DutyMan Upload Files
You can upload lists of duties and/or members’ contact details to DutyMan in files
created on your computer. This document defines the structure of these files.
The files must be in Comma-Separated Value (CSV) format.
CSV is a simple file format widely used for transferring data between computers. Information in CSV files is organised
in rows and columns, much like a spreadsheet, in fact using a spreadsheet is a good
way to create a CSV file. The DutyMan Roster Spreadsheet (.xls, approx 600Kb) provides
a starting point for creating your own file of duties, or you may prefer to use
a database. If you are not familiar
with CSV files then visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comma-separated_values
The first row of each file is a
header row followed by one or more data rows.
The first row of your CSV file must contain column headings for the subsequent data
rows. Some columns are mandatory; others
can be omitted. Column headings that
are not recognised by DutyMan are ignored.
Columns need not appear in the sequence shown in the table below because the column
heading dictates the column contents.
Row 2 and all subsequent rows list
duties and/or member details with one duty or member per row.
Column Heading
|
Mem
|
Req
|
Column Data
|
Max Chrs
|
|
Duty Date
|
|
D
|
The date of the duty in dd/mm/yy
or mm/dd/yy format
|
10
|
|
Duty Time
|
|
|
Either a time as hh:mm, or up to
5 chars, eg 10:00, p.m, or blank
|
5
|
|
Event
|
|
D
|
A description of what is taking
place
|
45
|
|
Duty Type
|
|
D
|
A brief description of the duty,
eg Race Officer, Results, Bar
|
20
|
|
Swappable
|
|
|
No if you do not want this duty to be swapped, otherwise Yes
or blank. If omitted Yes is
assumed.
|
3
|
|
Reminders
|
|
|
No if you do not want reminders to be sent , otherwise Yes
or blank. If omitted Yes is
assumed.
|
3
|
|
Duty Notify
|
|
|
One or more email addresses of
a people associated with this duty to be notified when a member swaps this duty. Multiple email addresses must be separated
by semi-colons,
eg. john@xxx.com; sue@yyy.org
|
255
|
|
Duty Instructions
|
|
|
Instructions to be included in
reminder emails for this duty.
|
255
|
|
First Name
|
Y
|
D,M
|
Either Last Name, with or without
First Name, or Member Name.
Each member must be identified
by either a unique Member Name or a unique First Name/Last Name combination.
|
30
|
|
Last Name
|
60
|
|
Member Name
|
60
|
|
Password
|
Y
|
|
Used in conjunction with member’s
name when logging in to DutyMan on the web. You can omit this column and tell DutyMan
to generate passwords either at upload time or via the GenPswd Upload Option column
(see below).
|
12
|
|
Email Address
|
Y
|
|
The member’s email address if known. Members without email addresses will not
receive reminders and cannot use DutyMan to swap duties.
|
80
|
|
Phone
|
Y
|
|
The member’s telephone numbers. The first number is displayed adjacent to
the member's name on the duty roster but only after a member has logged in.
|
30
|
|
Phone 2
|
|
Address 1
|
Y
|
|
The member’s postal address.
If uploaded, postal addresses are
visible to and can be amended by the corresponding member and the DutyMan Administrator.
Optionally they are visible to
logged in members via the DutyMan Directory when the Directory feature is enabled.
|
50
|
|
Address 2
|
50
|
|
Address 3
|
50
|
|
Address 4
|
50
|
|
Postal Code
|
12
|
|
Country
|
25
|
|
Member DBID
|
Y
|
|
The database identification or
key of this member in your organisation's database. Downloaded member rows, containing
any updates to member profiles, also include Member DBID. Member DBID can then be
used to locate and update member
records in your organisation's database. The Profile Updated column in the downloaded rows gives the date when each
member last updated their profile.
|
20
|
|
Notes
|
|
|
Any additional information. Notes do not appear on the web.
|
255
|
The
text to appear in the first row of your CSV file. It identifies the contents of
the cells in the rows immediately below.
Columns can appear in any order.
Y indicates that this column contains member-related information. A CSV file
of duties must contain member name column(s); it can also contain member-related
columns. A CSV file of members can contain only member-related columns.
Columns can appear in any order.
D means that the corresponding column is required when the CSV file contains
duties with or without member details.
M means that the column is required when the CSV file contains
member details only.
The
maximum number of characters (letters, numbers, punctuation marks and spaces) that
DutyMan will accept in this column for any one row.
For example in the Duty Time column, with a maximum of 5 characters, 10:00 or ~1000 are both acceptable
but about 10 is too long (8
characters).
At upload time DutyMan decides
what information – duties, member details, or both – is being uploaded on the basis
of the columns present in the file:
Duty Date and Member Name(s)
but no Email Address:
Uploading duties only
rows with blank duty dates are
ignored
blank member names are set to
tba (to be allocated).
Member Names(s) and Email Address
but no Duty Date:
Uploading member details
only
rows with blank member names are
ignored.
Duty Date, Member Names(s)
and Email Address:
Uploading both duties and member
details
rows with blank duty dates are
ignored,
blank member names are set to
tba (to be allocated).
These columns are optional but can be used to pre-set the corresponding radio-button
options on the Upload Page in Admin Pages.
You might want to do this in order to restrict choices at upload time.
If upload option columns are present with valid values then the corresponding
upload options on the Upload Page are disabled and cannot be changed by the user. If the values in the file are invalid
or omitted then options on the Upload Page are enabled. The option values must be
in row 2.
|
Column Heading
|
App
|
Column Data
|
Max
Chrs
|
|
Mode
|
D
|
Add or Replace.
Add appends the information in the file to existing duties.
Replace replaces all existing duties with the information in the file.
|
7
|
|
GenPswd
|
D,M
|
Yes to tell DutyMan to generate passwords for new members without
passwords
|
3
|
|
Date Format
|
D
|
The format of dates in the CSV
file. dmy for dd/mm/yy or mdy for mm/dd/yy.
|
3
|
|
TBA Swap Wanted
|
D
|
Yes to tell DutyMan to set all duties not assigned to a member
to Swap Wanted
|
3
|
When creating a file of duties the rows need not necessarily appear in date order. Your file can, if you wish, contain all
the duties of one type with their dates and events followed by all the duties of
another type with their dates and events.
After uploading DutyMan sorts them into ascending duty date and event order. Duties with the same date and event stay
in the order in which they occur in the upload file.
For example, if your upload file contains
|
Duty Date
|
Event
|
Duty Type
|
Member Name
|
|
01/02/09
|
High Jump
|
Boss
|
A White
|
|
01/02/09
|
Long Jump
|
Boss
|
B Green
|
|
01/03/09
|
High Jump
|
Boss
|
C Blue
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
01/02/09
|
High Jump
|
Minion
|
D Brown
|
|
01/02/09
|
Long Jump
|
Minion
|
E Black
|
|
01/03/09
|
High Jump
|
Minion
|
F Red
|
After uploading these duties will be shown on the web as
|
Duty Date
|
Event
|
Duty Type
|
Member Name
|
|
01/02/09
|
High Jump
|
Boss
|
A White
|
|
|
|
Minion
|
D Brown
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
01/02/09
|
Long Jump
|
Boss
|
B Green
|
|
|
|
Minion
|
E Black
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
01/03/09
|
High Jump
|
Boss
|
C Blue
|
|
|
|
Minion
|
F Red
|
Three sample CSV files (max 6Kb)
are available to download from the web.
You can use them as templates for creating your own upload files.
Member Details Only
Duties Only
Duties and Member Details