection (list) | Custom | String | Blue | You must ensure that the value entered is a valid option for this field. |
| Multiple selection (list) | Custom | String | Blue Blue,Green Blue,Yellow,Green Red,Green,Blue,Yellow | You must ensure that the values entered are valid options for this field. If there are multiple options for a given profile, separate them by a comma and no spaces. |
| Date | Custom | Date (YYYY-MM-DD) | 1998-08-12 | Please make sure it is the correct date format. You can change this in Excel if needed, using Date formatting. |
| Custom | Valid email | sample@email.com | Ensure it is a valid email format without any extra spaces, and there must be an "@" and ".XXX" in the string of text. | |
| Attachment | Custom | URL | http://domain/media/files/volunteer-database/attachments/810653cc-8547-49c0-8bed-e3bc0fc41106.png | This will need to be a valid attachment. It is mostly relevant if you are exporting this data from a different software. Otherwise, we recommend adding attachments individually. |
| URL | Custom | URL | www.domain.com | You must include a valid URL. |
| Unique ID | Custom | String | 928938983-ab0938 | Any string of text, integers or special characters will work. However, the value must be unique for each user in your database. |
| Boolean | Custom | Boolean (True, False) | True False | This is exclusively for True or False values. It can also be used for "Yes" or "No" type of fields. |
What you set for the whole file instead of per row
Not everything needs a column. Some things are assigned to everyone in the file at once, from the Customize step of the import, so there is nothing to add to your spreadsheet:
- Profile tags.
- Opportunities. Pick a few by hand here, instead of naming them row by row.
- Shifts.
- Sequences.
- Sites. There is no Sites column. Sites are assigned to the whole import here, and if you are a site admin your own sites are pre-selected for you.
- Groups. Pick a few by hand here, instead of naming them row by row.
A column and a batch-wide choice are not exclusive. If your file has an Opportunities or Groups column and you also pick some here, everyone gets what you picked plus whatever their own row names.
Sites need the Enterprise or Ultimate plan. On the Recruit and Pro plans the Sites card does not appear on the Customize step.