In this article we have covered the main file health check issues that can be identified when importing student data files into Analytics, and how to check/resolve these.
- “The file submitted does not contain valid data. Please check that the file has been saved as CSV (MS-DOS), there are no blank student IDs and that the file contains a header row."
This is usually caused by the file format being imported, as some newer versions of Office can default to CSV (Macintosh) or CSV (Comma Delimited).
To resolve this, open your file and re-save this with a different name and manually select CSV (MS DOS) in the ‘Save as type’ dropdown, then reimport into Analytics.
If you still receive the same issue when importing, we would recommend checking that the 'Subject' and 'Class' columns (Columns C and D) in the file are also populated, as the import will not work if these are blank.
- “X Student(s) that have at least one filter conflict. Please resolve the filter conflicts displayed in the error list, cancel the import and try importing the file again.”
Filter conflicts occur when a student has more than one value for a filter in a student data file. For example, if a student has a Y and N for ‘Looked After’ in different rows, this would be seen as a conflict as they can only be one or the other. When issues are identified, you can click ‘Show/Hide Errors’ to see the students affected.
To resolve this, you will need to click 'Cancel the import' and edit your file to ensure each student has a consistent filter value for each row in your file. You should also ensure the columns are in the correct order as per the 'Import Format Example' at the top of the Import screen (for example, 'Subject' and 'Class' should always be in columns 'C' and 'D' respectively). Once checked, you can then re-import this.
- “Some columns in the file exceed the allowed amount. Please check the column(s):”
This will occur if there is a large amount of characters included in any of the columns present in your file. In this case, we would recommend double checking the values present within these columns, and editing where necessary before re-importing the file.
Thanks for reading!