Importing
Single comma delimited text file
When a delimited file is chosen for importing, the process is automatic and does not require any interaction. Before selecting the Import command, a text file must be created with the required information.
The best way to understand the delimited file format is to look at the contents of a file created with the Export command from an existing markbook. The format for the data in a delimited file imported or exported with SM-Marks Online is detailed here.
The suggested format for the delimited file is shown below.
Class name,Course name,Year,Teacher name,Family name,Given names,Task name,...
This is not an actual line for importing, but is an example of the type of contents for the file. Each student should begin on a new line. Commas should separate the fields of information. Additional space within each field is permitted.
The first line in the file must have a label that indicates the contents of the fields in the following lines. The complete list of field names that can appear on the first row of the file are:
Class
Teacher
Family
Given
Gender
Note
Comment
Teacher Family
Teacher Given
Year
Course
Preferred
Flag
SID
The SID is for the Student ID. There can be multiple fields for tasks.
If a field has a label other than those listed, it is assumed to be a field for a task of results, and the label is the name of the task.
Here is an example of one possible delimited file that could be named sample.csv.
Class,Course,Year,Teacher,Family,Given,FEB EX1,FEB ASGN1,MAR EX2
8ENG1,English,Year 8,Mr Ross,ABDULLAH,JOSEPH,65,40,56
8ENG1,English,Year 8,Mr Ross,BLAKE,JAN,82,45,64
8ENG1,English,Year 8,Mr Ross,FOX,MICHELLE,67,41,71.5
8ENG2,English,Year 8,Ms Green,HAN,JUNGKIL,63,46,45
8ENG2,English,Year 8,Ms Green,HANNON,ROBERT,Absent,48,69
When importing, SM-Marks Online creates two classes 8E1 and 8E2 and creates three tasks named FEB EX1,FEB ASGN1,MAR EX2.
The students are placed into the indicated classes and the results into the tasks. When importing a delimited file, the only compulsory fields are the family and given names of the student. All other fields are optional, but if you want SM-Marks Online to create markbooks when importing you should include the class, course and year fields.
Importing into a markbook
Importing when a markbook is open, imports data into the open markbook. This can be done to add students to the classes, or to add tasks.
If there are different students in the file, these will be imported into the markbook first. After importing the students if there are tasks in the same file, import a second time to import the tasks.
When importing into an open markbook, it is important for the file to contain sufficient fields to reliably identify each student. For example, by including the student ID, or ensuring the student names are identical and the class name included.