Import time entries into Planio via CSV files » History » Revision 2
Revision 1 (Gregor Schmidt, 03/12/2018 01:54 PM) → Revision 2/4 (Gregor Schmidt, 03/13/2018 10:40 AM)
# Import time entries into Planio via CSV files
You probably know, that you may book time on issues or projects via [Planio Time Tracking](https://plan.io/time-tracking/). However, if you've decided to track your time outside of Planio, it's also possible to import your time entries from Comma Separated Values (CSV) files using the importer in Planio.
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There are two steps to this process. First, you need to prepare a CSV file for import. Second, you have to carry out the import. We’ll cover both in this guide.
## Preparing the CSV file
You need to export your time entries or time bookings in the CSV format. You can save most Excel sheets as CSV files by clicking on **File -\> Save As…** and then selecting **Comma Separated Values** as the format from the drop-down menu.
Your CSV file can have the following headers. You’ll find a sample CSV file here: attachment:example.csv.
| Values | Notes | |
| -------- ---------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Activity Tracker | The tracker of the issue. This field is used needs to determine the kind map a name of activity. This should map to an existing activity and it needs to be enabled within the target tracker in your project. You’ll find their names in **Project page **Administration -\> Settings -\> Activities**. | This field is optional. Alternatively, Trackers**. If you don't provide this column within the CSV, you may select a fixed activity tracker for all new time entries when configuring issues during the import. |
| Issue Status | A time entry may belong The status of the issue. This is needs to map a single issue. Fill name of an existing status available for the selected tracker. You’ll find their names in **Administration -\> Issue statuses**. If you don't provide this column with within the issue ID (e.g. `4711`). CSV, the default status will be used. |
| Subject | The subject of the issue. This field is optional. If left blank, required |
| Description | Enter the time entry text describing the issue. |
| Priority | Enter the name of one of the priorities listed in your Planio account. You’ll find their names in **Administration -\> Enumerations** |
| Category | The category of the issue. New categories may created automatically during the import, if need be. |
| Assignee | Enter the First and Last Name, login or email of the person to whom you want to assign the issue. You’ll find those details in **Administration -\> Users**. Make sure the person is a member of the project before assigning them issues via the importer. |
| Sprint/Milestone | Enter the name of the milestone or sprint to which the issue should be assigned. New sprints/milestones may be created automatically during the import, if need be. |
| Private | This selects whether the issue will be associated with private for the overall project. assignee or not. Enter `1` to make the issue private or `0` otherwise. |
| Date Start date | Enter the start date in your preferred date format (e.g. MM/DD/YYYY or DD.MM.YYYY). | This field is mandatory.
| Due date | Enter the due date in your preferred date format (e.g. MM/DD/YYYY or DD.MM.YYYY). |
| Hours Estimated time | Enter a number for the spent time in estimated number of hours (e.g. 15). | This field is mandatory. |
| Comment % Done | Enter a comment describing number for the work. | This field is optional. percentage done (e.g. 27). |
## Importing the CSV File
Now, you have a CSV file ready for import. The next step is to import it into Planio. You’ll find the button for the Import on the spent time page in the sidebar.
{{figure(Click on Import in the sidebar on the right)
!time-entries-page@2x.png!
}}
Then, select your CSV file using the file picker.
{{figure(Upload the CSV file using the file picker)
!file-selector@2x.png!
}}
On the next page, you can select options for importing the CSV File
{{figure(Select the options for importing the CSV file based on how your CSV file is formatted)
!import-options@2x.png!
}}
| Option | Notes |
| --------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Field separator | You can select between comma separated values or semicolon separated values |
| Field wrapper | You can select between double quotes or single quotes. |
| Encoding | You can select the encoding for the CSV file |
| Date format | You can select one of five date formats (YYYY-MM-DD, DD/MM/YYYY, MM/DD/YYY, DD.MM.YYY or DD-MM-YYYY) |
First you have to select a target project for the import. Then, you have to map the values from the CSV files to time entry fields in Planio. You can select each value from the drop-down menu beside each attribute. You’ll also see a file content preview further down, so you can make sure you’re importing the right data.
{{figure(Assign each column in the CSV file to a time entry field)
!field-mapping@2x.png!
}}
Once you’re done assigning the values to each field, you can click on import to start the import.
If you encounter any problems, you'll see a page with the errors and the import will not be carried out. You can restart the import once you've fixed the problems in the CSV file.
{{figure(A list of the errors encountered during the import)
!import-error@2x.png!
}}
If all goes well, you’ll see a list of the imported time entries.
{{figure(You'll see a list of the created time entries.)
!successful-import@2x.png!
}}
That's how you can import time entries or time bookings into Planio using the CSV importer.
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