Resource Import Template Guidelines 

General Guidelines for Using the Resource Import Template:

1. When entering data in the resource import template, use the specific instructions and guidance included in the first few rows of the template, including within some column titles to help you along the way, in addition to the following information:
2. The template will import new resources and not update existing resources in your resource database. If you include a resource in the template that is currently in your resource database, it will duplicate that resource
3. We recommend that each resource is given a unique name
4. Each line in the spreadsheet represents one single resource
5. If you’re adding multi-level resources (ex. Agency/Program), always start on the Agency sheet and then move to the Site or Program sheets
   
6. If you’re using Agency only resources you can delete the Site, Program and ProgramAtSite tabs.
7. The templates are not customizable, except for the addition of Custom Fields (explained in more detail below); do not remove columns or make any format changes to the template
8. If there are Standard Fields (non-custom fields that are configured from your field visibility settings) not available in this template that you wish to use (ex. Phone Descriptions, Coverage Area Description, Alternate Address, etc.) the Support Team may be able to add these fields to the template. Not all standard fields are available. If you wish to explore using additional standard fields, create a ticket with iCarol Support. In your support case, include the names of the Standard Fields you wish to add, and the resource level(s) you wish to add them to.
9. The fields available in the template are likely different than the fields set to visible in your resource database. If a field is set to not visible in your resource database, but you have data entered for that field in the template, then the data will be imported and you can adjust your field visibility settings as needed.
10. Once you populate the template with your resource data, upload the data using the instructions above, or open a case and work with a member of the Support Team to upload the data.
11. If your template includes more than 500 Agency records, plus associated child records (Programs and Sites), then open a case with a member of the Support Team because the file is too large for you to upload
12. By default, the tool available to import resources into your database using a standard template is disabled, and instead you can work with a member of the iCarol Support Team to add new resources using a template. If you wish to work with a member of the iCarol Support Team, have a designated Support Contact from your organization go to ‘Help’ in the left side menu and submit a case requesting the template and assistance with uploading new resources. 
13. If you wish to give Admin level users access to this tool, so they can access the template and upload resources themselves, complete the following steps:
    
1. As an Admin level user, click ‘Admin Tools’ in your left side menu
2. On the ‘Resources’, select the setting ‘Admins can access and use the Import Resources tool on the Manage Resources page’ and click ‘Save’
3. After enabling this setting, click ‘Resources’ in your left side menu
4. Click the ‘Manage Resources’ link and the import template and tool is available under the Optional Upgrades section
5. Click the link to ‘Import Resources’ and use instructions on that page and the information above to complete the steps necessary to fill out and upload the template

Phone Numbers and Zip/Postal Codes:

Coverage Area Guidelines:

1. Coverage areas can be included for each resource if the following structure is used:
1. If the coverage area is in the United States: Unites States - [Two letter state abbreviation] - [County name, ending with the word “County”] - [City/Town name] - [Zip code]
   
2. If the coverage area is in Canada: Canada - [Two letter province abbreviation] - [Region name] - [City/Town name] - [Postal code]
2. You only need to specify down to the most granular level appropriate, and multiple entries can be separated by semicolon.
3. Once a coverage area is added using this structure in the template searches by “resources serving” can be conducted.
4. Before entering data in the Categories column of the template, your organization should determine which level(s) of the resource (Agency, Site, Program) you’ll assign Categories/Taxonomy terms at; AIRS standards recommend you assign Taxonomy at the Program level. If your organization uses an 'Agency Only' structure, you can ignore this.
   
5. Note, at this time Coverage Area locations in the United States and Canada are supported at this time. 
6. The following Unites States example provides the structure to allow two zip codes, one city/town, one county and one full state be added as the coverage area for a resource:
1. United States - CA - Marin County - Fairfax - 94930; United States - CA - Marin County - San Anselmo - 94960; United States - CA - Sonoma County - Santa Rosa; United States - CA - Napa County; United States - NV
   
7. The following Canada example provides the structure to allow two postal codes, one city/town, one region and one full province be added as the coverage area for a resource:
   
1. Canada - AB - Wood Buffalo - Fort McMurray - T9H 1A1; Canada - AB - Wood Buffalo - Cold Lake - T9M 1A8; Canada - AB - Foothills - Okotoks; Canada - AB - Bighorn; Canada - BC

Custom Category and Taxonomy Guidelines: 

1. If you’re subscribed to the iCarol AIRS Taxonomy Tools, use the ‘Taxonomy’ column to assign the Taxonomy term(s) for each resource
2. If you aren’t subscribed to the iCarol AIRS Taxonomy Tools, or you wish to also use Custom Categories, use the ‘Categories’ column to assign the Custom Categories for each resource. If you wish to assign Custom Categories, use the process listed as follows:
   
1. Create the Top Level Custom Categories in your iCarol system, using the instructions in the help article 'Create Custom Categories in Resources'
2. After you’ve created the Top Level Custom Categories, enter the Category name(s) in the ‘Category’ column for each resource
3. As the instructions in the template say, if you wish to assign more than one Custom Category to a resource, you can do so by separating each Custom Category with a semi-colon (ex. Food; Housing; Mental Health)
4. It is important you use consistent spelling and capitalization when enter Custom Categories into the template that match exactly how the Custom Category appears in your iCarol system; if the spelling or capitalization differs at all, then a new Custom Category is created during the import and will need to be manually corrected. Before uploading the template or submitting it to the iCarol Support Team to upload, you should double check the spelling and capitalization is consistent for every entry.
   
1. For example, if you have a Custom Category in your iCarol system as ‘Mental Health’ but in your template you enter ‘mental health’ (notice the difference in capitalization), during the import process a new Custom Category will be created for ‘mental health’ and any resources with this entered as the Custom Category in the template will be assigned to it
   
5. Advanced: If you wish to create and assign lower level Sub-Categories to use in the import template, the process is a bit more involved, and is as follows:
6. Create the Top Level and lower level Sub-Categories using the same instructions provided above
1. Note, make sure each Category name is unique. If you wish to have Categories/Sub-Categories ultimately named the same, temporarily give them unique names during the import process and after the import is complete you can use the ‘Mange Your Categories’ page to update the names as you wish
   
7. After you’ve created the Top Level and lower level Sub-Categories, enter the Top Level and/or lower level Sub-Categories in the ‘Category’ column for each resource
1. If you assign lower level Sub-Categories, best practice is to also assign all levels above the Sub-Category. This is the best practice because it will allow your users to search using the Custom Categories tree and narrow down their search results depending on the Sub-Category selected. For example, if you have a Top-Level Category named ‘Mental Health’ and under that you have a Sub-Category named ‘Individual Counseling’, if you assign the Sub-Category ‘Individual Counseling’ to a resource, it is best practice to also assign the higher-level term ‘Mental Health’. When entering this example into the template, it would look like this: Mental Health; Individual Counseling. 
   
8. After the template is imported into iCarol, notice the resources are assigned to the appropriate Custom Categories; it is best to review the ‘Manage Your Categories’ page to ensure the import occurred as expected, and double-check if any new Custom Categories were created during the import because of any oversight in step 4 above. If additional Custom Categories were created by mistake, a Resource Editor from your organization can manually reassign the resources to the correct Custom Categories and delete the ones created by mistake
   

Legal Status:

1. None or unknown
2. Nonprofit - Incorporated
3. Nonprofit - Unincorporated
4. Voluntary association
5. Faith-based
6. Private Practice
7. Membership
8. Coalition
9. Cooperative
10. Commercial
11. Government
12. Government - City
13. Government - County
14. Government - State
15. Government - Provincial
16. Government - Regional
17. Government - Federal
18. Government - Territorial
19. Government - Town
20. Government - Township
21. Government - Village
22. Special District
23. Tribal
    

Custom Fields Guidelines:

1. If you wish to include Custom Fields in your template when importing new resources, you must first create the Custom Field and the related choices in your iCarol system, using the instructions in the help article 'Resource Record Custom Fields'
2. After you’ve created the Custom Field and related choices in your iCarol system, you must add a column for each Custom Field you wish to include in the template, using the following process, for each step always making sure the spelling and capitalization in the template match exactly to that in your iCarol system:
3. First identify which resource level(s) the Custom Field exists (if you use an Agency only structure, skip this step); depending on your organization's style guide, the Custom Field may be available at one or more levels 
4. After you identify the resource level(s), add a new column to the end of the existing columns, using the following format: Custom_ExactNameofCustomFieldwithoutspaces. For example, if you have a Custom Field named ‘Record Owner’ you would add a column named ‘Custom_RecordOwner’
5. Depending on the type of Custom Field, enter the values under the column you created using the following guidelines:
   
1. Drop-down List: enter a maximum of one answer per resource
2. Checkbox List: enter as many answers per resource as you wish, separating each answer with a semi-colon
3. Textbox: if you wish to include line breaks within the text, you must make sure you’ve set the Custom Field as ‘Height: Multi Line’ and when entering data in the template, enter the line breaks using ALT + ENTER on your keyboard to insert a line break; do not use HTML formatting, as it won’t be translated during the import
   

How to import resources